Land Clearing Cost (2026): Per Acre, DIY vs Hiring a Pro
Updated
Verdict Hire a pro
Hire a pro for anything with trees or more than about an acre: once you add rentals, delivery, fuel, disposal and your inexperience, DIY machine clearing costs about what a contractor with a forestry mulcher charges and takes several times longer. Clear light brush yourself with a chainsaw and brush cutter for a few hundred dollars.
- DIY cost
- $2,970–$4,845
- 20–40 hours of your time · medium: scattered trees and heavy brush
- Pro cost
- $2,000–$4,500
- typical $3,000 · per acre
- Typical savings
- —
- DIY costs more
- Pros charge by the acre and by density: about $1,200 for light brush, $3,000 for scattered trees and thickets, $5,500 for dense mature woods. Stump grubbing and hauling add to that.
- DIY with rented machines costs about the same as a contractor — $3,000–$4,800 an acre once you count the skid steer, delivery, fuel, disposal and a permit — and takes several times longer.
- DIY wins only on light brush you can cut by hand: a chainsaw, a clearing saw and safety gear is about $400 an acre against $1,200 for a pro.
- Above about an acre, most counties require a land-disturbance permit. Clearing without one, or across a line you're not sure of, is a four-figure mistake.
DIY vs pro at a glance
| DIY | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per job (medium: scattered trees and heavy brush) | $2,970–$4,845 | $2,000–$4,500 |
| Cost range (all sizes) | $1,260–$9,070 | $500–$8,000 |
| Your time | 20–40 hours | Getting quotes, ~1–2 hours |
| Skill needed | Advanced | None |
| Injury / damage risk | High | Carried by the contractor (if insured) |
| Equipment you'd need to buy or rent | Skid steer with brush-cutter attachment, Chainsaw rental (18–20 in), Brush cutter / clearing saw rental, Stump grinder rental, Chainsaw chaps, helmet with face screen, gloves, eye and ear protection | None |
| Permit | Sometimes — you apply | Sometimes — usually pulled by the pro |
| Best when | It's brush, saplings and grass — nothing you'd need a machine to push over | There are trees over about 6 inches, or more than a handful of trees at all |
What pros charge for clearing land
| Job size | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light: brush, saplings, tall grass — no trees over ~4 in; a brush cutter and chainsaw can handle it | $500 | $1,200 | $2,000 |
| Medium: scattered trees and heavy brush — trees under ~12 in, thickets, some stumps — skid steer territory | $2,000 | $3,000 | $4,500 |
| Heavy: dense woods, large trees, stumps — mature timber, grubbing required — excavator and dozer work | $4,000 | $5,500 | $8,000 |
What moves the price
- Vegetation density
- The dominant factor. Brush and saplings mulch at $500–$2,000 an acre; scattered trees $2,000–$4,500; dense mature woods $4,000–$8,000+ because every large tree is a tree removal and every stump has to be ground or grubbed.
- What happens to the stumps
- Cutting trees flush and mulching the brush is cheapest. Grinding stumps adds $100–$400 each. Grubbing — digging out root balls so the ground can be built on or farmed — can double the price.
- Method
- A forestry mulcher grinds everything in place and leaves mulch — fast and cheap, no hauling. A dozer or excavator pushes and piles, which is required for grubbing and building pads but generates debris that has to be burned, chipped or hauled.
- Debris disposal
- Burning (where permitted) is nearly free. Chipping and spreading is moderate. Hauling to a landfill is expensive: $300–$800 per truckload, and a wooded acre can produce several.
- Access, slope and soil
- Machines need a way in. Steep ground, wet soil, rock, and no road access slow the work and raise the rate. Distance from the contractor's yard adds mobilization fees of $200–$500.
- Acreage
- Per-acre rates fall on bigger jobs — mobilization is spread out and the crew hits a rhythm. Ten acres of brush may be $700 an acre where one acre is $1,200.
