Timber Value and Stumpage Calculator
Price a woodlot standing timber from Doyle scale, species stumpage and merchantable share, then subtract logging to find net value.
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Land Clearing Cost Calculator
Cost clearing acres of brush and trees by machine or hand, covering hours, debris loads, stumps, grading and price per acre.
Land Clearing Cost Calculator
Chlorova · updated for 2026
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Click “Calculate” to see your results.
Machine hours per acre and hourly rates are averaged regional figures, and real numbers depend on slope, soil moisture, rock, brush density, stump size, distance to a dump and whether the operator brings their own trailer. Hauling is priced by load, so chipping or burning debris on site can remove a large share of the total where local rules allow it. Permits, stream buffers, wetland boundaries, septic field setbacks and utility marks all change scope before price does, and none of them appear in this arithmetic.
Clearing quotes swing by ten times on the same acreage, and the reason is almost never the machine. Debris has to go somewhere, stumps decide whether the ground can be graded later, and soft soil turns a fast push into a long recovery. This calculator builds the job from hours per acre for your method, the volume of material that comes off the site, the loads that have to be hauled, and the stumps and final grading behind them, then reports price per acre so two bids can be compared honestly.
Costing a Clearing Job Before the Bid
- Choose the method you can actually get on site.
- Enter the acreage being cleared.
- Estimate trees and large stumps per acre.
- Give the debris volume each tree produces.
- Set the haul truck capacity in cubic yards.
- Enter what one load costs to dump.
- Add stump grinding or removal cost.
- Include final grading if you want lawn.
- Set the working hours in a day.
- Compare cost per acre between methods.
- Check the hauling share before you burn.
- Re run it after walking the boundaries.
Hours, Volume and the Cost of Getting Rid of It
Machine time is acres times the hours per acre that the method needs, and cost is that time at the hourly rate, so a skid steer on two acres is sixteen hours and a hand crew on the same ground is eighty. That single line explains why small machines are not automatically cheaper and why a big tract on flat open ground can fall to a dozer for less per acre.
Debris is what surprises people. Volume is tree count times the cubic yards each stem yields, and loads are that divided by truck capacity, rounded up, because a partial trip still costs a trip. Hauling then often beats the machine time in dollars. Stumps and grading are counted per unit rather than per hour, since both are priced as separate visits and both decide whether the site is usable afterwards.
Worked Example: Two Acres of Brush with a Skid Steer
- Choose skid steer, eight hours and 95 dollars each.
- Two acres therefore takes sixteen machine hours.
- Machine and labor time costs 1,520 dollars.
- At 120 stems an acre that is 240 trees.
- Debris at 1.5 cu yd each totals 360 cu yd.
- A ten cu yd truck means 36 loads off site.
- Hauling at 85 dollars a load is 3,060 dollars.
- Stumps at 10 dollars each add 2,400 dollars.
- Grading two acres at 250 is 500 dollars.
- The total lands at 7,480 dollars for now.
- Per acre that is 3,740 dollars cleared.
- Hauling alone is 40.9 percent of the bill.
Methods Compared on Time and Rate
Typical hours to clear one acre of mixed brush and the blended hourly rate an operator charges, which is rental plus fuel plus a driver rather than a machine catalog price.
| Method | Hours per acre | USD per hour | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand labor | 40 | 60 | Soft ground and selectivity |
| Skid steer | 8 | 95 | A few acres of brush |
| Excavator | 6 | 150 | Stumps and thickets |
| Dozer | 4 | 180 | Open ground, whole site |
| Feller buncher | 2 | 260 | Heavy timber at scale |
| Mulching attachment | 6 | 140 | Leaving debris on site |
Key Terms
- Clearing
- Removing vegetation and stumps to make ground usable again.
- Piling
- Stacking brush into rows to burn or rot in place.
- Cut and leave
- Felling without removal, which costs least and grades worst.
- Stumping
- Pulling or grinding the root mass below the soil surface.
- Grubbing
- Clearing roots and debris from the top layer of soil.
