Why two identical trees cost differently

The fifteen-metre pine in the middle of the lawn and its twin wedged between the house, the fence and the power line are the same tree for a botanist — and two very distant quotes for whoever has to remove them. The first one falls whole: directional cuts, one controlled crash, the crew works from the ground. The second one cannot fall: it is dismantled from the top piece by piece, every log slung and lowered on ropes so as not to touch what sits below. The difference is not the metres: it is where they land.

This calculator breaks the quote into its items — the metre of height, the surcharge for access and targets, the stump, the call-out — and summarises it in a dimensionless index: how many times the real bill exceeds the "metre bill" everyone estimates by eye.

The formula: metre, conditions, stump, call-out

The total cost is C = B + h·r·(1+a/100) + S: the base call-out and set-up cost, plus the height times the per-metre rate surcharged for the conditions, plus the stump grinding. The escalation index is ρ = C/(h·r): at ρ = 1.5 the metre explains two thirds of the bill, at ρ = 3 it explains one third — the rest is everything the height does not tell.

Every item has its source: the rate from the contractor's quote (crew, chainsaws, chipper, basic brushwood disposal), the surcharge from the survey, stump and base as explicit lines — and that is exactly how they should be requested.

The height scale: the small tree out of proportion

The table keeps rate and conditions fixed — 40 per metre, 50% surcharge, stump 150, base 200 — and moves only the height: different trees, same garden.

The effective-metre column falls as the tree grows: the 5-metre plum pays 130 per metre, the 40-metre poplar pays 69. Call-out, set-up and stump cost almost the same for both — and on the small tree they have no metres to dilute into. That is why the "absurd" quote for the small tree is usually just arithmetic.

A complete numerical example

With the reference values — 15 metres, 40 per metre, 50% surcharge for the residential garden, stump 150, base 200 — the total is 200 + 900 + 150 = 1,250. The metre-only bill would be 600: the index is 2.08, and the conditions weigh 52% of the price. It is the typical profile of a domestic removal: more than half the bill does not depend on the tree, but on where it stands.

How to read the escalation index

Below 1.4 the bill is anchored to the metre: open field, free fall, marginal conditions. Between 1.4 and 2.2 the escalation is physiological: the real garden, with something to protect. Between 2.2 and 3.5 the metre explains little: it is in the conditions that quotes diverge — and that is where they must be compared, item by item. From 3.5 upwards the metre hardly matters: a small tree with dominant fixed items, or a complex operation — in both cases, comparing against a hearsay "per-metre rate" no longer makes sense.

The surcharge: the tree that cannot fall

The heaviest item in the bill is also the least visible in the garden: what sits under the canopy. In an open field the surcharge is zero; with flowerbeds and fences you climb to 25-50%; when the roof, the neighbour's car or a power line sits below, the tree must be dismantled piece by piece — climbing or platform, ropes, pulleys, every log slung and lowered — and the surcharge doubles the bill or more. Power lines add a chapter of their own: safety distances, coordination with the utility, sometimes a temporary shutdown. The right question at the survey is not "how tall is it?" but "where do we put it down?".

The stump: the appendix that surprises

The removal ends at the collar: the stump is a separate job, with a separate machine — the grinder — and a separate line. Grinding shreds the stump 20-30 cm below grade, enough to reseed the lawn or pave; digging out the roots for new construction is yet another site (often real excavation). Many postpone it "to save money" and end up with dead-wood fungus, resprouting suckers and an obstacle in the lawn for ten years: if the plan is to remove it, doing it while the crew is already on site costs less than calling them back.

International perspective: same items, different permits

The structure of the bill is the same everywhere — metre, conditions, stump, call-out — and so is the professional figure: the certified arborist (ISA certifications are the global reference) with dedicated insurance. What really changes is the permit: many cities require authorisations for trees above certain sizes, the United Kingdom has Tree Preservation Orders, elsewhere municipal green regulations decide — and felling without title costs fines that exceed the quote. The calculator is parametric on rates and items: enter your market's numbers and the index reads the same everywhere.