Common add-ons
| Add-on | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Stump grinding (per stump) | $100–$400 |
| Grubbing / root removal (per acre) | $1,500–$4,000 |
| Rough grading after clearing (per acre) | $1,000–$3,500 |
| Debris haul-away (per truckload) | $300–$800 |
| Large tree removal (each, over 12 in) | $300–$2,000 |
| Mobilization / equipment transport | $200–$500 |
What it costs to do it yourself
Light: brush, saplings, tall grass: $1,260–$2,310 and 8–16 hours
| Item | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Skid steer with brush-cutter attachment | $450 ($450/day) | Rental · skip for light brush; a forestry mulcher head is $700–$1,000/day |
| Chainsaw rental (18–20 in) | $60 ($60/day) | Rental |
| Brush cutter / clearing saw rental | $50 ($50/day) | Rental |
| Stump grinder rental | $200 ($200/day) | Rental · only if stumps must go |
| Chainsaw chaps, helmet with face screen, gloves, eye and ear protection | $120 | Purchase |
| Equipment delivery and pickup | $150 | per rental; most rental yards won't let you tow a skid steer without a heavy trailer |
| Diesel and mixed gas | $110 | Materials |
| Chains, trimmer line, bar oil | $40 | Materials |
| Stump killer / herbicide for regrowth | $30 | Materials |
| Disposal | $50–$600 | Dump fees, haul-away or bagging |
| Permit | $0–$500 | Land-disturbance or grading permits are common above ~1 acre or near water; many cities require tree-removal permits; burning needs a burn permit almost everywhere. |
| Total (own common tools) | $1,260–$2,310 | typical $1,785 |
| Total (own nothing) | $1,260–$2,310 | buying every tool listed |
Medium: scattered trees and heavy brush: $2,970–$4,845 and 20–40 hours
| Item | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Skid steer with brush-cutter attachment | $1,125 ($450/day) | Rental · skip for light brush; a forestry mulcher head is $700–$1,000/day |
| Chainsaw rental (18–20 in) | $150 ($60/day) | Rental |
| Brush cutter / clearing saw rental | $125 ($50/day) | Rental |
| Stump grinder rental | $500 ($200/day) | Rental · only if stumps must go |
| Chainsaw chaps, helmet with face screen, gloves, eye and ear protection | $120 | Purchase |
| Equipment delivery and pickup | $375 | per rental; most rental yards won't let you tow a skid steer without a heavy trailer |
| Diesel and mixed gas | $275 | Materials |
| Chains, trimmer line, bar oil | $100 | Materials |
| Stump killer / herbicide for regrowth | $75 | Materials |
| Disposal | $125–$1,500 | Dump fees, haul-away or bagging |
| Permit | $0–$500 | Land-disturbance or grading permits are common above ~1 acre or near water; many cities require tree-removal permits; burning needs a burn permit almost everywhere. |
| Total (own common tools) | $2,970–$4,845 | typical $3,908 |
| Total (own nothing) | $2,970–$4,845 | buying every tool listed |
Heavy: dense woods, large trees, stumps: $5,820–$9,070 and 40–80 hours
| Item | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Skid steer with brush-cutter attachment | $2,250 ($450/day) | Rental · skip for light brush; a forestry mulcher head is $700–$1,000/day |
| Chainsaw rental (18–20 in) | $300 ($60/day) | Rental |
| Brush cutter / clearing saw rental | $250 ($50/day) | Rental |
| Stump grinder rental | $1,000 ($200/day) | Rental · only if stumps must go |
| Chainsaw chaps, helmet with face screen, gloves, eye and ear protection | $120 | Purchase |
| Equipment delivery and pickup | $750 | per rental; most rental yards won't let you tow a skid steer without a heavy trailer |
| Diesel and mixed gas | $550 | Materials |
| Chains, trimmer line, bar oil | $200 | Materials |
| Stump killer / herbicide for regrowth | $150 | Materials |
| Disposal | $250–$3,000 | Dump fees, haul-away or bagging |
| Permit | $0–$500 | Land-disturbance or grading permits are common above ~1 acre or near water; many cities require tree-removal permits; burning needs a burn permit almost everywhere. |
| Total (own common tools) | $5,820–$9,070 | typical $7,445 |
| Total (own nothing) | $5,820–$9,070 | buying every tool listed |
Hidden costs of DIY
- Rental math
- A day of skid steer is $450 plus $150 delivery plus fuel, and a first-timer clears a fraction of what an operator does. Two or three rental days plus disposal usually lands within a few hundred dollars of a contractor's price — and the contractor's forestry mulcher leaves no debris to deal with.
