Guides
Tree service quote examples, priced and explained
Three tree service quote examples, priced line by line, show what a removal, a crown reduction and a stump grind actually cost to write up today.
What to take away
- A tree quote is priced from the crew day, not from the tree. A removal sells as a day rate plus disposal, not as a lump sum pulled from memory.
- Job price is roughly (R × (H + T)) + (D × L) + permit or utility cost. R is the crew rate per hour, H is hours on site, T is travel hours, D is the dump fee per load and L is the number of loads.
- The three tree service quote examples below total $3,950 to $4,300 for the maple removal, $1,830 for the oak crown reduction and $690 for the three-stump grind. They use 2026 rates from typical US residential work.
- The change-order clause carries most of the risk. Put it above the signature line.
- A quote that names the work method, the debris destination and the permit holder closes faster and argues less.
- Read accepted quotes against tree service profit margins and break-even points each quarter to see which lines actually held.
This article provides general business information. It is not arboricultural, safety, pesticide, or electrical advice. It is not tax or legal advice. Tree care licensing, credentials, utility-clearance rules, and pesticide requirements vary. Permits and safety duties also vary by jurisdiction and scope. Confirm the rules before accepting work.
Three quotes, priced
All three examples run on the same crew rate so the differences between them are visible. The base is $125 per person-hour, or $375 per crew hour for a three-person crew. Residential crews in most US markets bill $100 to $200 per person-hour, and storm work runs higher.
Set your own numbers in place of these: crew rate per hour (R), hours on site (H), travel hours (T), dump or tip fee per load (D), and loads (L).
Quote 1: a 60-foot silver maple removal, close to a service drop
Quote 1: silver maple removal
| Line | What it covers | Typical price |
|---|---|---|
| Crew and equipment | Three-person crew, Bandit 12XP chipper, Altec bucket truck, one 8-hour day at $125 per person-hour | $3,000 |
| Traffic and pedestrian control | Two cone sets and a flagger for the morning, set out to ANSI Z133 work-zone practice | $180 |
| Utility coordination | 811 locate ticket plus a call to the utility, line-clearance hold billed at cost | $0 to $350 |
| Debris | Chipping plus two loads to the city or county yard-waste site, about $210 a load | $420 |
| Stump grinding | 18-inch stump, Vermeer SC252, ground 6 inches below grade | $350 |
| Permits | City or county private-tree permit, if required | At cost, varies by city |
| Total | $3,950 to $4,300 |
The first line is the job. Three people for an eight-hour day at $125 per person-hour is $3,000, and the truck, chipper and climbing gear sit inside that number. Silver maple (Acer saccharinum) breaks and hollows early, so the scope assumes rigging rather than dropping limbs whole.
Traffic control is small but real. Two cone sets and a morning flagger run about $180, and the line appears because the work zone touches a public sidewalk. ANSI Z133 sets the traffic-control minimums crews work to.
The utility line is billed at cost. An 811 locate ticket is free, but a utility that holds the crew for a line-clearance window keeps the day rate running. Price the hold as its own line or the margin disappears into the wait.
Debris is the line customers question most. Chipping is cheap and hauling is not. A city or county yard-waste site typically charges $30 to $80 a ton, or a flat $150 to $250 per chipper-truck load. Two loads at roughly $210 is a fair middle figure in most markets.
An 18-inch stump usually costs $150 to $450 to grind, depending on access and depth. Six inches below grade clears most mower decks. Cost guides such as Angi list most residential removals at $400 to $2,000, so this quote sits well above the middle because of the service drop and the full crew day.
Our price is too high for some customers. Every so often, homeowners will look at our quote and then ask a local landscaper (who also cuts trees) to do it for less. We do not price match. Our prices are based on our costs, insurance, equipment and the quality of work.
Quote 2: a crown reduction on a 40-foot oak, no removal
Quote 2: oak crown reduction
| Line | What it covers | Typical price |
|---|---|---|
| Climbing crew | Two ISA Certified Arborists, half day, hand tools and rigging, cuts to the ANSI A300 pruning standard | $1,000 |
| Ground crew | One groundsperson, half day with the chipper | $500 |
| Debris | One load, or chips left on site for the customer's garden | $180 |
| Follow-up | Health check at 12 months | $150 |
| Total | $1,830 |
Crown reduction is the quote most likely to be under-scoped. The customer asks for a tidy up and the climber finds deadwood over a driveway, a cavity at the base, or a limb resting on a roof.
