Most residential tree removals in Ottawa land between $500 and $2,500. Large trees close to a structure — the ones that have to be climbed and dismantled in pieces over a roof — run higher. Our own minimum charge for quoted work is $160, and stump grinding starts at $250 for a stump 30 cm across or less.
That range is wide enough to be almost useless on its own, which is why most tree companies will not publish it. So here is the part that actually helps: what moves your quote within that range, in the order that matters.
1. Trunk diameter, not height
Height is what homeowners describe and diameter is what sets the price. The reason is arithmetic: the volume of wood in a trunk rises with the square of its diameter. An 80 cm trunk is not twice the work of a 40 cm trunk — it is about four times the wood to cut, rig, move, chip and dispose of.
This is also why a 50-foot spruce and a 50-foot silver maple are completely different jobs. The spruce is narrow, light and comes down in a predictable order. The maple has a heavy spreading crown, a fat trunk and multiple leaders.
2. What is underneath it
Every replaceable thing inside the fall radius is fine. Everything irreplaceable changes the method. A house, a fence, a pool, a shed, a hydro service drop, the neighbour’s garage — each one is a reason the tree cannot simply be felled.
When a tree cannot be felled, it is rigged: a climber ascends, cuts limbs in sections, and each section is roped and lowered under control rather than dropped. Rigging is slow. A tree that takes twenty minutes to fell in an open field can take most of a day to dismantle over a roofline. Same tree, same species, same height — four to six times the labour.
If you take one thing from this article: you are not buying a tree removal, you are buying access to the tree.
3. Whether the truck can reach it
Closely related, and the most common reason two quotes on the same street differ. A front-yard tree with the chipper parked at the curb is efficient work: cut, feed, done. A back-yard tree behind a 1960s Nepean bungalow with a one-metre side gate means every branch is carried out by hand, one armful at a time, across a lawn you would like left intact.
Rural properties in Kemptville or Arnprior often go the other way: full equipment access and a genuine open drop zone make the same tree meaningfully cheaper than it would be in the city.
4. The condition of the wood
This one surprises people. A dead tree usually costs more to remove than a living one, not less.
Sound wood can be climbed and rigged — a climber can trust the stem to hold a rigging load. Decayed or long-dead wood cannot. Once an ash has been standing dead for two or three winters it becomes brittle enough that climbing and conventional rigging are no longer defensible, which forces a bucket truck or a crane. That is a different category of equipment and a different price.
The practical consequence for anyone with a dead ash in Orléans, Kanata or Gloucester: removing it this year is cheaper than removing it in three years, and the gap is not small.
5. What you want done with the wood and the stump
Chipping and haul-away should be included in a quote, and in ours it is. But there are choices that change the number:
- Leave the trunk in rounds for firewood — often slightly cheaper, since there is less material to chip and haul, provided you have somewhere to put it.
- Grind the stump on the same visit — considerably cheaper than booking a second mobilization later. Stump grinding is priced by diameter: $250 up to 30 cm, about $490 at 60 cm, $760 at 80 cm, $1,190 at a metre, with hardwoods adding roughly 20 per cent.
- Extra stumps at the same time — half price after the first. If you have three, do them together.
What does not change the price as much as you think
Season. Winter removals are sometimes marginally easier — frozen ground protects lawns, and a bare crown is easier to read — but the difference is small. Book when it suits you.
Species, on its own. Species matters through its structure and wood density, not as a line item. A 60 cm oak and a 60 cm poplar in the same position are not far apart.
Height above about 60 feet. Past a certain point the tree is a climbing-and-rigging job regardless, and additional height adds hours rather than changing the method.
The permit question, which is a cost
If your tree is 30 cm or more in diameter at breast height and you are inside Ottawa’s urban area on a lot of a hectare or less, you need a distinctive tree permit before removal. That is an application fee, a report, and weeks of waiting — plus a possible replanting or compensation condition. Dead trees and genuine emergency hazards are exempt. Full detail in our permit guide →
How to compare three quotes properly
Cheapest is not the useful comparison. These are:
- Is cleanup included, in writing? The single most common way a low quote becomes an expensive one.
- Is the stump included or extra? Ask for both numbers.
- Who is actually doing the work? If the person quoting is not the person cutting, the price and the plan can drift between the estimate and the day.
- Did they look at the access, or price it from the street? A quote given without walking to the back yard is a guess that will be revised.
- What happens if it takes longer than expected? A fixed quote should be fixed unless you change the scope.
And one thing that should end a conversation: anyone offering to work on a tree touching an energized hydro line. Nobody can legally do that. Call Hydro Ottawa.
How we quote
We reply within 24 hours. Tree work is quoted in person — Max comes out and looks at it, because the four things above cannot be judged from a photo — and your priced quote follows within 48 hours of that visit. Stumps are the exception: send a photo with a shovel or a boot in frame for scale and you get a firm number, usually the same day, with no visit needed. Quotes are free, and the figure you agree to is the figure you pay; it changes only if you change the scope.
Get a free quote on your tree →
Quick answers
Why is one quote half the price of another for the same tree?
Almost always cleanup or the stump. Ask every company for the total including chipping, haul-away and raking, and ask separately for the stump price. A quote that excludes disposal is not a lower price, it is a smaller scope.
Is it cheaper to remove a tree in winter?
Marginally, sometimes. Frozen ground protects lawns and a bare crown is easier to read, but the difference is small enough that you should book when it suits you rather than waiting months for it.
Does the stump have to come out too?
No, and it is a separate decision. Grinding takes the stump 20 to 30 cm below grade so you can seed or sod over it, starting at $250 for 30 cm or less. Doing it on the same visit as the removal is cheaper than booking a second mobilization.
How long does a tree removal take?
A straightforward removal with open access is usually a half day. A large tree dismantled in rigged sections over a roof or fence is a full day, occasionally two. We tell you which yours is at the quote.
Deciding between an owner-operator, a large company and a handyman? Read how to choose a tree service in Ottawa.
Max Trees publishes its prices: see the full 2026 price schedule for Ottawa tree removal, pruning and stump grinding.