Model limits and correct use

The bill covers the planned removal of a single tree: it does not include emergencies (the tree fallen on the house has its own prices and insurances), complete root removal, transport of valuable timber, nor jobs that need a crane — for those the crane hire cost calculator adds its item with the same fixed-plus-meter logic. And no index replaces the survey: the right surcharge is decided by whoever looks at the tree, the canopy and what sits under it. With the bill broken down, though, you know where quotes diverge — and which questions to ask before signing.

The surcharge scale: from open field to forced rigging

The first table keeps the reference tree fixed — 15 metres, 40 per metre, stump and base unchanged — and moves only the conditions: the same trunk, different contexts.

From open field to full rigging the bill rises by 95% without the tree changing by a single branch. And it is the least negotiable item in the quote: the surcharge does not pay greed, it pays hours on ropes, one more climber on the ground and the liability for what sits below.

The useful reading for whoever plants today: the removal cost thirty years from now is decided right now, with the distance from the house — the right tree in the right place is the biggest discount that exists on this quote.

The stump scale: the appendix in numbers

The second table keeps the removal fixed and moves only the stump item: from giving up to the deep grinding of a monumental stump.

The last row touches an exact 3.50 — the border beyond which the metre no longer tells the quote: the monumental stump can cost as much as half the removal. And it is the item with the highest variance between firms, because it depends on a machine not all of them own: whoever lacks the grinder subcontracts, and the markup shows.

The zero row deserves a note: "it stays there" is not free — it is a deferred payment in resprouting suckers, dead-wood fungi and an obstacle in the lawn, often settled years later by calling a crew back on purpose.

Piece-by-piece rigging: how the crew actually works

When the tree cannot fall, the removal becomes a job of ropes and geometry. The climber goes up with spikes and harness (or from a platform), picks the anchors, and every section is cut already tied: the pulley brakes it, the ground man guides it, the piece lands where it must. The sections are short — shorter than a layman imagines — because weight rules: one metre of oak trunk 60 cm across weighs over two hundred kilos.

In extreme cases the crane steps in: sections hooked and set down beyond the house, with the crane operator and the climber working as a pair. It costs, but on certain trees it is faster and safer than a hundred lowerings — and it is where this quote meets the crane-hire one.

It is also why the surcharge cannot be improvised over the phone: without seeing canopy, anchors and targets, no serious number — distrust the precise quote given on a single photo.

Safety and insurance: the items you do not see

Tree removal is among the most dangerous jobs there are, and the invisible items in the quote serve exactly that: a trained crew, work-at-height PPE, insurance covering third-party damage — the neighbour's roof, the car in the street, the severed line. The quote noticeably lower than the others has usually cut precisely there.

The check costs two questions: who answers if something goes wrong, and with what ceiling? The written answer is worth more than any reference — and the serious firm gives it gladly, because it is its best argument against the uncovered competitor.

The mirror rule for the client: never let anyone work at height who arrives "by word of mouth" without coverage — because uncovered damage, in many legal systems, climbs back to whoever commissioned the job.

The client's typical errors

The first: comparing quotes on the total alone. Two equal totals can hide a stump included and one excluded, brushwood hauled away and brushwood left at the kerb — the broken-down bill is the only honest comparison.

The second: waiting for the storm. The compromised tree flagged by a report costs X as planned work; the same tree fallen across the fence in an emergency costs multiples — with the insurer arguing whether the failure was foreseeable.

The third: forgetting permit and brushwood. The missing permit turns the saving into a fine; the brushwood not agreed upon stays in the garden — "disposal included" must be written, with the destination: chipped on site, stacked as firewood or hauled away.