Two climbers for half a day is $1,000 at the $125 rate. The groundsperson runs the chipper and the rigging lines, and half a day for one person is $500. Brush left as chips costs nothing, and hauling it adds about $180.
Reduction cuts follow ANSI A300 Part 1, which caps how much live crown comes off in one visit. Going past that cap shortens the tree's life and belongs in a change order. The $150 follow-up is a 12-month health check, and it is also the moment to book the next pruning cycle.
Mature-oak reductions usually land between $800 and $2,500 depending on size and access. The change-order clause is what protects the price here, because the first fifteen minutes up the tree decide whether the scope holds.
Quote 3: a stump grind only, three stumps, back yard
Quote 3: stump grind only
| Line | What it covers | Typical price |
|---|---|---|
| Grinder and operator | Half day with a Vermeer SC252 through a 36-inch gate, about $150 per hour with operator | $600 |
| Debris | Grindings raked, left on site | $0 |
| Access protection | Plywood over a lawn path | $90 |
| Total | $690 |
Stump-only work is priced on access, not on stump count. A grinder and operator run $125 to $300 per hour in most markets, and a half day covers three 12 to 20-inch stumps when the machine fits through the gate.
A grinder that cannot reach the stump through a 36-inch gap is a different job. The quote then adds a narrow-access machine or a hand crew, and the price climbs by $300 to $700. The $90 plywood line keeps the tracks off a lawn path. Grindings left in place cost nothing, and hauled out they add $180 to $250.
United States and Canada: where the numbers change
The three quotes above are US residential work priced in US dollars. The same job in Canada is quoted in Canadian dollars, and the rules behind each line change.
United States and Canada
United States
- Crew rate
- $100 to $200 per person-hour in most residential markets
- Disposal
- City or county yard-waste site, typically $30 to $80 a ton or $150 to $250 a load
- Permits
- City or county permit office, price varies by city
- Utility coordination
- 811 locate ticket at no charge, line clearances follow state utility commission rules
Canada
- Crew rate
- Quoted in Canadian dollars, so the exchange rate moves the comparison and not the local price
- Disposal
- Tipping fees set by the municipality or a private transfer station
- Permits
- Municipal permit, rules set by the province or the municipality
- Utility coordination
- Provincial one-call service at no charge, line clearances follow the provincial utility
Quote fields that set the price
A quote template is only useful if it forces the hard lines onto the page. These are the tree-service-specific ones:
- Tree and site description.Species where known, height, trunk diameter, condition, targets below, access width, overhead lines, slope, and public exposure. This is what the price is built from.
- Work method assumptions.Climbing, lift, rigging, crane, chipper, grinder, traffic control, or hand-work. Name the method, because the customer is buying that method.
- Debris and wood handling.Chipping, hauling, log removal, firewood left for the customer, stump grindings, rake-up, and the disposal destination. State whether the customer keeps the wood.
- Permits and utility coordination.Who calls the utility, who holds the city or county permit, and what happens if a line-clearance restriction applies. Assign the responsibility in writing.
- Material exclusions.Concealed decay, inaccessible areas, utility work, restoration, landscaping, and services not included.
- Change-order process.A written finding, revised scope, revised price, schedule effect, and authorization before extra work starts.
- Schedule conditions.Weather, access, permit, equipment, utility, nesting-season, and emergency conditions that can move the date.
- Payment terms and warranty.Deposit, completion payment, accepted methods, workmanship commitment, and follow-up.
Blank quote template
Copy these fields into a document or into your quote software. Leave nothing blank on the version you send.
Field / Your entry
- Customer name, phone, email
- Site address and access width
- Tree: species, height, trunk diameter, condition
- Targets below: structures, vehicles, wires, people
- Work method: climbing, lift, crane, rigging, chipper
- Debris: chips, logs, firewood, grindings, destination
- Stump: diameter, depth, grindings left or hauled
- Traffic and pedestrian control
- Permit: holder, number, cost
- Utility: locate ticket, line-clearance holder, hold cost
- Crew rate per person-hour (R)
- Hours on site (H)
- Travel hours (T)
- Dump or tip fee per load (D)
- Loads (L)
- Permit or utility cost
- Job price: (R × (H + T)) + (D × L) + permit or utility cost
- Exclusions
- Change order: who approves, what triggers one
- Schedule conditions: weather, nesting season, utility window
- Deposit and completion payment
- Quote expiration date
- Customer signature and date
Sample quote text
Quote 2026-0418. Customer: [name], [phone], [email]. Site: [address]. Scope: removal of one silver maple, about 60 feet tall, 8 feet from the service drop, over a driveway. Method: three-person crew with a bucket truck and chipper, one 8-hour day, rigging rather than free dropping.
