ToolNestFree Firewood Cord Calculator
Last updated: October 31, 2026
Quick answer: Firewood is sold by a unit most buyers never measure — and that is exactly where the short delivery hides. This free firewood cord calculator does both jobs: measure a stack to find out how many full cords and face cords it really holds (including the face-cord trap, where a 'cord' turns out to be one row of 16-inch logs), and estimate how many cords you need for winter from your home size, climate, and how you burn. Everything runs in your browser; no signup, no app.
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A full cord is a stacked pile 4 ft high x 4 ft deep x 8 ft long = 128 cubic feet, including the air gaps between logs. A face cord (also called a rick) is only the front row — 4 ft high x 8 ft long — so it is NOT a full cord: at 16-inch logs it holds about 42.7 cu ft, one third of a cord. Weight ranges are rough: seasoned hardwood runs about 3,000–4,400 lb per cord, softwood about 2,200–3,500 lb, and green wood weighs much more. Measure only after stacking; a loose pile looks bigger than the cord it stacks into.
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How to Use the Firewood Cord Calculator
- Choose your mode: Measure a stack when wood is already delivered or stacked, or How much wood do I need for winter? when you are ordering ahead. The inputs switch for you.
- For a stack, measure the pile after stacking: length in feet, height in feet, and depth in inches. A standard full cord is 8 ft long, 4 ft high, and 48 in deep — but any dimensions work, because the math is length x height x depth, divided by 128.
- Set the log length for the face-cord conversion. This matters: a face cord is one 4 x 8 ft row, so 16-inch logs make a 42.7 cu ft face cord (one third of a full cord) while 24-inch logs make a 64 cu ft face cord (half a full cord). Calculators that always divide by three get the 24-inch case wrong.
- Tick loose pile only if the wood has not been stacked yet. A loose pile takes about 30% more room than the same wood stacked, so the calculator divides the loose volume by 1.3 to estimate the stacked volume — treat that number as approximate, and re-measure once stacked before paying by the cord.
- For winter need, enter the square footage you actually heat with wood (not the whole house if the stove heats two rooms), your climate, and how you burn. A primary-heat home in a cold climate needs roughly 2–3 cords per 1,000 sq ft; a mild climate needs 1–2; supplemental burning needs about 40% of the primary figure; occasional fires need about half a cord to a cord for the season.
- Enter a price per full cord if you have a quote, and press Calculate firewood. Read cords, face cords, cost, and — for stacks — the verdict on whether the pile is a full cord, short of one, or more than one. Press Copy result to take the numbers to your notes or your supplier.
Why Use Our Firewood Cord Calculator?
- Stack mode and winter mode in one page — most thin calculators do stack math only, leaving the 'how much should I order?' question to blog posts. Both answers live here.
- Face cords by actual log length — the conversion uses your log length instead of hardcoding one third, so 24-inch logs correctly come out at half a cord per face cord, not a third.
- The seller check, stated plainly — the result says whether a stack is about a full cord, short of one, or more than one, so a delivery quoted as 'one cord' can be checked with a tape measure before you pay.
- Loose-pile adjustment — a loose pile is divided by 1.3 to estimate stacked volume, with the estimate clearly labeled as approximate, because paying cord prices for loose-pile volume is the other classic overcharge.
- Cost line in both modes — enter your price per full cord and the stack cost or the winter-season cost appears beside the volume, so the quote can be compared per cord, not per truckload or per 'rick'.
- Weight range for hauling — seasoned hardwood and softwood weight ranges per cord, so a trailer or truck load can be sanity-checked before it is loaded (green wood weighs far more — do not plan a haul on seasoned numbers).
Common Use Cases
- Checking a delivery quoted as 'one cord': The truck leaves a stack 8 ft long, 4 ft high, and 16 in deep. That is 8 x 4 x (16/12) = 42.7 cu ft = 0.33 cords — one face cord, not a full cord. If you paid full-cord price, you are owed two more face cords or a two-thirds refund. Measure before the driver leaves, while the stack is still countable.
- Ordering for a 1,500 sq ft primary-heat home in a cold climate: 2–3 cords per 1,000 sq ft gives 3–4.5 cords for the season. At $300 per cord that is $900–$1,350 for the winter. Ordering 4 cords covers the middle of the range with a little spare; ordering 3 risks a mid-January top-up at peak prices.
- Comparing a face-cord quote to a full-cord quote: Seller A offers 'cords' at $140; seller B offers full cords at $320. If seller A's 'cord' is a 16-inch face cord, its full-cord equivalent is $140 x 3 = $420 — seller B is cheaper. The calculator's face-cord line exists for exactly this comparison: convert both quotes to price per full cord before choosing.
- Sizing a woodshed before the season: Four cords need 4 x 128 = 512 cu ft of stacked storage — for example, two rows 16 ft long, 4 ft high, and 4 ft deep. Measure the shed first: a shed that fits three cords cannot hold a four-cord order, and wood stored outside uncovered seasons slower and burns dirtier.
