The question everyone asks first
How much to remove a tree is the first question on nearly every call, and the honest answer is that it depends on things you cannot see from the footpath. What follows is what actually decides it, so you can estimate before anyone visits.
Indicative ranges
Small tree removal typically runs in the order of $200 to $500 depending on the factors below. Large trees requiring more labour and specialised equipment run from about $800 to $2,000 or more. Those ranges assume ordinary suburban work with reasonable access.
They are a starting point, not a quote. Treat anything outside the ordinary — a very large eucalypt over a roof, a crane lift, a multi-day job — as sitting well above the top of that range.
The six things that set the price
1. Access. The single largest variable in Sydney. Can a chipper and tipper park within useful distance? Can the crew get gear from the kerb to the base? A 900mm side gate means everything is carried by hand. A battle-axe handle means everything is barrowed fifty metres. A gully block means carrying it uphill.
2. What is underneath. Open lawn allows a straight fell — fast and cheap. A pool, a pergola, a shed, a neighbour's glass roof or a colorbond fence means sectional dismantling with every piece rigged and lowered on rope. That is the difference between hours and days.
3. Species and timber. Eucalypt timber is dense and heavy. Camphor laurel is soft and wet but enormous in volume, producing several tipper loads of chip from one tree. Palms are quick and light. Figs are slow and often protected.
4. Machine access. Counter-intuitively, a crane or truck-mounted elevated work platform usually makes a big removal cheaper, not dearer, because it collapses two days of rigging into half a day of lifting. Whether one can be used depends on street width, overhead wires, driveway strength and setback.
5. The stump. Grinding is a separate machine and is usually priced separately. Booking it into the same visit is much cheaper than a return trip, because the mobilisation is most of the cost.
6. Council requirements. In a strict council area, a permit fee and a paid arborist report may be needed before a crew can start. That is real money and it sits outside the tree quote.
What makes a cheap quote cheap
Four exclusions account for nearly every unusually low price:
- Green waste not carted away.
- Trunk rounds left on site.
- Stump not included.
- No public liability insurance.
The first three are fine if you want them and know about them. The fourth is not, and nobody volunteers it. Ask to see current cover before accepting any quote, and get the other three confirmed in writing.
Before you call
Have your suburb, a rough height, what is under the tree, and the narrowest point of the access route. Two photos from different angles beat any description.
More detail is in the cost guide and on the removal service page. If budget is the constraint, this page covers the legitimate savings. Other guides are on the blog index.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a fixed price without a site visit?
For a small, low, open-access tree, sometimes, particularly with good photos. For anything of size, no. The method — fell, dismantle, or lift with a crane — is what sets the price, and method depends on details nobody describes accurately over the phone. A figure that doubles on the day is worse than no figure at all.
How much cheaper is it to do two trees at once?
Meaningfully. A large share of any quote is mobilising a crew, a chipper and a tipper to your street and setting up. The second tree in the same visit avoids all of that. Neighbours on the same street who book together often do better again, and it is worth a conversation over the fence before either of you commits.