- Injury
- Chainsaws, falling trees, spring poles, and machines on uneven ground. Land clearing combines the risks of tree work with heavy equipment; it's among the most dangerous things a homeowner can attempt.
- Damage to the machine
- Rental agreements make you liable for damage. Hitting a stump or rock with a brush-cutter head, or tipping a skid steer on a slope, is a four-figure bill. Damage waivers add 10–15% to the rental.
- Erosion and permits
- Bare, disturbed ground washes into ditches and streams. Above about an acre, most counties require a land-disturbance permit with erosion controls, and fines for clearing without one run into the thousands.
- Regrowth
- Cut brush and saplings come back from the roots within a season unless stumps are treated or ground. Mulching helps; grubbing solves it; simply cutting doesn't.
- What's in the woods
- Old fence wire, dump sites, wells, septic fields, and property lines you're not sure of. Clearing across a line onto a neighbor's land is a trespass and timber-theft claim — get a survey first if the boundary isn't obvious.
When to DIY and when to hire
DIY makes sense when
- It's brush, saplings and grass — nothing you'd need a machine to push over
- The area is under an acre and you can do it with a chainsaw and a clearing saw over a few weekends
- You know exactly where the property lines are
- You have a plan for the debris (burn permit, chipper, or a place to pile it)
Hire a pro when
- There are trees over about 6 inches, or more than a handful of trees at all
- Stumps have to come out for building, fencing or planting
- The parcel is over an acre, sloped, wet, or hard to get a machine into
- A grading or land-disturbance permit is required — contractors handle the erosion-control plan
Why the usual DIY math doesn’t work here
On most of this site, doing it yourself trades your time for a contractor’s labor and saves real money. Land clearing breaks that pattern for one reason: the contractor’s cost is mostly the machine, not the labor, and you can’t beat a machine by working harder.
A land-clearing crew shows up with a forestry mulcher — a $150,000 tracked machine that turns a wooded acre into mulch in a day — and an operator who does this every week. You show up with a rented skid steer, a brush-cutter attachment that’s a fraction as effective, a $150 delivery charge each way, and no experience. By the time you’ve paid for two or three days of rental, fuel, disposal of everything the mulcher would have left as mulch, and a permit, you’ve spent what the contractor would have charged. That’s what the cost tables below show, tier by tier.
There is one place DIY wins clearly: light brush that hand tools can handle. Saplings under a few inches, thickets, tall grass, vines. A chainsaw, a clearing saw, safety gear and a few weekends clears an acre for about $400. The DIY guide is about that job.
How pros price it
By the acre, adjusted for density and for what you want done with the stumps and debris. Ask for three things in every quote:
- The method — mulching leaves ground cover and no debris; dozer or excavator clearing piles debris and can grub roots, which is required if you’re building or farming.
- Stumps — cut flush, ground, or grubbed out. Each is a different price.
- Debris — burned on site (cheapest, needs a permit), chipped, or hauled ($300–$800 a truckload, and a wooded acre is several).
Per-acre rates fall on larger jobs. Mobilization — trucking the machine to you — is $200–$500 and is a big share of a one-acre price.
Before anyone starts
Two things to settle first. Where the lines are: clearing onto a neighbor’s land is trespass and, under most states’ timber-trespass laws, triple damages for the trees. If the boundary isn’t obvious, a survey is cheap insurance. What permits apply: land-disturbance permits with erosion controls above about an acre, tree-removal permits in many cities, wetland and stream-buffer rules almost everywhere, and a burn permit if you’re burning. Contractors usually handle the permit; if you’re doing it yourself, that’s on you.
Run your own numbers. The land clearing cost calculator prices it both ways: as DIY, with the tools you already own and a value on your time, or as a pro job at a low, typical or high quote with the add-ons that apply.
Frequently asked questions
How much does land clearing cost per acre?