- Checking a short-bed pickup load before paying: A short-bed load stacked 6 ft long, 4 ft wide, and 2 ft high is 6 x 4 x 2 = 48 cu ft = 48 / 128 = 0.375 cords. At 16-inch logs that is 48 / 42.7 = 1.12 face cords, and at $300 per full cord the load is worth 0.375 x $300 = $112.50. If the seller charged $150 for 'half a cord,' the stack says otherwise — settle the difference before unloading, while the load is still measurable.
- Planning a four-cord seasoning stack in spring: Four cords need 4 x 128 = 512 cu ft of stacked storage. In single rows 16 ft long, 4 ft high, and 2 ft deep, each row holds 16 x 4 x 2 = 128 cu ft — exactly one cord — so four rows hold the season's wood. Stacked in April with top covers and open sides, softwood is ready by autumn and hardwood by the following winter, and the rows double as the winter's measuring stick: each row burned is one cord gone.
- Mid-winter top-up: is the remaining wood enough?: By mid-January you have burned 2.5 of 4 cords, leaving 1.5 cords, and you burn about 0.9 cords a month in steady cold. February and March need about 1.8 cords, so you are roughly 0.3 cords short — almost exactly one 16-inch face cord (0.33 cords). Ordering one face cord now, at off-peak attention rather than in a February cold snap, covers the gap without over-ordering a full cord you would store into summer.
Firewood Cord Calculator vs Alternatives
- Thin stack-only cord calculators (most of the current top 9): They divide a stack by 128 correctly, and several do it cleanly. What they do not do is winter-need planning, face cords by log length, or the loose-pile adjustment — so the buyer who needs to order, compare quotes, or check a delivery still needs three more pages. This page covers the stack, the season, the face cord, and the quote comparison in one place.
- Firewood retailer calculators: A retailer's calculator is built to sell that retailer's wood: the delivered price is the point, and the 'cord' it prices may be a face cord in disguise. This page has no wood to sell, so its cord is the 128 cu ft legal measure and its face-cord math is shown, not hidden behind a checkout button.
- Government and extension guides (county and university pages): County weights-and-measures pages and university extension guides are the most trustworthy sources for what a cord legally is — this page uses their definition (128 cu ft, NIST Handbook 130). A guide cannot do your arithmetic, though: for a 12 x 4 x 2 ft stack, or a 1,500 sq ft house in a cold climate, you still need a calculator, and this page is that calculator next to the guide.
- Tile and concrete calculators (ToolNest's companion tools): Those tools answer the material question for tile and concrete: coverage, boxes, yards, bags. If your question is firewood — cords, face cords, winter supply — this firewood calculator is the right one; if your question is tile or concrete, use those calculators.
- Firewood price indexes and state price surveys: A state average price per cord is genuinely useful context — it tells you whether a $320 quote is high or normal for your region. But an average is not your stack: it cannot measure your delivery, convert your log length, or price your winter. Use the index to judge the quote, then use this page to check the wood itself.
- Delivery apps and marketplace listings: An app or listing makes ordering easy, and a photo of a loaded truck looks reassuring. The load in the photo is still an undefined 'truckload' until someone states its stacked dimensions, and the price is usually per load, not per cord. Order through whichever channel is convenient, but convert the delivered stack to cords here before you pay.
Most firewood calculators answer one question — how many cords is this stack? This page answers that question, plus the two questions buyers actually lose money on: is this 'cord' really a cord, and how many cords should I order for winter?
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cubic feet are in a cord of wood?
Exactly 128 cubic feet, stacked: 4 ft high x 4 ft deep x 8 ft long = 128. That volume includes the air gaps between logs — a cord is a stacked volume, not 128 cubic feet of solid wood (the solid wood inside is roughly 80–90 cu ft, the rest is air). Any stack whose length x height x depth equals 128 cu ft is a cord, whatever its shape.
How many face cords are in a full cord?
It depends on log length, and that is the trap. A face cord is one row 4 ft high x 8 ft long. With 16-inch logs it holds 4 x 8 x (16/12) = 42.7 cu ft, so three face cords make a full cord. With 24-inch logs it holds 64 cu ft, so two face cords make a full cord. With 12-inch logs it holds 32 cu ft, so four make a cord. Always ask the log length before comparing a face-cord price to a full-cord price.
What is the difference between a cord, a face cord, and a rick?
A cord (full cord) is the legal stacked measure, 128 cu ft. A face cord is one 4 x 8 ft row whose depth is the log length. A rick is the same thing as a face cord in most regions — but 'rick' has no legal definition everywhere, and in some areas it means something else, so never buy by the rick without confirming the stack dimensions and the log length in writing.
How do I calculate cords from my stack?
