Firewood vs Electric Heat Cost Calculator
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At the national average electric rate through resistance heat, firewood beats electricity by roughly 4 to 1 on cost per million BTU. Oak at $250 per cord through a 75% stove runs about $13.89 per MMBTU; resistance electric at the national average runs about $56.62 per MMBTU. If you have a heat pump, the comparison tightens significantly.
Adjust the electricKwh and woodStoveEff inputs above to see your exact numbers.
You opened a $400 winter electric bill and started wondering whether the wood stove at the hardware store would pay for itself. That's the right question. Most comparison guides give you a formula and stop there, treating all electric heat the same and ignoring the one variable that actually flips the result.
The missing piece: whether you have resistance heat or a heat pump changes the math completely. Resistance baseboard at today's rates costs about four times more per million BTU than seasoned oak through an efficient stove. A heat pump at COP 3 is a different story, and most guides never mention it.
This page uses live EIA electricity rates by state, sourced wood BTU data, and your actual stove efficiency to show you exactly where wood wins, where it's close, and when the electric heat you already have is actually the smarter call.
Ways to save on this project
Firewood sellers are competing for presale orders in spring. October and November demand spikes cord prices $30 to $60 in most markets. On 4 cords, that's $120 to $240 back in your pocket for doing the same thing two months earlier.
Order split and delivered in June, stack it split-side-out for summer drying, burn starting October. The wood is drier and cheaper.
Pine at $180 per cord delivers about 10.5 MMBTU effective at 75% stove efficiency, costing $17.14 per MMBTU. Oak at $250 per cord delivers about 18 MMBTU effective, costing $13.89 per MMBTU. Against resistance electric at $0.1932 per kWh ($56.62 per MMBTU), both species win.
But oak gets you $3.25 more per MMBTU of savings. On 4 cords per season delivering 72 MMBTU, that's roughly $234 per year more in savings from choosing oak over pine, more than offsetting the $280 price difference.
Switch the species dropdown above to compare species on your actual cordPrice. Dense hardwoods like hickory and ash are in the same tier as oak; softer species like cedar and fir sit closer to pine.
Heat Pump vs. Baseboard: The Input That Changes Everything
If you have a heat pump rather than baseboard or wall heaters, change the electric heat type input above to heat pump and enter your COP before reading further. At COP 3 and $0.1932 per kWh (the EIA national average), a heat pump delivers heat for about $18.87 per MMBTU. Oak at $250 per cord through a 75% stove delivers at $13.89 per MMBTU.
That gap still favors wood, but it's not a blowout.
At COP 3 and $0.16 per kWh, the heat pump hits $15.63 per MMBTU. Wood at $280 per cord ties it. Above that cord price, with a good heat pump at moderate electric rates, electric can win. This is the one insight every competitor on this topic misses entirely.
IRA Tax Credit: 30% Back on a New Wood Stove
EPA-certified wood stoves with at least 75% thermal efficiency qualify for the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (IRS Form 5695), worth 30% of the installed cost up to $2,000. On a $5,000 installed project, that's $1,500 back in the same tax year. It cuts your payback period roughly in half.
Ask the installer for the stove's efficiency certification before signing.
The $/MMBTU Math: Why Raw Cord Price vs. kWh Is the Wrong Comparison
A cord of oak and a kilowatt-hour of electricity are completely different units. The only fair comparison is cost per million BTU delivered into your house. One kWh carries 3,412 BTU.
Through resistance heat at $0.1932 per kWh (the EIA Electric Power Monthly national average as of August 2026), you pay $56.62 per MMBTU.
Oak at 24 million BTU per cord raw, through a 75% stove, delivers about 18 MMBTU effective. For \$250 per cord, that's $13.89 per MMBTU. The ratio at national average rates is about 4 to 1 in wood's favor against resistance electric.
Change the electricKwh input above to your state's rate and the calculator recalculates that ratio live.