- Cut fill
- Soil moved off a high spot to level a low one on site.
What Operators Price and Owners Miss
- The dump is where budgets break, because a site two miles from a transfer station prices very differently from one twenty miles away, and some accept only clean wood rather than brush with dirt on the roots.
- Chipping or mulching on site converts a hauling line into a soil amendment, but only if you have a place to spread the volume, since three acres of mulch is a mountain.
- Wet ground is the reason a quoted week becomes three, and an experienced operator will decline a job in a wet season rather than explain a rutted field later.
- Ask what happens to the stumps, since leaving them lets the site look finished while your future fence posts, septic line or planting bed all fight roots for years.
- Small tracts carry the mobilization fee, which is why half an acre can cost more per acre than five, and why neighbors who clear together save real money.
Common Mistakes & Fixes
- Quoting machine hours without pricing disposal at all.
- Assuming a bulldozer is the fastest option everywhere.
- Clearing wet ground and accepting the ruts that follow.
- Forgetting stumps until fencing or planting actually starts.
- Cutting a buffer strip that the county protects by rule.
- Letting good topsoil ride away in the debris loads.
- Skipping utility and septic locating before any digging.
- Underestimating debris volume in a dense thicket site.
- Comparing bids on price rather than on written scope.
When to Reach for This
Use it when buying overgrown acreage, when a new build needs a pad and access, when a fence line or orchard is going into brushy ground, and when comparing a machine bid against doing the work yourself. Pair it with the timber value calculator to see whether what you are cutting pays for part of the job, the garden fencing calculator for the line you will build after, the landscape job pricing calculator to set your own labor rate, and the soil amendment calculator for what the cleared ground needs next.
Land Clearing Cost Calculator: Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to clear an acre?
Light brush with a compact machine commonly runs one to three thousand dollars an acre all in, while heavy timber with stumps, hauling and grading can reach five to eight thousand. Most of that spread is debris and stumps rather than trees felled, so compare two bids written on the same scope.
Is it cheaper to burn or haul the debris?
Burning removes the hauling line and often much of the stump cost, where a permit allows it and the material dries. Hauling costs per load but returns a clean site at once and avoids a fire watch and weeks of stacked piles. Many owners chip brush in place and burn only big pieces.
Should I clear stumps or cut at ground level?
Cut at ground level if the ground will stay in meadow or woods, since stumps rot slowly and harm little. Grind or pull them if you intend to grade, lay sod, plant rows, set posts or mow there for years, because removal costs far less than years of fighting roots.
Does a dozer destroy the soil?
A dozer is the fastest route to a level site on open ground, and it will also smear the surface and push topsoil off the high spots. Ask for topsoil to be stockpiled and redistributed after grading, and keep the machine off a wet site entirely.
Can I clear the land myself with a rental?
Up to a few acres of small brush, yes, and the calculator shows why: a skid steer at eight hours an acre is a long but learnable weekend. Rentals bill by day or week with delivery charges, and damage liability comes with them. Climbing, rigging or steep slopes are not rental work.
What permits and rules should I check first?
Look for wetland boundaries, stream and shoreline buffers, tree protection ordinances, burn permits, and erosion control requirements for a graded site. Utility marks come free before any digging. A cleared parcel can also lose a preferential tax assessment, so ask the assessor before the machine arrives.
Sources & Further Reading
- Land Clearing and Site Preparation Costs — University of Missouri Extension. Method selection, stumps and soil handling on small tracts.
- Best Management Practices for Erosion and Sediment Control — State conservation district guidance. Requirements that change clearing scope and sequence.
- Equipment Operating Cost Calculations — Agricult engineers reference series. Hourly ownership, fuel and operator cost in machine rates.
- Prescribed Burning and Open Burning Rules — State environmental agency fact sheets. When debris can be burned instead of hauled away.
Chlorova Gardening Team
Builds, checks and documents every tool we publish
Chlorova editorial review
Checked against extension-service publications
Formula verified against published references · Updated
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