Measure length, height, and depth in feet after stacking, multiply them for cubic feet, and divide by 128. Example: a stack 12 ft long, 4 ft high, and 2 ft deep is 96 cu ft, which is 96 / 128 = 0.75 cords. At 16-inch logs that same stack is 96 / 42.7 = 2.25 face cords. The calculator above runs both divisions, plus the loose-pile adjustment when the wood is not stacked yet.
How many cords of wood do I need for winter?
For a primary-heat home: roughly 2–3 cords per 1,000 sq ft in a cold climate, 1–2 per 1,000 sq ft in a mild climate. So a 1,500 sq ft home heated mainly with wood needs about 3–4.5 cords cold-climate or 1.5–3 cords mild-climate. Supplemental burning (wood alongside another heat source) needs about 40% of those figures; occasional fires need about 0.5–1 cord for the season. Insulation, stove efficiency, and how warm you keep the house move the real number — treat the range as an ordering starting point and round up, since leftover wood keeps for next winter.
Is a face cord a legal measurement?
In many US states it is not. Weights-and-measures rules that follow NIST Handbook 130 require firewood to be sold by the cord or a fraction of a cord, not by face cord, rick, or truckload. That is a practical protection: if a seller quotes only face cords or truckloads, ask for the stacked cubic feet (or the full-cord equivalent) before agreeing a price.
How much does a cord of firewood cost?
It varies widely by region, species, and seasoning: roughly $150–$600 per full cord in recent US pricing, with hardwood and kiln-dried wood at the top and softwood at the bottom, plus delivery fees that can add $25–$100. Compare quotes per full cord (128 cu ft), not per face cord or per load — a $120 'cord' that is really a face cord is a $360 full cord in disguise.
How much does a cord of wood weigh?
Seasoned hardwood runs roughly 3,000–4,400 lb per cord and seasoned softwood roughly 2,200–3,500 lb, depending on species and moisture. Green (unseasoned) hardwood can exceed 5,000 lb per cord because of the water still in it. That weight matters for hauling: a full cord of seasoned hardwood is more than most half-ton pickups should carry in one load — check your truck's payload rating before loading.
How long does firewood need to season before it burns well?
Split and stacked in sun and wind, most firewood needs 6–12 months to drop below 20% moisture, the level where it burns hot and clean instead of hissing and creosoting the chimney. Dense hardwoods like oak can take a full year or more; softwoods and already-split ash season faster. Seasoning happens in the stack, not in a pile: split the logs, stack them off the ground in single rows with air gaps, cover only the top, and leave the ends exposed to wind. Wood bought green in spring is usually ready the following winter; wood bought green in autumn is not.
How many cords fit in a pickup truck?
As a rule of thumb, a long-bed pickup stacked level to the rails holds roughly half a cord, and a short bed roughly a third — but measure the load, since bed sizes vary. A stack 8 ft long, 5 ft wide, and 2 ft high is 80 cu ft, which is 80 / 128 = 0.625 cords before wheel-well losses. And check payload, not just volume: half a cord of seasoned hardwood weighs roughly 1,500–2,200 lb, which exceeds many half-ton trucks' payload ratings — volume fits, weight may not.
What is a 'truckload' of firewood?
A truckload has no standard size, which is why it is a risky way to buy. One seller's truckload may be a heaped short-bed load of about a third of a cord; another's may be a stacked long-bed load of two-thirds. The same applies to a 'load' or a 'pile.' Before agreeing a price, ask for the stacked dimensions and the log length, convert them to cords with the calculator above, and compare price per full cord — the only comparison that means anything.
How should I stack firewood so it seasons fastest?
In single rows, off the ground, with the cut ends facing the prevailing wind and only the top covered. Single rows dry far faster than a deep pile because air reaches every log; pallets or rails keep the bottom row out of ground moisture; a top cover keeps rain off while open sides let wind through. A tarp draped over the whole pile traps moisture and slows seasoning — cover the top, not the sides. Crisscross the ends of each row so the stack stands on its own.
How long does a cord last when you heat with wood?
For steady primary heating, roughly three-quarters to one cord per month in a cold climate: a 1,500 sq ft home needing 3–4.5 cords for a four-month winter burns about 0.75–1.1 cords a month. Supplemental burning alongside another heat source stretches a cord much further — roughly two to three months per cord for evening fires — and an occasional fireplace may use under a cord for the whole season. Track your own burn for one month and the calculator's winter range becomes a personal rate.
Does hardwood really burn longer than softwood?
Per cord, yes; per pound, no. Dry wood of any species holds roughly the same heat per pound, but hardwood is denser, so a cord of hardwood packs more wood — and therefore more heat — into the same 128 cu ft: roughly 20–24 million BTU per cord for dense hardwoods versus roughly 13–18 million for softwoods. That is why hardwood costs more per cord and lasts longer per load, while softwood seasons faster, lights easier, and suits shoulder-season fires.