From the number to the decision: remove, prune or monitor

Removal is the last option on a ladder that has three. Monitor: the healthy tree in a delicate position is watched with a periodic report — it costs a fraction and postpones everything. Prune: crown reduction removes weight and wind grip, and often buys ten years — but repeated drastic pruning weakens the tree and prepares exactly the removal it wanted to avoid. Remove: when the report says extensive decay, compromised roots or progressive leaning, postponing is not prudence — it is just moving the job into the emergency column.

And once the decision is made, the last lever is bundling: several trees in the same call-out spread base and set-up — the same fixed-cost arithmetic seen in the table, used this time in your favour.

The calculator serves all three paths: simulate today's removal, the postponed one with the worsened tree's surcharge, and the bundled package — the three numbers, side by side, decide better than any opinion.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to remove a tree?

It hangs on four items, not on the metres alone: at the calculator reference — 15 metres, 40 per metre, 50% residential-garden surcharge, stump 150, base 200 — the total is 1,250 against 600 for the height bill alone. The escalation index (2.08) says how much the quote depends on the conditions.

Why does the quote exceed the per-metre rate so much?

Because the metre tells the tree and not the site: call-out and set-up, surcharge for access and targets, stump. In the reference the conditions weigh 52% of the price — and for the tree dismantled piece by piece above a roof they largely exceed the height item.

What is the escalation index?

The ratio between the complete quote and the metre-only bill (height × rate). At 1.4 the metre explains almost everything; at 3.5 almost nothing. It is dimensionless — it works in any currency — and it orders the comparison: when two quotes diverge, they almost always diverge on the conditions, not on the rate.

When must a tree be dismantled piece by piece?

When it has no room to fall: buildings, cars, fences or lines under the canopy. The crew works by climbing or from a platform, every log is slung and lowered on ropes — time and team double, and that is the calculator surcharge from 100% up. Power lines add safety distances and coordination with the utility.

Is stump removal included?

Almost never: the removal ends at the collar and grinding is a separate line, with a separate machine. Grinding takes the stump 20-30 cm below grade — enough for lawn or paving; full root extraction for construction is another site altogether. Doing it while the crew is already there costs less than calling them back.

Do I need a permit to fell a tree?

Often yes: many cities require authorisations above certain sizes or for protected species, the United Kingdom has Tree Preservation Orders, elsewhere municipal green regulations decide. Felling without title can cost fines above the quote: check before calling the crew.

What does the per-metre rate include?

In the model: crew, chainsaws, chipper and basic brushwood disposal. Valuable logs, firewood stacked on request or special transports are extras. It is the most comparable item between quotes — which is why the cunning keep it low and load the conditions: the broken-down bill unmasks them.

Why does the small tree cost so much per metre?

Because call-out, set-up and stump cost almost the same for 5 or 40 metres: in the calculator the 5-metre plum pays an effective 130 per metre against 69 for the 40-metre poplar. Below a certain size the bill does not measure the tree: it measures the site it needs around it.

Can I fell it myself?

Only the textbook case: small tree, open field, no target within the falling radius, chainsaw experience and full protection. Everything else — heights, dismantling, proximity to structures or lines — is work for a qualified, insured crew: the physics of a two-hundred-kilo log gives no second chances.

Who pays when the tree is on the boundary or dangerous?

It depends on the jurisdiction: in general the tree belongs to whoever owns the ground it stands on, maintenance falls to the owner, and a documented hazard (an arborist report) can oblige them to act. Branches and roots over the boundary follow local rules. The written report is the basis of any discussion — and often unlocks it.

Does the calculator work outside Europe too?

Yes: metre, conditions, stump and call-out are the same items everywhere, and so is the reference figure — the certified arborist, with ISA certifications as the global standard. Rates and permits change: all the items are parametric precisely to reproduce your market, and the index reads the same.

Does this calculation replace the survey?

No: the right surcharge is decided by whoever looks at the tree, the canopy, the targets and the access — and only the survey reveals the dead wood, the decay or the leanings that change the work plan. It is the tool for understanding the quote, comparing two offers item by item and asking the right questions: where do we put it down, who is insured, who grinds the stump.

Updated July 2026