Tree Removal Prices in Massachusetts — What You’ll Actually Pay (2026)

Tree removal prices are like marriage counselling — you are paying someone to help you part ways with something that used to be beautiful and is now a hazard. The difference is the tree does not get half your stuff.

Here is the straight answer. Most tree removals in Massachusetts run $300 to $3,000, and the price comes down to three things: size, access, and what the tree is leaning over. I am Keith McDonald. I have been quoting trees out of Billerica since 1995, and I can tell you roughly where yours lands before I finish my coffee. Here is how the prices break down in 2026.

How Much Does Tree Removal Cost?

Tree removal in Massachusetts costs $300 to $500 for a small tree under 30 feet, $500 to $1,000 for a medium tree between 30 and 60 feet, and $1,000 to $3,000 or more for a large tree over 60 feet. The price depends on the tree’s size, the access to your property, and what the tree is near — a house, power lines, or a fence. A 40-foot oak in an open backyard in Tewksbury costs less than the same oak squeezed between a garage and a power line in Lexington. Stump grinding adds $150 to $300. Crane-assisted removal runs $2,000 to $5,000 or more. These are real 2026 prices from a crew working Middlesex County every week, not national averages pulled from a spreadsheet.

Tree Removal Prices by Tree Size

Size is the biggest lever on the price. Bigger tree, more wood, more time, more truck. Here is how my crew sorts it.

Small Trees (Under 30 Feet) — $300 to $500

Ornamental trees, young pines, fruit trees, anything you can see the top of without doing your neck a favour. Two of us knock most of these out in a morning. Crabapples, dogwoods, ornamental cherries, small birch — that is your $300-to-$500 bracket.

Medium Trees (30 to 60 Feet) — $500 to $1,000

This is most of what we do. A 40-foot oak in the back, a 50-foot white pine leaning at the house, a maple that outgrew the lot. Full crew, climbing or a bucket, half a day to a full day. Most of our weekly work in Tewksbury and Wilmington sits right here.

Large Trees (60 Feet and Up) — $1,000 to $3,000+

The big ones. A 70-foot oak over the garage, an 80-foot pine next to the power lines, a maple older than the house. Full-day jobs, experienced climbers, heavy rigging, sometimes a crane. The number climbs when access is tight, the tree is close to the house, or we have to coordinate with the utility.

The Quick Version

• Small tree (under 30 ft): $300 – $500
• Medium tree (30–60 ft): $500 – $1,000
• Large tree (60–80 ft): $1,000 – $2,500
• Very large tree (80+ ft): $2,000 – $3,000+
• Stump grinding add-on: $150 – $300
• Crane-assisted removal: $2,000 – $5,000+

What Pushes the Price Up or Down

Two homeowners can have the same size tree and get very different quotes. Here is why.

Access

If we can drive the chip truck right up to the tree, the job goes fast. If we are hauling wood through a side gate, across a patio, and around a pool, it takes longer. Tight driveways in North Billerica are a specialty of ours — we have been navigating them for thirty years — but they do add time.

Proximity to Structures

A tree in the middle of an open field is a different job than the same tree six feet from your roof. When the tree is close to a house, garage, fence, or power line, we rig every piece down with ropes. That takes skill and time. It is also the reason you want a crew that does this every day, not a landscaper with a chainsaw.

Species and Wood Density

White pine is light and fast. Oak is heavy and slow. A 50-foot pine might be a half-day. A 50-foot oak with the same access could be a full day. The wood has to go somewhere, and heavier wood means more trips or a bigger truck.

Stump Grinding

Tree removal covers cutting the tree and hauling the wood. The stump is extra. Grinding runs $150 to $300 depending on the diameter. If we are already there for the removal, we bundle it. Always ask whether stump grinding is in the quote — some outfits quote removal only and add grinding as a surprise line item.

Time of Year

Winter is usually cheaper. The ground is frozen so we do less damage to the lawn, and the calendar is quieter. A dying tree that is not an immediate hazard is a good one to schedule for a cold week in January. Emergency calls after a storm are the most expensive because everyone is calling at once.

Flat-Rate vs. Hourly — Why It Matters

Some tree companies quote by the hour. We do not. Here is why: hourly pricing punishes you for things outside your control. If the crew is slow, you pay more. If the job takes longer because they did not plan well, you pay more. If they underestimated the wood volume and need a second truck run, you pay more.

Flat-rate pricing means you know the number before we start cutting. We walk the tree, assess the access, and give you one price. If the job takes longer than we expected, that is on us. If it goes faster, you still pay the agreed number. (If you have ever had a contractor say “well, it turned out to be more complicated,” you know why this matters.)

I reckon flat-rate is the only honest way to quote tree work. “Starting at” pricing is a red flag — it means the real number is somewhere above that floor, and you will not find out where until the invoice arrives.

