Free Cord of Wood calculator
Measure any firewood stack in full cords, face cords, and cubic feet — enter the length, height, and log length to see exactly how much of a 128-cubic-foot cord you have, updated live, as you type.
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Cords measure stacked volume (wood, bark and air), not weight or heat value. Stack tightly for an accurate count.
Results are estimates. Consult a professional.
How the cord of wood calculator works
Firewood is sold by the cord, and a cord is a measure of stacked volume — not weight, and not how hot the wood burns. The calculator multiplies your stack's length, height and depth to get cubic feet, then divides by 128 to convert that volume into full cords. It also reports face cords, the smaller unit many dealers quote, so you can check any firewood offer against the standard 128-cubic-foot cord.
What is a cord of wood?
A full cord is the only firewood unit with a fixed legal definition: 128 cubic feet of stacked wood, bark and the air gaps between the pieces. The classic stack is 4 feet high, 4 feet deep and 8 feet long, but any tightly stacked pile that totals 128 cubic feet is one cord — a 2-foot-high stack 8 feet deep and 8 feet long counts just the same.
That 128-cubic-foot figure is what every other measurement traces back to. When a seller quotes a "cord," a "face cord," a "rick" or "a truckload," each is really a claim about how many of those 128 cubic feet you are getting. Pin down the volume and the price per cord becomes a number you can compare.
Full cord vs. face cord vs. rick
Here is where most firewood money is lost. A full cord and a face cord can be priced within a few dollars of each other, yet the full cord can hold three times the wood. The difference is depth — how far back the stack runs — and it is the one number a casual buyer never thinks to ask about.
Full cord — the 4-foot-deep standard
A full cord is the whole 128 cubic feet: 4 feet high, 8 feet long, and a full 4 feet deep. At 16-inch log lengths that is three rows of wood stacked front to back, which is exactly why a full cord equals three 16-inch face cords.
Face cord — one row, depth set by the log length
A face cord is a single row: 4 feet high and 8 feet long, but only as deep as the logs are long. With common 16-inch wood that depth is about 1.33 feet, so a face cord holds roughly 42.7 cubic feet — one-third of a full cord. Cut to 24 inches, the same face is 64 cubic feet, or half a cord. The depth quietly changes everything.
Rick, rank and rack — regional names for a face cord
A rick is the same thing as a face cord — one row, 4 by 8 feet, log-length deep. "Rick," "rank" and "rack" are regional words for it, and none carries a legal definition. Because the depth rides on the log length, two ricks priced the same can differ by 50% in wood, so always confirm both the height of the stack and the length of the cut.
A worked example using the cord calculator
Maria stacked this winter's wood along her fence: 20 feet long, 4 feet high, cut to 16-inch lengths in a single row. A neighbour sold her "two cords." She wants to know what she really has.
Step 1 — Put the depth in feet
The logs are 16 inches long, so the stack is one log deep: 16 ÷ 12 = 1.33 ft deep.
Step 2 — Find the volume in cubic feet
Length × height × depth: 20 × 4 × 1.3333 = 106.7 cubic feet of stacked wood.
Step 3 — Convert to full cords
Divide by 128: 106.7 ÷ 128 = 0.83 full cords. Not the two cords she was told — about five-sixths of a single cord.
Step 4 — Read it as face cords
Length × height ÷ 32: (20 × 4) ÷ 32 = 2.5 face cords. So the "two cords" were really two and a half face cords — and 2.5 × one-third ≈ 0.83 of a full cord, which matches Step 3.
How to measure a firewood delivery
The surest way to check a delivery is to stack it and measure it. Loose, dumped wood is full of air, so a pile that looks like a cord in the driveway often shrinks once it is stacked tight. Measure after stacking, not before.
- Stack it tightly in a straight row, pieces running the same direction, gaps kept small. Air space counts toward the cord, but only at a normal tight stack — not a loose heap.
- Measure three dimensions in feet — the length of the run, the height of the stack, and the depth (your log length). Average a few spots if the top is uneven.
- Multiply for cubic feet, then divide by 128. Drop the numbers into the calculator above and read the full cords directly.
- Compare to what you paid for. If you bought a full cord, the stack should reach about 128 cubic feet — for example 4 ft high × 8 ft long × 4 ft deep.
Cord sizes at a glance
This table converts common stacks into cubic feet and cords. The depth column is the log length, since that is what turns a single row into its share of a full cord.
| Stack (L × H × depth) | Cubic feet | Full cords | Face cords |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 ft × 4 ft × 4 ft (full cord) | 128 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| 8 ft × 4 ft × 16 in (face cord) | 42.7 | 0.33 | 1.00 |
| 8 ft × 4 ft × 24 in | 64 | 0.50 | 1.00 |
| 16 ft × 4 ft × 16 in | 85.3 | 0.67 | 2.00 |
| 20 ft × 4 ft × 16 in | 106.7 | 0.83 | 2.50 |
| 24 ft × 4 ft × 16 in (3 face cords) | 128 | 1.00 | 3.00 |
Cubic feet = length × height × depth (all in feet; 16 in = 1.33 ft, 24 in = 2 ft). Full cords = ÷ 128. A full cord is three 16-inch face cords because 4 ft of depth ÷ 16 in = 3 rows.
Seasoning: why dry cords matter more than big cords
A cord measures volume, but heat comes from dry wood. Green, freshly cut firewood can be half water by weight, and that water steals energy from the fire as it boils off — you get smoke, creosote and a cool burn instead of heat. The cord you want is a seasoned cord.
Aim for a moisture content below 20%. Most species need at least six to nine months of drying after cutting and splitting to reach that, and dense hardwoods like oak can take a year or two. Split the rounds, stack them off the ground with the top covered and the sides open to the wind, and let air do the work.
University of Illinois Extension advises that firewood "should be seasoned (allowed to dry) before used" with a "moisture content of the wood below 20 percent," and that it "usually takes at least six to nine months of drying time after cutting fresh wood to lower moisture content to this level."Firewood measurement terms
How accurate is this cord calculator?
The volume math is exact. Length times height times depth is the precise cubic-foot volume of your stack, and dividing by 128 gives the exact number of full cords. If your three measurements are right, the cord figure is right to the decimal.
What the calculator cannot see is how tightly the wood is stacked and how straight the pieces are. A neat stack of split, uniform logs is mostly wood; a loose pile of round, crooked branches is mostly air, so two stacks of the same outside dimensions can hold noticeably different amounts of solid wood. The cord is a measure of stacked space, which is why sellers and inspectors always measure a tight, orderly stack. Stack carefully, measure to the nearest inch, and confirm the log length, and the cord count will match what you received.
Frequently asked questions about the free Cord of Wood calculator
About this Cord of Wood calculator
This cord of wood calculator runs entirely in your browser — your stack measurements are never sent anywhere, and every figure updates the moment you change an input. It converts a firewood stack into full cords, face cords, and cubic feet so you can check any delivery or offer against the standard 128-cubic-foot cord.
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