Debris: chips and two loads of wood hauled to the city yard-waste site. The customer keeps no wood. Stump: ground 6 inches below grade, grindings left on site. Permit: held by us and passed through at cost. Utility: 811 locate ticket filed by us, line-clearance hold billed at cost if the utility holds the crew.
Price: $3,950 to $4,300. Deposit: [amount] on booking, balance due on completion. Exclusions: decay inside the trunk, irrigation lines, lawn restoration. A method change is issued as a written change order before the extra work starts. Quote valid 30 days.
Quote software such as Jobber, ServiceTitan, SingleOps and ArborGold can hold those fields, send the document and chase the deposit. None of them will work out the crew cost for you.
Keep regulated consent or authorization separate where local rules or the planned service require it. An estimate should help a customer understand expected charges and choices. It should not pretend that uncertain work has a fixed final cost.
The pricing line is the hard one: filling it honestly means costing the crew day, travel, disposal, and risk first. That is what pricing tree service jobs for a fair margin works through.
Five pricing approaches, and what each one hides
Five pricing approaches
Where it fits a tree service
- Fixed price per job
- Repeatable pruning on a commercial property, quoted from a site walk
- Day rate with a floor
- Storm work and removals where scope is unknown, the model utility line-clearance contractors such as Asplundh and Wright Tree Service commonly work under
- Good, better and best bundles
- A homeowner who wants a clear choice
- Retainer or membership
- Plant health care plans of the kind Bartlett Tree Experts and Davey Tree sell to commercial and large residential properties
- Value-based quote
- A customer buying certainty rather than time
What it hides
- Fixed price per job
- The job that runs long eats the margin
- Day rate with a floor
- The customer watches the clock instead of the result
- Good, better and best bundles
- Packages drift from what the crew actually delivers
- Retainer or membership
- Underused agreements feel like a bad deal to the buyer
- Value-based quote
- Depends on a reputation the business may not have yet
Row three fails for a specific reason: a tier is written once and the crew keeps changing what it does. Deciding what each level contains, and where it stops, is the work in structuring tree service packages for customers.
Pricing Approaches Compared
Pricing approach
- Fixed price
- Repeatable work
- Time-based
- Unknown scope
- Good-better-best
- Clear choice wanted
- Retainer
- Known schedule
- Value-based
- Buying certainty
Where it fits
- Fixed price
- Long jobs eat margin
- Time-based
- Owner watches clock
- Good-better-best
- Packages drift from delivery
- Retainer
- Underused feels bad
- Value-based
- Depends on reputation
What it hides
- Fixed price
- Time-based
- Good-better-best
- Retainer
- Value-based
Checks before you send
Internal Revenue Service: What kind of records should I keep? says a business may choose a recordkeeping system. That system must show income and expenses, with the documents behind purchases, sales, payroll and assets kept on file.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics: Tree Trimmers and Pruners page describes tree trimmers and pruners as workers who use climbing, rigging, hand tools, power tools, and truck-mounted lifts. It also publishes occupation, industry, and geographic wage estimates.
The Small Business Administration: SBA Business Guide organizes business ownership into four activities: planning, launch, management, and growth.
- Crew rate, travel hours, dump fee and load count are all in the quote.
- The work method is named, not implied.
- Debris destination and wood ownership are written down.
- Permit holder and utility contact are assigned.
- The change-order clause is above the signature line, not in the footer.
- The quote has an expiration date.
Common questions
What should a tree service quote include that a generic template misses?
The tree and site description, the work method, debris handling, and utility coordination. A generic template prices a service; a tree quote prices a specific tree on a specific property with specific access.
Why do tree quotes lose money?
Usually two lines: the utility hold and the debris. A crew that waits on a line-clearance window still gets paid, and a job that produces three loads instead of one doubles the disposal cost.
How do I price a job I have not seen?
Use a day rate with a floor and a written scope of assumptions. Charge travel and disposal separately. A quote built on a site visit beats a phone estimate every time.
Where do the rules for permits and utility work come from?
Your city or county permit office, your state utility commission, and the utility itself. In Canada, permits come from the municipality and the utility regulator is provincial. Confirm with them before you commit to a price that depends on their answer.
For the fuller picture, these are the tree service pricing and profit takeaways worth reviewing before the next quote goes out.
