Free Firewood Cord Calculator - Volume to Cords
Calculate how many cords of firewood you have from a log or stack volume. Standard cord = 128 cubic feet.
Enter the stack length, height, and depth to get the volume in cords.
A firewood stack can look generous and still come up short once you measure it. The Firewood Cord Calculator turns the three dimensions you can check with a tape measure - stack length, stack height, and stack depth - into cubic feet and full-cord equivalents. That matters when you are comparing sellers, planning winter storage, checking a delivery, or deciding whether a pile from tree work is enough to bother splitting.
The core standard is simple: one cord of firewood is 128 cubic feet of ranked and well-stowed wood, bark, and air space. NIST’s current unit tables list 1 cord of firewood as exactly 128 cubic feet, and state weights-and-measures agencies use the same idea when they tell consumers to stack, measure, and verify a delivery. The calculator does that arithmetic cleanly so the hard part is not the math. The hard part is measuring the pile honestly.
This calculator measures stacked volume, not the solid wood volume inside every split. A cord is a space measurement: the stack includes the logs, bark, odd shapes, and the air gaps between pieces. That is why a tidy 4 ft by 8 ft by 4 ft stack can be a full cord even though it does not contain 128 cubic feet of solid wood.
Use the calculator for rectangular stacks, rows of split wood, woodshed bays, trailer loads that have been restacked, and face-cord comparisons where you know the log length. It is also useful when you have several smaller stacks and want to add them into one total. Measure each stack separately, calculate the cord amount for each one, then add the results.
Do not use it as a legal guarantee for an unstacked heap, a loosely dumped truck bed, or a pile with mixed lengths and big voids unless you first restack or apply a conservative adjustment. The result is only as good as the dimensions you enter.
A standard cord is often pictured as 4 feet high, 8 feet long, and 4 feet deep. That layout is easy to remember because 4 x 8 x 4 = 128 cubic feet. But the official concept is volume, not that one exact shape. A stack that is 2 feet deep, 4 feet high, and 16 feet long is also 128 cubic feet. So is a woodshed bay that is 8 feet wide, 4 feet high, and 4 feet deep.
Weights-and-measures agencies care about the volume because firewood is commonly sold by quantity. California’s Division of Measurement Standards says bulk firewood is sold by the cord and that a cord must equal 128 cubic feet. New Mexico’s Department of Agriculture gives the same consumer-facing rule: firewood must be advertised and sold by the cord or fraction of a cord, and a cord is legally defined as 128 cubic feet of wood.
This is why vague units create trouble. “Truckload,” “pile,” “rack,” and “load” can be useful casual words, but they are not enough for a fair comparison unless the seller also gives dimensions or a cord fraction.
The calculator uses two steps:
If your stack is 8 feet long, 4 feet high, and 4 feet deep, the volume is 128 cubic feet. Divide 128 by 128 and the result is 1.00 cord. If your stack is 8 feet long, 4 feet high, and 16 inches deep, convert 16 inches to 1.33 feet first. The volume is 8 x 4 x 1.33 = 42.7 cubic feet, which is about 0.33 cord.
The tool rounds to the nearest 0.05 cord so the result is easier to use for pricing and planning. That rounding is practical, but keep the unrounded logic in mind when money is involved. A difference of 0.05 cord is 6.4 cubic feet, which is not huge, but it is still several armloads of wood.
Measure in feet whenever possible. If your tape is in inches, divide inches by 12 before entering the number. A 16-inch log length is 1.33 feet. An 18-inch log length is 1.5 feet. A 24-inch log length is 2 feet.
For length, measure the horizontal run of the stack from one end to the other. For height, measure the average height, not the highest corner. For depth, measure the length of the firewood pieces from front to back. If the stack has two rows of 16-inch pieces, the depth is about 32 inches, or 2.67 feet.
If the stack is uneven, take several measurements and average them. For example, a pile that is 3.5 feet high at one end, 4 feet high in the middle, and 3 feet high at the other end has an average height of 3.5 feet. The calculator will give a more realistic answer from that average than from the best-looking point in the pile.
Suppose you have a neat stack along a fence:
The stack volume is 16 x 4 x 2 = 128 cubic feet. Divide by 128 and the result is 1.00 cord.
This surprises some buyers because the stack is not 4 feet deep. It still totals a cord because the length is doubled. A cord can be long and shallow, short and deep, or split across several racks. The only thing the calculator needs is total stacked volume.
If that same 16-foot run were only 18 inches deep, the calculation changes. Eighteen inches is 1.5 feet, so the volume is 16 x 4 x 1.5 = 96 cubic feet. Divide 96 by 128 and the result is 0.75 cord. The stack still looks large, but it is three-quarters of a cord, not a full cord.