Your Stove Efficiency Is More Important Than the Cord Price
An open fireplace at 15% efficiency turns oak at $250 per cord into heat at $69.44 per MMBTU. That's worse than resistance electric at the national average. An EPA-certified wood stove at 75% efficiency delivers the same cord for $13.89 per MMBTU. Same wood, same price, wildly different result.
The split: open fireplaces and old pre-EPA stoves run 10 to 25% efficiency. EPA-certified stoves run 65 to 80%. If your stove doesn't have a nameplate efficiency rating, assume 50% until you know.
Adjust the woodStoveEff slider above to see exactly how much your stove's efficiency is costing or saving you versus electric.
According to the USDA Forest Products Laboratory Wood Handbook, moisture content above 20% further cuts effective heat delivery by 20 to 30%. A 75% stove burning green wood is really performing at 50 to 60%.
Breakeven Cord Price by Electric Rate and Heat Type
The breakeven cord price is the maximum you can pay for oak and still come out ahead of electric heat. Below that price, wood saves money on every cord. Above it, you're paying more per MMBTU than your electric bill.
| Electric rate | Resistance heat (100%) | Heat pump COP 3 |
|---|---|---|
| $0.12 per kWh | $633 per cord | $211 per cord |
| $0.16 per kWh | $844 per cord | $281 per cord |
| $0.25 per kWh | $1,319 per cord | $440 per cord |
Against resistance electric, wood beats it at any realistic cord price. Against a heat pump at $0.12 to $0.16 per kWh, the breakeven falls inside the actual market range for premium cords. Our calculator shows your specific breakeven at the top of the page.
California and High-Rate States: When Wood Is an Obvious Call
EIA reports California residential electric at $0.3525 per kWh as of July 2026. Resistance heat at that rate costs $103.30 per MMBTU. Even expensive kiln-dried oak at $500 per cord through a 75% stove costs $27.78 per MMBTU. Wood is cheaper by a factor of nearly 4 at California rates.
Massachusetts sits at $0.2945 per kWh ($86.31 per MMBTU for resistance). Texas at $0.1699 per kWh ($49.79 per MMBTU) still gives wood a 3.6 to 1 advantage against resistance at $250 per cord. The state selector built into this page pulls live EIA rates so your state's current figure is always current.
When Electric Actually Wins: The Heat Pump Honest Case
At COP 3 and $0.16 per kWh, a heat pump delivers heat for $15.63 per MMBTU. Oak at $300 per cord through a 75% stove costs $16.67 per MMBTU. Those are nearly identical.
On 4 cords per season, the dollar difference is about $42 per year. That's real money but not a compelling reason to deal with firewood if you don't want to.
At COP 4, which modern cold-climate heat pumps reach in moderate temperatures, the heat pump drops to $11.72 per MMBTU at $0.16 per kWh. Below that, a good heat pump at moderate electric rates can actually beat wood on cost. This is the honest answer: if you have a high-COP heat pump and a moderate electric rate, the financial case for wood is weak.
The comfort and independence case is a separate question.
The True Cost of Free Wood
Cutting your own wood off your land costs $0 per cord in cash. It costs 5 to 10 hours per cord in splitting, hauling, and stacking. At any wage you value your time, that's a real input.
At $20 per hour opportunity cost, a cord of self-cut wood carries $100 to $200 in labor that the calculator input doesn't capture.
That doesn't mean it's not worth it. Many people find the work satisfying and the savings large enough to justify it. But comparing $0 wood to electric without accounting for the labor hours is the kind of calculation that looks great in October and regrettable in February when you're splitting in the cold.
Add your time cost per cord to the cordPrice input above to get an honest comparison.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to heat with firewood vs. electric heat?
The comparison is always in cost per million BTU delivered, not raw cord price vs. kWh price. With the EIA national average of $0.1932 per kWh through resistance heat, you pay $56.62 per MMBTU. Oak at $250 per cord through a 75% stove delivers at $13.89 per MMBTU.
