Tree Removal Service
Safe, professional tree removal — competitive bids from licensed arborists.
$300 – $2,500+
depending on tree size, location, and access
4–8 hours
average for residential properties
Post once. Local tree pros are notified the moment your job goes live and bid directly — no per-lead fees.
What Tree Removal includes
- Full tree felling and sectioning
- Limb removal and chipping
- Stump cut to grade (optional grinding available)
- Debris hauling and site cleanup
- Permit coordination where required
When you need it
- Dead, diseased, or storm-damaged tree
- Tree threatening your home, fence, or power lines
- Tree too close to a structure
- Clearing land for construction or landscaping
- HOA or municipality requirement
What to expect
- Contractors assess access, size, and hazards before quoting
- Larger trees near structures cost more due to rigging work
- Permit rules vary by jurisdiction — confirm with your local authority; many contractors will handle the paperwork once you know what applies
- Cleanup is included; confirm debris hauling is in the scope
How GivingStump works
- 1
Post your job
Describe what you need — free, takes 2 minutes
- 2
Get competing bids
Local certified arborists send proposals with pricing
- 3
Hire the best fit
Compare bids, reviews, and credentials — then choose
Why GivingStump
- Verified before you can hire
- Real reviews from real homeowners
- $0 homeowner fees — contractors pay only on wins
What tree removal actually involves
Removal is a rigging problem before it is a cutting problem. Almost everything a crew decides on site comes down to one question: where is each piece of this tree going to land, and can it simply fall, or does it have to be lowered on a rope? Two trees of identical height can be entirely different jobs because of the answer.
1.Working out whether the tree can be felled at all
Felling a tree whole is the fastest and cheapest way to take it down, and it needs a landing area at least as long as the tree is tall, clear of the house, the fence, the neighbour's shed, the septic field, the driveway and anything overhead. On most suburban lots that space does not exist. When it does not, the tree is dismantled instead — taken apart from the top down in pieces — and the job changes shape completely.
2.Getting into the tree: climb, bucket or crane
A dismantle is done by a climber working on rope and saddle, from a bucket truck, or with a crane picking sections out. Which is possible is decided by access, not preference. A tree in a back garden behind a standard side gate rules out the bucket and usually the crane, and the work goes back on rope — slower, more skilled, and priced accordingly.
3.Rigging pieces down instead of dropping them
Limbs and trunk sections above a roof, a fence, a deck or a planted bed are not dropped. They are tied off and lowered under control through a rigging block, one at a time. Rigging is the single biggest reason a tree over a house costs multiples of the same tree in open lawn: the wood volume is identical, the labour is not.
4.Brush, chipper access and where the wood goes
Branches are fed through a chipper, which has to get close enough that the crew is not dragging limbs the length of the property. Trunk wood is far heavier than most people expect and is handled separately: cut into rounds and left for you, hauled away, or occasionally milled. Which of those you are buying should be settled in the bid, not negotiated in your driveway at four in the afternoon.
5.The stump is usually a separate job
A removal normally ends with the stump cut low — flush to the ground or close to it — not gone. Taking it out below grade needs a stump grinder, which is a different machine, and it is normally a separate line item. "Removal" means different things to different companies, so ask each bidder explicitly whether the stump is included and how low they will take it.
6.What the site looks like afterwards
Expect sawdust, a compacted track where equipment ran, and some scuffing or ruts under the drop zone, more so on wet ground. A crew can rake and blow the area or do a rough clear; those are different amounts of work. Walk the site with the crew leader before they pack up and check the stump height, the debris and the cleanup against what you agreed.
What drives the price of tree removal
Removal is quoted on risk and labour hours, not on the volume of wood. That is why homeowners are so often surprised that a modest tree in a tight spot costs more than a much bigger one in an open field.
- Whether it can be felled or has to be dismantled
- A clear drop zone is the cheapest tree there is. Taking the same tree apart piece by piece over a roof can multiply the hours on site for identical wood.
- Height and trunk diameter, counted separately
- Height decides reach, rigging and how many setups the crew needs. Diameter decides how much weight is in every single cut and how much material has to leave the property. A short, very thick tree is not a small job.
- What is underneath and beside it
- A tree over the house, a neighbour's garage, a pool, a septic lid, a retaining wall or a service drop is priced for the consequence of a mistake, not for its size.
- Whether equipment can physically reach it
- Gate width, side-yard slope, soft ground, low wires and a driveway that will not carry a chip truck all decide whether this is a machine-assisted job or a hand-carried one. Measure your narrowest gate before you post — it changes bids more than almost anything else you can tell a contractor.
- What happens to the wood and brush
- Chipping brush on site is cheap. Hauling trunk rounds away means loading, extra trips, weight and disposal charges at the other end. Decide which you want before you compare bids, so you are comparing the same job.
- The condition of the tree
- A dead, hollow or storm-loaded tree is harder to remove than a healthy one, not easier. The crew has to assume the wood will fail under load, which rules out climbing it and often forces a crane or a bucket. Decay is a cost, not a discount.