A face cord is usually one row of firewood, often 4 feet high and 8 feet long, with depth equal to the log length. The problem is that the log length changes the quantity. A one-row stack of 16-inch pieces is not the same amount of wood as a one-row stack of 24-inch pieces.
Here is the math for a common 16-inch face cord:
The volume is 8 x 4 x 1.33 = 42.7 cubic feet. Divide that by 128 and the result is 0.33 cord. In other words, three 16-inch face cords make roughly one full cord.
Now change only the depth. If the logs are 24 inches long, the depth is 2 feet. The volume is 8 x 4 x 2 = 64 cubic feet, which is 0.50 cord. That is why “face cord” and “rick” need dimensions attached. The words alone do not tell you the cord fraction.
Imagine a seller delivers what was advertised as two cords. You restack it into two rows along a shed wall. Each row is 20 feet long, 4 feet high, and 18 inches deep.
Convert 18 inches to 1.5 feet. One row is 20 x 4 x 1.5 = 120 cubic feet. Two rows are 240 cubic feet. Divide 240 by 128 and the result is 1.875 cords, which rounds to 1.90 cords in the tool.
That is close to two cords, but not exactly two. Whether that difference matters depends on the purchase agreement, local rules, stacking tightness, and whether the seller promised exactly two cords or an approximate load. The practical lesson is to measure after stacking, not while the wood is still thrown in a truck bed.
Thrown firewood takes up more apparent space than ranked firewood because the gaps are larger. Some states publish specific thrown-volume equivalents for cut or split wood. Minnesota, for example, says one cord has a legal definition of 128 cubic feet in four-foot lengths, but its consumer page also lists larger volumes for sawed or split wood when thrown loosely into a truck.
That does not mean every loose pile has the same conversion factor. Log length, split size, crookedness, bark, and how the pile was dumped all change the void space. If you are checking a delivery, the cleanest method is to stack the wood and measure the ranked dimensions. If you cannot stack it yet, treat a loose-pile result as a rough screening number, not a settlement number.
For irregular stacks, break the pile into simpler rectangles. Calculate the main block first, then calculate the short end, low section, or half-filled bay separately. Add the volumes before dividing by 128. This is slower than pretending the whole pile is one perfect box, but it avoids overcounting empty air.
A cord is not a solid cube of wood. Virginia Tech’s forest measurement guide notes that when wood is stacked into cords, air space remains between pieces and an actual cord generally contains 80 to 90 cubic feet of wood. The exact number depends on how straight, round, split, and tightly ranked the pieces are.
This is why two equal-volume cords can feel different. A tight stack of straight, split hardwood may contain more actual wood than a loose stack of crooked rounds. A stack of small splits may pack differently from a stack of large quartered pieces. A pile with many short odd pieces may have more gaps.
The calculator does not estimate solid wood content. It estimates cord volume. That is the right unit for buying and selling firewood, but it is not the same as estimating heat output, weight, or the exact number of logs.
Seasoning changes firewood weight and burn performance, but it does not change the legal stacked-volume idea. A wet cord and a dry cord can both measure 128 cubic feet. The wet cord is heavier because it contains more water, while the dry cord is usually more useful for heating.
EPA’s Burn Wise guidance says wood burns best at a moisture content of less than 20 percent, and it recommends seasoning wood for at least six months, storing it outdoors and off the ground, and covering only the top so the sides can dry. Utah State University Extension makes the same practical point: green firewood may contain 50 percent or more water by weight, produces less heat because energy is used to boil off water, and creates more smoke and creosote than dry wood during burning.
So use the cord calculator to answer “how much volume do I have?” Use a moisture meter, burn history, species, and storage notes to answer “how ready is it?”
The same cord volume can deliver different heat depending on species and moisture. Dense hardwoods generally provide more heat per cord than lower-density softwoods when both are properly dried. Penn State Extension’s heating-with-wood tables compare the energy value of air-dried cords of common northeastern hardwoods and assume about 20 percent moisture.
That species difference matters when you are buying for home heat. One cord of oak, hickory, or hard maple is not the same heating reserve as one cord of pine or poplar. The cord calculator will say both stacks are the same size if their dimensions match, but the wood stove will not treat them as identical.
For heat planning, pair this page with the /tools/firewood-btu-calculator/. Use this calculator first to get the cord amount, then use the BTU tool to think about species, moisture, and expected heat value.
Ask for the price per cord or per clearly stated fraction of a cord. If the seller uses “face cord,” “rick,” “rack,” or “truckload,” ask for length, height, and depth. A useful answer sounds like “4 feet high by 8 feet long by 16 inches deep” or “0.33 cord,” not just “a good-size load.”