$500 to $8,000 per acre depending on what's growing on it. Light brush and saplings run $500–$2,000 an acre with a forestry mulcher; land with scattered trees and heavy thickets $2,000–$4,500; densely wooded land with mature trees $4,000–$8,000 or more. Grubbing out stumps, rough grading, and hauling debris are extra. Per-acre rates drop 20–40% on larger parcels.
How much does it cost to clear 1 acre of land?
About $1,200 for brush, $3,000 for a mix of trees and brush, and $5,500 for dense woods, as national typical prices. One-acre jobs sit at the high end of per-acre rates because the contractor's mobilization — trucking a machine to your site — is spread over a single acre. Expect $200–$500 of the price to be that trip.
Is it cheaper to clear land yourself?
Usually not, once machines are involved. A skid steer with a brush cutter is $450 a day plus $150 delivery and fuel; a first-timer clears a fraction of what an operator does, so a medium acre is two to three rental days plus disposal — $3,000–$4,800 — against a $3,000 contractor price. For light brush that a chainsaw and clearing saw can handle, DIY is genuinely cheap: a few hundred dollars and a couple of weekends.
What is the cheapest way to clear land?
Forestry mulching, for most land. A mulcher grinds brush and trees up to 6–10 inches in place, leaves a layer of mulch that suppresses regrowth, and produces nothing to haul or burn. It's $500–$2,500 an acre on most parcels — cheaper than dozer clearing because there's no debris handling. For dense mature timber, selling the logs to a logger first can offset a large share of the cost.
Do I need a permit to clear land?
Often. Most counties require a land-disturbance or grading permit above a threshold — commonly one acre, sometimes as little as 5,000 sq ft — with an erosion-control plan. Many cities require permits for removing trees over a set size. Wetlands and stream buffers are protected almost everywhere. Burning debris needs a burn permit. Check with your county planning office before any machine arrives.
How much does land clearing cost per hour?
$150–$250 an hour for a forestry mulcher with operator; $120–$200 for a skid steer with a brush cutter; $150–$300 for an excavator or dozer with operator. Most contractors quote by the acre rather than the hour, and hourly rates usually come with a half-day or full-day minimum plus a mobilization fee.
How much does it cost to clear 2 acres of land?
$2,000–$4,000 for brush, $4,000–$9,000 for scattered trees and thickets, and $8,000–$16,000 for dense woods. Two acres is enough for per-acre rates to soften slightly compared with a single acre, since mobilization is spread over more work.
How much does it cost to clear a wooded lot?
$4,000–$8,000 per acre for mature woods, and more if stumps are grubbed and debris hauled — a fully cleared, grubbed and rough-graded wooded acre can reach $10,000–$15,000. A typical quarter-acre residential lot with mature trees runs $2,500–$6,000. If the timber is merchantable, a logger may reduce the cost substantially.
How much does land clearing cost per square foot?
Roughly $0.02 to $0.20 per square foot, which is the per-acre range divided by 43,560. For a small residential lot the per-square-foot rate is higher because mobilization dominates: a 5,000 sq ft backyard of brush might be $800–$1,500 even though that's $0.16–$0.30 a foot.
How much does goat land clearing cost?
$400–$1,000 per acre for a rented herd, usually with a setup fee for fencing and water. Goats eat brush, vines and poison ivy down to the stems over one to three weeks per acre and are useful on slopes and near water where machines can't go. They don't remove stems or stumps, so goats are a first pass or a maintenance tool, not a clearing method for land you want bare.
Does land clearing include stump removal?
Depends on the method, and it should be spelled out in the quote. Mulching grinds stumps to or slightly below grade but leaves the roots. Cut-and-pile clearing leaves stumps unless grinding ($100–$400 each) or grubbing ($1,500–$4,000 an acre) is added. Grubbing is required for anything you'll build or grade.
Sources
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators (SOC 47-2073), Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics , U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-04
- How Much Does It Cost to Clear Land? , HomeAdvisor, 2026-09
- Land Clearing Cost Guide , Angi, 2026-09
- Skid steer, chainsaw and stump grinder rental rates , The Home Depot, 2026-09
- Environmental Quality Incentives Program (brush management cost-share) , USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2026-09
- Logging and Tree Care Safety , OSHA, 2026-09
Figures last reviewed . See how we estimate.