Firewood BTU Chart: Heat Output by Species
Not all cords are equal. A cord of hickory holds nearly twice the heat of a cord of aspen, which changes how many cords you buy, what you pay per unit of heat, and how often you reload the stove.
Firewood heat content ranges from 14.7 million BTU per cord for aspen to 27.7 million for hickory. Dense hardwoods like oak, hickory, and maple deliver 24 to 28 million BTU per cord, while softwoods like pine deliver 15 to 21 million. One cord of red oak holds about as much heat as 178 gallons of fuel oil at full efficiency.
The short answer: density is heat
Heat content follows wood density almost exactly. Dense hardwoods pack more fiber into the same 128 cubic feet, so they hold more heat: hickory tops the chart at 27.7 million BTU per cord, while light aspen trails at 14.7 million. Everything else falls on the line between. Moisture matters too: green wood wastes heat boiling off its own water, so these numbers assume seasoned wood under 20 percent moisture.
Firewood BTU chart (million BTU per seasoned cord)
Hickory (shagbark): 27.7. The hottest common firewood.
White oak: 26.4.
Beech: 24.5.
Red oak: 24.6.
Sugar maple: 24.0.
White ash: 24.2.
Red maple: 18.7.
Black cherry: 20.0.
Black walnut: 19.9.
Douglas fir: 20.7. The best of the softwoods.
Pine (white): 15.9.
Aspen: 14.7.
Note the clustering: the top hardwoods sit within a few million BTU of each other, so do not overpay for a "premium" species when plain red oak is within 10 percent of hickory.
What a cord means in oil gallons
A gallon of fuel oil holds about 138,500 BTU. Divide the cord's BTU by that: 24,600,000 / 138,500 = about 178 gallons of oil per cord of red oak at perfect efficiency. Real stoves are not perfect. With an 80 percent efficient wood stove and an 85 percent efficient oil furnace, the apples-to-apples number is 24,600,000 x 0.80 / (138,500 x 0.85) = about 167 gallons of oil displaced per cord. At $3.50 per gallon of oil, that cord is worth about $585 in avoided oil, which is why a $330 cord of oak is usually a bargain.
How many cords heat a house for a winter?
A typical US home needs 60 to 100 million BTU per heating season. Take 80 million as a working number. With red oak at 24.6 million BTU per cord and an 80 percent stove: 80,000,000 / (24,600,000 x 0.80) = 4.07 cords. With pine at 15.9 million: 80,000,000 / (15,900,000 x 0.80) = 6.29 cords. The pine costs less per cord but you burn half again as much of it, reload the stove more often, and store a bigger stack. Price per cord is the wrong metric; price per million BTU is the right one.
Price per unit of heat
Divide the cord price by its BTU to find the real bargain. A $330 cord of red oak: $330 / 24.6 = $13.41 per million BTU. A $200 cord of pine: $200 / 15.9 = $12.58 per million BTU. The pine is slightly cheaper per unit of heat here, but only if you ignore the extra handling, storage, and reloads. When oak is under about 1.55 times the pine price, the oak usually wins on total cost of effort.
Picking species
Burn what is local and seasoned; species is a second-order decision. Oak, hickory, maple, and ash are the gold standard for overnight burns and steady heat. Pine and fir are fine for shoulder season and quick fires: they light fast, dry fast, and cost less, just keep the flue clean because resinous wood makes more creosote. Avoid burning construction lumber, painted wood, or pressure-treated wood: the chemicals in them are genuinely hazardous in a home stove.
Skip the arithmetic
Planning how many cords to buy for winter? Start with the volume math. Our free calculator converts any stack to exact cords so your BTU planning rests on real measurements.
Firewood BTU questions
What firewood gives the most heat?
Shagbark hickory, at 27.7 million BTU per seasoned cord, is the hottest common North American firewood. White oak (26.4M) and beech (24.5M) are close behind. The differences among top hardwoods are small, so buy whichever dense hardwood is seasoned and local.
Is oak or pine better for firewood?
Oak holds about 1.66 times the heat of pine per cord (26.4M vs 15.9M BTU), burns longer, and coals better for overnight heat. Pine lights faster, dries in months instead of a year, and costs less. Many burners use pine for fall and spring and oak for deep winter.
How many BTU do I need to heat my house?
A typical US home needs 60 to 100 million BTU per heating season, depending on climate, insulation, and house size. At 80 million BTU with an 80 percent efficient stove, that is about 4 cords of oak or about 6.3 cords of pine for the winter.
Does seasoned firewood burn hotter than green?
Yes, measurably. Green wood can be 50 percent water by weight, and evaporating that water consumes heat that would otherwise warm your house. Seasoned wood under 20 percent moisture delivers its full rated BTU; green wood delivers noticeably less and coats the flue with creosote.
How many cords of wood do I need per winter?
Plan on 3 to 5 cords of hardwood for a typical home heated primarily with wood, or 5 to 8 cords of softwood. Start with your climate: mild-winter homes may use 2 to 3 cords, while cold-climate homes with poor insulation can exceed 6. Track one season and adjust.