Ask whether the wood is ranked and measured after stacking or estimated from a thrown load. Ask about log length, species mix, seasoning, delivery fee, stacking fee, and whether the invoice states the quantity delivered. Minnesota’s Department of Agriculture lists bulk firewood delivery-ticket requirements such as seller details, delivery date, quantity, and type of wood for bulk firewood sales, which is a useful model even outside Minnesota.
When the wood arrives, stack one section neatly and measure it. You do not need to accuse anyone to protect yourself. A quick measurement gives both buyer and seller a shared reference point.
A full cord is a large amount of material. Before ordering, check whether your storage area can hold the volume you want while still leaving airflow around the stack. For example, a rack that is 8 feet long, 4 feet high, and 16 inches deep holds about one-third of a cord. To store two full cords in that format, you would need about six of those rack sections.
Keep wood off the soil if possible. Ground contact slows drying, invites decay, and makes the bottom layer harder to burn cleanly. Leave space behind the stack when it sits against a wall or fence, and avoid sealing the sides with tarps. Top-covering protects from rain, but side-covering can trap moisture.
Storage planning is also a safety issue. Heavy stacks need stable support, especially near walkways, children, pets, and vehicles. If you are building a tall woodshed bay, think about how the stack will lean as pieces settle and as you remove wood through the season.
Firewood can move insects and pathogens. USDA’s National Invasive Species Information Center describes firewood movement as a major pathway for introducing invasive pests into new ecosystems, with pests able to hide in firewood and move to uninfested areas when the wood is transported to new places. USDA APHIS gives the practical version of the rule: do not move firewood; buy or use firewood close to where you will burn it when camping.
The calculator can tell you how much wood is in the stack. It cannot tell you whether that wood is legal to move across a county line, state line, quarantine boundary, campground rule, or park boundary. Check local restrictions before hauling firewood, especially ash, oak, and mixed hardwood from areas with known pest issues.
The biggest mistake is leaving inches in the depth field when the calculator expects feet. Sixteen inches is not 16 feet; it is 1.33 feet. That single error turns a one-third cord face stack into a wildly inflated number.
The second mistake is measuring the outside shape of a messy pile and treating it like a tight stack. If the wood is not ranked, the bounding box includes extra void space. Restack before making a claim about cords.
The third mistake is using the tallest point. Firewood stacks settle, lean, and taper. If the height varies, average several points. If one end is thin, calculate it separately. If the top is rounded, do not count the empty corners as full volume.
The fourth mistake is confusing cord volume with winter supply. A cord tells you how much stacked firewood you have. It does not automatically tell you how long it will last. Stove efficiency, house insulation, weather, species, moisture, and how often you burn all change the answer.
The result is reliable when the wood is stacked in regular rows, the pieces are roughly parallel, the dimensions are measured in feet, and you use average height for uneven sections. It is especially reliable for checking your own woodshed, comparing two quoted stack sizes, or planning how much space you need before a delivery.
The result is less reliable when the pile is thrown, the stack is loosely arranged, the pieces vary dramatically in length, or the quantity is being used for a dispute. In those cases, use the calculator as a starting point and then rely on local weights-and-measures rules, restacking, written invoices, and professional judgment where needed.
If you are estimating wood from tree work, remember that logs and rounds do not automatically become cordwood. Cutting, splitting, drying, stacking, bark loss, rot, unusable crotches, and handling waste all affect the final usable pile.
Use the Firewood Cord Calculator for volume first. If the goal is heat planning, move next to the /tools/firewood-btu-calculator/ so species and moisture are part of the decision. If the wood came from a tree on your property, the /tools/tree-diameter-calculator/, /tools/tree-height-calculator/, and /tools/tree-removal-cost-calculator/ can help frame the broader project.
If you are deciding whether a tree should become firewood, lumber, mulch, or habitat, compare the firewood result with tree-value tools such as /tools/oak-tree-value/, /tools/hickory-tree-value/, /tools/pine-tree-value/, or /tools/tree-value-calculator/. A cord estimate is useful, but it is only one part of the decision.
A cord calculation is simple, but a fair firewood estimate depends on careful measuring. Measure length, average height, and depth in feet. Multiply them to get cubic feet. Divide by 128 to get cords. Convert inches before entering depth, restack loose loads before judging quantity, and keep face-cord or rick terms tied to actual dimensions.
Use the Firewood Cord Calculator as a practical check on volume, not as a complete judgment of value. A cord tells you the size of the stack. Species, moisture, storage, local rules, and seller transparency tell you whether that stack is worth buying, burning, storing, or moving.