When You Should Not Remove the Tree

This is the part where most tree companies lose money. Nine out of ten calls I get for “tree removal” end with me talking the homeowner out of it. The canopy snapped in a storm, the yard looks like a battlefield, and the homeowner is mentally writing a $2,000 cheque. Then you walk the trunk, find sound wood, and the only real job is pruning out the broken limbs.

A few rules of thumb:

• If the trunk is intact and the root ball has not lifted, the tree probably survives.
• If more than a third of the canopy is dead, get an assessment — but do not assume removal.
• Mushrooms or conks at the base usually mean rot. That one might need to come down.
• A new lean after a storm is more serious than a lean that has been there for ten years.

We will tell you honestly either way. If the tree needs pruning and not removal, we save you a few thousand dollars and a tree. If it needs to come down, we tell you that too. The price is the price either way — we just prefer you keep the tree when it makes sense.

How to Compare Tree Removal Prices

Get two or three written quotes. Make sure each one includes:

• The full removal — cutting, rigging, hauling
• Stump grinding (or explicitly says it is not included)
• Clean-up — raking, blowing, hauling brush
• Permits if your town requires them
• Proof of insurance and a written contract

If a quote is missing any of those, the number is not real. The cheapest quote is rarely the cheapest outcome — a cheaper crew is often a less-insured crew, and your homeowner’s policy is the one footing the bill when something goes wrong.

For a deeper dive on reading quotes, see our tree removal pricing guide. For the rate structure behind the numbers, see tree removal rates. And for Middlesex County-specific cost data with per-town breakdowns, our Middlesex County cost guide has that.

Tree Removal Prices Near Me — Middlesex County

If you are in Billerica, Chelmsford, Lowell, Tewksbury, Wilmington, Burlington, Bedford, Woburn, Lexington, or any of the other eighteen towns we serve in Middlesex County, the prices above are what you are looking at. We have been working these towns since 1995. We know which driveways will swallow a truck, which towns require permits, and which conservation commissions want a call before we cut.

A national chain that opened a “local” branch last spring charges double, subs the actual work out to whoever is cheapest that week, and the salesperson who quoted you has never climbed a tree. We have been here thirty years. Different game.

How to Save Money on Tree Removal

Three things save the most money:

1. Schedule ahead. Emergency calls after a storm cost more because demand spikes. If the tree is not an immediate hazard, book it for a regular week.
2. Bundle jobs. If you have two or three trees that need work, we do them in one visit. Mobilization is already covered, so the per-tree cost drops.
3. Keep the firewood. If you burn wood or know someone who does, tell us. We leave the logs, you save hauling time, and the price comes down.

Getting two or three written quotes is also worth the time. Not because the cheapest one wins — it rarely does — but because seeing the range helps you spot the outlier. If one quote is half the other two, something is missing from it.

Straight Answers

How much should I budget for tree removal? For a typical residential tree in Middlesex County, budget $800 to $1,500. That covers most 30-to-60-foot trees with normal access. Small ornamental trees can be as low as $300. Large trees with tight access or crane requirements run $1,500 to $3,000+.

Is a dead tree cheaper to remove? Often the opposite. Dead wood is brittle and unpredictable, which makes it slower and more dangerous to take down safely. Do not assume a dead tree is the bargain.

Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Massachusetts? On private property, usually not, unless you are in a town like Lexington or Chelmsford with a tree bylaw, near wetlands, or the tree is a public shade tree in the right-of-way. We check before we cut and pull any permit you need.

What is the cheapest time of year to remove a tree? Winter. The ground is frozen, the calendar is quieter, and there is more give on scheduling. A dying tree that is not an immediate hazard is a great one to hold for January or February.

Can I remove a tree myself? Small stuff you can reach from the ground, sure. Anything overhead, anything near a wire, anything that needs a ladder and a running chainsaw at the same time — no. That combination sends people to the emergency room every year. Save the DIY for the brush pile.

Does tree removal include stump grinding? Not usually. Stump grinding is a separate service, typically $150 to $300 per stump. We bundle it when we are already onsite. Always ask whether it is included in your quote.

For a quick estimate of your specific tree, use our tree removal cost calculator. For an in-person assessment, give us a call at (978) 375-2272. We have been quoting trees in Middlesex County since 1995, and most of the time the number is lower than the homeowner expected. (The other guy quoted them double. That is how we end up with the job.)

If you are not sure whether that tree is coming down on its own or with our help, call us. We have got opinions. Some of them are even useful.

Keith McDonald is the owner of McDonald Tree Service in Billerica, Massachusetts. He has been climbing, cutting, and looking at trees in Middlesex County since 1995. He answers the phone himself most days.