Cost guide
What tree work actually costs in Canberra
Real ranges for removal, pruning and stump grinding, plus the four things that move the price and how to compare three quotes without getting stung.
Most tree websites will not put a number anywhere. That is not much use when you are trying to work out whether to budget five hundred dollars or five thousand. So here are the real ranges for Canberra, what moves them, and how to read a quote properly.
Read this first
The figures below are market guide ranges for the Canberra region, drawn from Australian trade pricing guides as at August 2026 — they are not a Treetops price list, and we are not quoting you here. Every job is priced on the actual tree. Ben’s on-site quote is free and fixed.
Tree removal
| Tree size | Typical Canberra range | What you are paying for |
|---|---|---|
| Small — under 5 m | $275 – $880 | Ornamentals, small conifers, young street trees. |
| Medium — 5 to 10 m | $880 – $2,750 | Typical suburban back-yard tree. Usually climbed and dismantled. |
| Large — 10 m+ | $2,750 – $6,600 | Mature eucalypts and pines. Full rigging, often a full day with a crew. |
| Very large / complex — 15 m+ | $5,500 – $16,500 | Big specimens tight to structures, sometimes needing a crane or an EWP. |
Everything else
| Work | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pruning / canopy lifting | $220 – $880 | Up to around $2,800 for a heavy crown reduction on a large tree. |
| Stump grinding | $165 – $990 | Roughly $165–$330 small, $275–$550 medium, $440–$990 large. Some price per cm of diameter. |
The four things that actually move the price
- Access. The single biggest factor. Can the truck and chipper get close, or does every piece get carried through the house side gate? A narrow side path can double a job.
- What is underneath. Open lawn is cheap. A pool, a glasshouse, a colorbond roof, a neighbour’s pergola or a powerline means everything gets roped and lowered individually.
- Size and species. Height matters, but so does wood. A dense, heavy eucalypt is a different proposition from a light, brittle conifer of the same height.
- Stump and waste. Whether grinding is included, and whether the timber goes with us or stays with you.
How to compare three quotes properly
Line them up against these, not just the number at the bottom:
- Is clean-up and removal of all debris explicitly included?
- Is the stump cut low, ground out, or left as is?
- Does it say fell or dismantle? Those are very different jobs and one of them is not possible in most back yards.
- Has anyone mentioned ACT approval? Arranging it is your job as the owner, but an arborist who never raises it on a big tree probably does not know the rules.
- Will they send a certificate of currency for public liability cover?
- Is it a fixed price or an estimate that can move on the day?
The uninsured-contractor problem
If an uninsured operator drops a limb through your roof, or is injured on your property, the exposure can land on you. Public liability cover is the entire point of asking. Any legitimate arborist will send the certificate the same day — hesitation is the answer.
Where you can genuinely save money
- Keep the timber. Wood left on site instead of chipped and carted.
- Bundle the jobs. Three trees in one visit is far cheaper than three separate visits — the setup is most of the cost.
- Be flexible on timing. Non-urgent work slotted into a quieter week can often be sharper.
- Prune instead of removing. Where it solves the problem, it is a fraction of the cost and no approval is needed for minor work.
- Clear the access yourself. Moving the cars, unlocking the side gate and shifting the pots before we arrive is free and saves crew time.
Where trying to save money costs you
- Doing it yourself. Chainsaw injuries in trees are catastrophic, and storm-damaged wood is under stored tension that releases the instant it is cut.
- Hiring uninsured. See above.
- Skipping the approval. Penalties for damaging a protected tree are serious and it is not worth the gamble. The rules are here.
- Getting it lopped. Topping is cheap now and expensive in three years, when the weak regrowth has to be dealt with properly.
About these figures
Ranges are compiled from Australian tree-work pricing guides covering the Canberra/ACT market, current as at August 2026. They are indicative market ranges only. They are not a quote, not a Treetops price list, and individual jobs fall outside them in both directions.
Questions about pricing
Why won't anyone give me a price over the phone?
Because the number depends on things you cannot see in a photo — what the wood is actually doing, whether the truck can get within 30 metres, what is directly underneath, and whether an ACT approval is needed. A phone estimate is either padded to cover the unknowns or it gets revised upward on the day. We would rather come and look, free, and give you a number that holds.
Is the cheapest quote ever the right one?
Sometimes, genuinely. But check what is different about it: is the clean-up included, is the contractor insured for the work, are they proposing to fell where a dismantle is needed, and have they checked whether the tree is protected? A quote that is 40% below the others is usually missing one of those four things, and one of them can cost you a great deal more than you saved.
Do you charge for a quote?
No. Ben comes out, looks at the tree and gives you a fixed price, free and with no obligation.
What makes a job expensive?
Access, overwhelmingly. A 15 m gum in an open front yard with the truck at the kerb is a fraction of the cost of the same tree in a courtyard behind the house where every piece has to be carried out by hand. After access it is what sits underneath — roofs, pools, glasshouses and powerlines all mean slower, more careful rigging.
Is stump grinding included?
Not by default. Standard removals leave the stump cut as low as we can safely go. Grinding is a separate machine and a separate cost — commonly $165–$990 depending on diameter. Ask for it at quote time and it goes in the fixed price rather than turning up as an extra.
Can I keep the wood?
Yes, and it can save you a little. Say so before we start and we will leave it instead of chipping it. Green eucalypt needs at least a year to season before it will burn properly, so plan on next winter rather than this one.
Do you charge extra for emergencies?
Work outside normal hours costs more than scheduled work — that is true of every trade and every operator in Canberra. What we will not do is inflate a price because you are in a difficult spot. You get told the number before we start.
Want the actual number for your tree?
Ben comes out, looks at it, and gives you a fixed price. Free, and no follow-up pestering if you decide not to go ahead.