Firewood Cord Calculator
Measure the stack and find out what you actually got. A cord is 128 cubic feet, and most of the words sellers use instead are not.
Updated September 11, 2026 · Estimates for planning, not a quote
What a cord actually is
A cord is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood: 4 feet high, 4 feet deep, 8 feet long. That is the legal definition in most states and it is the only firewood unit with one. Everything else a seller might say, a face cord, a rick, a run, a truckload, a pile, means whatever they want it to mean until you ask for it in inches.
The measurement is of stacked volume, wood and the air between it together. Nobody measures the solid wood, because you would have to disassemble the stack to do it. So stack the delivery, measure the three dimensions, multiply, and divide by 128.
The face cord problem
A face cord is 4 feet high and 8 feet long, which is a cord's face, but only one log deep. So its volume depends entirely on how long the logs are cut. At 16 inch logs, the common length, a face cord is 42.67 cubic feet, which is exactly a third of a cord. At 24 inch logs it is half a cord. At 12 inch logs it is a quarter.
That is a two to one swing hiding behind one word, and it is where most firewood disputes come from. Two sellers can both offer a face cord at the same price and one is selling you twice as much wood. Ask the log length before you ask the price.
Why a loose load tells you nothing
Wood thrown loose into a truck takes up far more room than the same wood stacked, because the gaps are bigger and unmanaged. A loose pile that looks like a cord in the bed will stack down substantially. If a seller quotes by the truckload, the only way to know what arrived is to stack it and measure, which is a reasonable thing to do before paying.
Seasoning is the other half
Volume is what you pay for; moisture is what decides whether it burns. Green wood runs 50 percent moisture or more and wastes most of its heat boiling that water off. Seasoned wood is under 20 percent, and getting there takes six months to two years split and stacked off the ground under cover. Wood that is heavy for its size, has no cracks in the end grain, and thuds rather than clacks when two pieces are knocked together is not ready.
Method and sources
Where these figures come from: A full cord is 128 cubic feet, stacked 4 by 4 by 8 feet.
A face cord has no fixed volume: it is 4 by 8 feet by whatever the log length is, so at 16 inch logs it is a third of a cord and at 24 inch it is half. That is why the price per full cord is the only figure that compares two sellers. NIST Handbook 130 defines a cord the same way, as 128 cubic feet ranked and well stowed, and prohibits the term face cord in a sale outright.
QuantiYard writes its own formulas and states them in plain language on every page. How these numbers are made covers where the constants come from, how waste factors are chosen, what these calculators deliberately do not do, and how to report an error.
Save the face cord chart
What a face cord is actually worth at six log lengths, from 12 in to 24. Save it before you buy, because the same word covers a two to one range.
Save to PinterestOpens Pinterest with the chart and link ready to go.
Firewood Cord Calculator FAQ
How many cubic feet are in a cord of firewood?
One hundred and twenty-eight, stacked. That is 4 feet high by 4 feet deep by 8 feet long, and it measures wood and the air between it together. To check a delivery, stack it, measure the length, height and log length, multiply them out and divide by 128.
Is a face cord the same as a cord?
No, and the difference depends on the log length. A face cord is 4 feet high and 8 feet long but only one log deep, so at 16 inch logs it is a third of a cord, at 24 inch logs half, and at 12 inch logs a quarter. Always ask the log length before comparing two prices, because the same words can mean twice the wood.
How can I tell if I got a full cord?
Stack it and measure. A full cord occupies 128 cubic feet stacked, which is any arrangement multiplying out to that: 4 by 4 by 8, or 2 feet deep by 4 feet high by 16 feet long. A loose pile in a truck bed always looks larger than it stacks, so a load that fills the bed is not evidence of anything until it is stacked.
Cite this page
Built from this page's own title, URL and last-updated date, so a citation cannot drift from what it cites.