- Slope, footing and time of year
- Saturated ground limits what can be driven across it and increases the damage when it is. Frozen or dry ground carries equipment better, and a leafless tree produces less brush to handle.
Before you book
- Walk the route a crew would take from the street to the tree, and measure the narrowest point — gates especially.
- Look up and note anything overhead: the service drop to your house, cable and phone lines, branches over a neighbour.
- Mark what a crew cannot see: irrigation heads, septic lid and drain field, invisible-fence wire, low-voltage lighting cable.
- Have buried utilities located before any digging or grinding is scheduled — in the US, 811 is the free call-before-you-dig service.
- Decide what you want done with the trunk wood and the brush, and say so when you post the job.
- Photograph the whole tree with something for scale, plus the base and anything close to it.
- Ask every bidder for proof of general liability and workers' compensation cover, and whether the stump is included or extra.
- Check with your local authority or HOA whether a permit applies before you schedule — the rules vary by jurisdiction and the obligation usually sits with the property owner.
On the day
- Move cars, bins, garden furniture, pots and anything fragile well clear of the tree and the driveway.
- Expect the crew to want the driveway for the chipper and the truck — they need it more than you do for the day.
- Keep children and pets indoors. A drop zone is a work area, not a viewing area.
- It is loud, and it stays loud. Warn the neighbours the day before rather than the morning of.
- Some lawn scuffing under the drop zone and equipment tracks is normal, especially on wet ground.
- Before the crew leaves, walk it with them: stump height, debris removed, wood stacked where you wanted it.
Is tree removal the right call?
Removal is the right answer when
The tree is dead or failing, the trunk is split, there is a fresh lean with soil heaving or cracking on the opposite side, decay has taken the base, or the tree is structurally in conflict with a building. Those are conditions pruning cannot fix.
Trimming is often enough when
The actual complaint is clearance or tidiness — branches on the roof, over the drive, blocking light, or a few dead limbs in an otherwise sound canopy. A healthy tree that is simply in the way is usually a pruning job.
Get a consulting arborist first when
Somebody has recommended removal and you are not sure, an insurer or a neighbour dispute is involved, or the tree matters to you. A consultation is the cheaper way to find out whether the tree has to come down — and the person doing it has no removal to sell you.
And afterwards
Removal leaves a stump. If you want to mow, plant or pave over that spot, stump grinding is the follow-up job, and it is worth asking for it in the same bid so one crew mobilises once.
Compare with stump grinding, land clearing and emergency service.
Tree Removal FAQ
How much does tree removal cost?
Most residential tree removals run $300–$2,500 depending on height, diameter, location, and access. Large trees (80+ ft) near structures can exceed $5,000. Treat any range you read online, including this one, as a rough guide — the same tree quoted in two different back gardens is genuinely two different jobs. The number that matters is what local crews bid on your tree.
Do I need a permit to remove a tree?
It depends entirely on where you live, and there is no national rule. Some places regulate trees above a certain trunk size, some regulate street trees, trees in a conservation or floodplain overlay, or trees on a slope, and plenty of places regulate nothing at all on private property. Separately, an HOA may have its own requirements. Confirm with your local authority before the crew is booked; many contractors know the local process and will help with the application, but the obligation normally sits with the property owner.
How long does tree removal take?
A typical residential removal takes 4–8 hours. Large or complex trees may require 1–2 days. How soon a crew can start is a separate question from how long the work takes, and it depends on the contractor's own schedule — ask before you accept.
Does tree removal include the stump?
Usually not in the sense homeowners mean. Standard removal ends with the stump cut low to the ground; the stump itself is still there. Grinding it out below grade needs a separate machine and is normally a separate line item. Ask each bidder to state the stump explicitly — it is the most common reason two bids that look different are actually quoting different work.
Can a tree be removed from a back garden with no truck access?
Yes, but it changes the method. Without a path wide enough for a bucket truck or a crane, the tree is climbed and dismantled on rope, and every piece is carried or dragged out by hand through whatever gap exists. That is more hours and more skill, so it costs more. The single most useful thing you can tell a bidder is the width of your narrowest gate.
What happens to the wood and the brush?
Brush is normally chipped on site. Trunk wood is either cut into rounds and left with you, hauled away, or split if that was agreed. Hauling costs more because of the weight and the disposal at the other end. If you want firewood, say so before bidding — rounds cut to a length you can handle is a request, not a default.
Will removing a tree damage my lawn?
Some marking is normal. Chippers, trucks and dragged limbs compact and scuff turf, and wet ground ruts more easily than dry. A careful crew will use plywood or mats over soft ground and will rake and blow at the end. If your lawn matters to you, raise it before the work rather than after, and consider scheduling for drier ground.
Is it cheaper to remove a tree in winter?
Sometimes, for two real reasons: firm or frozen ground carries equipment better, and a leafless tree produces far less brush to handle. Neither guarantees a lower bid — a contractor's own workload matters more than the season. Post the job and let the bids tell you.
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