Guide
What tree removal costs
The eight things that move the price, and what to ask
We are not going to print a price range. We have not collected quotes ourselves, and a number invented for a web page is worse than no number: it is the thing you end up arguing about on the day. What we can do is tell you exactly what a crew is pricing when they look at your tree, so that when three quotes come back you can see why they differ.
What the crew is actually pricing
Height and spread
A tree that can be felled in one piece is a different job from one that has to come down in sections from a rope.
What is underneath it
A tree over a roof, a fence, a pool or power lines is rigged down piece by piece, which is slower and needs more people.
Access for the machines
If a chipper and a truck can get to the trunk, the job is quicker. A back garden with a side gate means every branch is carried out by hand.
Dead, leaning or storm damaged
A sound tree behaves predictably. A dead or split one cannot be climbed safely, so it often needs a crane or a lift.
The stump
Removal usually means the trunk cut near ground level. Grinding the stump out is a separate job with a separate machine.
Hauling it away
Some quotes include taking the wood and brush; some leave it stacked. It is the single most common difference between two quotes on the same tree.
Species and wood
Hard, heavy, stringy wood is slower to cut and heavier to move than soft fast-growing timber.
Permits and protected trees
Some councils and some neighbourhoods need permission before a tree comes down. Ask who is handling that.
Ask every company the same six thingsThen the prices are comparable
Is the stump grinding included, or quoted separately?
Are you taking the wood and the brush away, or leaving it?
Who is responsible if something gets damaged, and can I see the certificate?
Is the quote fixed, or does it change if the job turns out harder than it looks?
How many people and what equipment are coming, and how long will you be here?
Will you need to get on the neighbour’s side, and have you asked them?
The one habit that saves the most
Get three quotes on the same written scope. Not three prices for "the tree out the back", but three prices for the same thing: trunk down, stump ground out or left, wood taken away or stacked. Most of the spread between quotes is scope, not margin.
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General information, not advice about your tree. Anything about permits, protected trees or boundaries depends on where you live, so ask the company and your local authority. We do not do tree work and we do not set anyone's prices.