Cord vs Tonne: How Firewood Is Really Measured (and What You’re Paying For)

Firewood is sold in a bewildering alphabet of units: cords, face cords, ricks, cubic metres, trailer loads, scoops, tonnes. Some are precise, some are regional, and some are deliberately vague. Here’s the translator — and the one measure that can’t cheat you.

The Units, Decoded

• Cord (full cord): 128 cubic feet of stacked wood — a 4ft × 8ft × 4ft pile. The classic North American unit; roughly 1.5–2 tonnes of hardwood depending on species and stacking.
• Face cord / rick: a single row of a cord, usually 4ft × 8ft × one-log-deep. Watch this one: “cord” shortened to “face cord” quietly cuts the quantity ~two-thirds.
• Cubic metre (m³): the metric stacked-volume unit. A tonne of dense hardwood ≈ 2 loose-stacked m³, less when hand-stacked tight.
• Trailer load / scoop / “load”: unregulated and unrecommendable. A trailer’s volume changes with how loosely it’s thrown in — 20%+ variation is trivially easy.
• Tonne (weight): 1,000kg of actual wood, weighed. No stacking tricks, no air gaps, no interpretation.

Why Weight Wins

Volume measures can all be gamed: shorter pieces stack with more air, loose loading inflates apparent volume, and “heaped” trailers are mostly sky. Weight can’t. When we load a tonne of ironbark, calibrated loader scales confirm it and the docket shows the number — which is why our buying checklist puts weight-first pricing at the top. (One nuance: compare like with like — a tonne of dense ironbark packs more heat than a tonne of lighter species, the topic of our species comparison.)

Converting for Price Comparison

To compare a cord price against a tonne price, you need that seller’s species and moisture — a “cord” of green softwood might be barely 1.2 tonnes of actual wood fibre. Rule of thumb for dense seasoned hardwood: 1 cord ≈ 1.5–2 tonnes. If a cord costs more than 1.5–2× our tonne rate, the tonne wins — before you even account for the guaranteed weight and moisture.

Sizing your order instead? See how much firewood you need for winter, or browse this season’s loads.

For the full measurement picture — including how our weight-based loads convert to cords — see cord of firewood explained. Comparing Canadian listings? Bush cords and face cords, translated.