This Firewood Cord Calculator was researched and written by . Logic, safety notes, and result copy for Firewood Cord are reviewed against LeafyPixels plant-care data, extension references, and veterinary toxicity sources where pet safety is involved.
We prioritize sources that hold up under scrutiny:
The LeafyPixels editorial team then reviews the draft for clarity, step-by-step usefulness, and fit with real apartment and home conditions-not ideal greenhouse setups. When guidance changes materially, we update the page and note the revision date.
Stack volume (cu ft) = length x width x height. Cords = Stack volume / 128. The 128 cu ft per cord is the standard set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and used by all US states for firewood sales. The result is rounded to the nearest 0.05 cord. For a thrown (un-stacked) pile, multiply the bounding box by 0.5 to 0.7 to account for air gaps and irregular packing. For a stack with logs longer than 24 inches, the depth of the stack will be the log length, and the resulting cord count should be interpreted as a face cord if the depth is less than 48 inches.
The long-form review for this page covers Firewood Cord Calculator. Its bottom source list includes 11 external citations pulled from the long-form guide, then deduplicated with the tool’s frontmatter sources.
A standard cord of firewood is 128 cubic feet - typically a stack 4 feet tall, 8 feet long, and 4 feet deep. The volume includes the air space between the logs, so a cord of split hardwood actually contains about 85 cubic feet of solid wood. The standard cord is the legal unit of sale in most US states, defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. A ‘face cord’ or ‘rick’ is one row of stacked wood, typically 4 ft tall by 8 ft long, with a depth equal to the log length (16, 18, or 24 inches). A face cord is 1/3 to 1/2 of a full cord depending on log length.
A cord of seasoned hardwood (oak, hickory, maple) weighs 2,500 to 3,500 pounds. A cord of softwood (pine, spruce, fir) weighs 1,500 to 2,000 pounds. The weight varies with species, moisture content, and how tightly the wood is stacked. A cord of green (unseasoned) wood weighs 20 to 50 percent more than the same wood seasoned to 20 percent moisture. For heating calculations, a cord of seasoned hardwood contains about 20 to 25 million BTU of heat energy.
Firewood needs 6 to 12 months of air drying to season properly. Hardwoods (oak, hickory) take 9 to 12 months; softwoods (pine, spruce) take 4 to 6 months. The wood is ready when the moisture content is below 20 percent, which you can measure with a moisture meter ($20 to $50). Season the wood split and stacked in a single row (not solid pile) with the bark up, in a sunny, breezy location. Cover the top to keep rain off but leave the sides open for air circulation. Properly seasoned wood is much easier to light, burns hotter, and produces less creosote in the chimney.
It depends on climate, house size, and stove efficiency. A typical 2,000 sq ft home in a cold climate (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maine) needs 3 to 5 cords of seasoned hardwood per heating season. A mild climate (Carolinas, Pacific Northwest) needs 1 to 2 cords. A very cold climate (upper New England, upper Midwest) needs 5 to 8 cords. A modern EPA-certified wood stove burns 30 to 50 percent more efficiently than an open fireplace, so it uses less wood for the same heat output. The BTU calculator can give you a more precise estimate.
A cord of seasoned hardwood delivered costs $200 to $500 in most US regions, with prices higher in urban areas and the Northeast. Softwood is typically 20 to 30 percent cheaper. Premium species (oak, hickory, black locust) command higher prices than common hardwoods (maple, beech, birch). Firewood prices typically double in winter (peak heating season) compared to summer. Buying in spring or summer and storing for the next winter saves 30 to 50 percent. Avoid buying ‘a load’ or ‘a truck bed’ without specifying the cord measurement - these are often short cords.
A full cord is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood (4 x 4 x 8 feet). A face cord (also called a rick) is 1/3 of a full cord - 4 feet tall, 8 feet long, but only 16 inches deep (one log length). A face cord is 1/3 of a full cord if the logs are 16 inches long, 1/2 if they are 24 inches long, and so on. Many firewood sellers price and deliver by the face cord because it is what fits in a standard pickup truck or small trailer. Always clarify whether the price is per full cord or per face cord before buying.
Measure the length, height, and depth (the average depth of the split pieces) of the stack in feet. Multiply the three together to get the cubic feet. Divide by 128 to get full cords. For a stacked pile that is not a perfect rectangle, average the dimensions (e.g. if the height varies from 3 to 4 feet, use 3.5 feet as the average height). For a thrown pile (not stacked), the actual volume is 30 to 50 percent less than the bounding box, so estimate the bounding box and multiply by 0.5 to 0.7.