That 4 to 1 ratio holds across most resistance-heat states at typical cord prices. In high-rate states like California ($0.3525 per kWh), the ratio is closer to 7 or 8 to 1.
Does a heat pump change the firewood vs. electric comparison?
Heat pumps move heat rather than generate it, so COP 3 means 3 BTUs delivered per BTU of electricity consumed. For \$0.1932 per kWh, a COP 3 heat pump costs $18.87 per MMBTU delivered. Wood at $300 per cord through a 75% stove costs $16.67 per MMBTU. Wood still wins, but by less than $50 per cord on savings.
Change the electric heat type input above to heat pump and enter your COP. If your heat pump is COP 3.5 or above and your electric rate is under $0.16 per kWh, run the numbers before assuming wood is cheaper.
At what cord price does firewood stop beating resistance electric heat?
The breakeven cord price scales with your electric rate. Against resistance heat at $0.16 per kWh, wood beats electric up to $844 per cord for oak at 75% stove efficiency. Against $0.25 per kWh rates, that breakeven is over $1,300 per cord.
Against a heat pump at COP 3 and $0.16 per kWh, the breakeven drops to about $281 per cord. Oak above $281 per cord in that scenario costs more per MMBTU than the heat pump. Our calculator shows your exact breakeven based on your inputs.
How many cords replace electric heat in a 1,500 sq ft house?
The range is wide because climate zone and house tightness matter more than square footage alone. A well-insulated 1,500 sq ft house in Zone 4 might need 2.5 to 3 cords. The same square footage in Zone 6 (northern Minnesota, northern Maine) needs 4 to 6.
Adjust the cords and electricKwh inputs above and use the wood heating cost calculator to model your specific season. Track actual kWh displaced per cord the first year and refine your order for year two.
Is a wood stove worth buying to replace electric baseboard heat?
The payback math: at $56.62 per MMBTU for resistance electric and $13.89 per MMBTU for oak at $250 per cord through a 75% stove, you save $42.73 per MMBTU. On 4 cords delivering 72 MMBTU effective, that's $3,077 in annual savings before chimney maintenance ($250 to $600 per year).
Net savings of $2,477 to $2,827 per year against a $4,000 installed stove gives a 1.4 to 1.6 year payback. The IRA 30% credit (up to $2,000) on qualifying EPA-certified stoves shortens it further. Higher cord prices or lower electric rates stretch the payback; the calculator shows your scenario.
How does moisture content affect the wood vs. electric comparison?
The EIA Biomass and Wood Energy data and USDA Wood Handbook both confirm that moisture content is the primary variable in wood's delivered heat content. Above 20% moisture, incomplete combustion also increases creosote buildup, raising your chimney cleaning frequency and cost.
A $20 to $30 moisture meter removes all guesswork. Tap the probe into a freshly split face: below 20% is ready to burn. Above 25% is green. If the seller balks at letting you check, that's your answer.
Is firewood cheaper than electric heat in California?
In California, the comparison isn't close even at the most expensive cord prices available. For \$0.3525 per kWh resistance, you pay $103.30 per MMBTU. Oak at $500 per cord (top of the premium kiln-dried market) through a 75% stove costs $27.78 per MMBTU.
Against a California heat pump at COP 3, the cost drops to $34.43 per MMBTU, still well above even premium wood. The state selector on this page pulls live EIA rates for California and all other states.
Can I calculate my kWh savings from switching to firewood?
The most useful input is last year's winter electric bill, specifically the kWh used from November through March. Your utility's monthly bill shows kWh consumed. Enter that total into the electricKwh baseline input, then enter your planned cord count and cord price.
Track actual cords burned the first season and compare to the estimate. Stove output, house tightness, and how cold the winter runs all shift the real number. Year two estimates are usually within 10% of actual if you measured year one.
Content Sources
- EIA Electric Power Monthly (as of August 2026)
- EIA Biomass/Wood Energy (as of 2026)
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory Wood Handbook (as of 2021)