Taking a tree down in an Austin back yard is rarely a felling job. There is a fence on one side, a pool on the other, and a neighbour’s garage within reach of the top third. So most of what we do is rigging: the climber takes the canopy apart in pieces, the ground crew ropes each one down, and the trunk comes off in rounds last.
That applies whether it is a 30-foot hackberry or an 80-foot pecan. Send us a photo and you will usually have a written price the same day.
What the price includes
Every removal quote covers taking the tree down, cutting it up, and getting all of it off your property. The chipper takes the brush, the trunk goes on the truck in rounds, and the yard gets raked and blown before we leave. If you want the trunk left in 16-inch lengths for firewood, say so and we will stack it instead of hauling it. That does not change the price either way.
Two things are quoted separately, on purpose, so you can see what they cost and decide: stump grinding, and crane time on the big ones.
What tree removal costs in Austin
Height is the first number we ask about, because it drives everything else. These are the ranges we actually quote around the metro.
| Tree height | Typical price | What that usually is |
|---|---|---|
| Under 30 ft | $450 – $850 | Hackberry, crepe myrtle, young cedar elm. Often a half day. |
| 30 – 60 ft | $850 – $1,600 | Mature cedar elm or Ashe juniper. Rigging over a fence or shed. |
| 60 – 80 ft | $1,600 – $2,800 | Full-grown live oak or pecan. Climber plus ground crew, most of a day. |
| Over 80 ft | $2,800 – $5,000+ | Heritage-size oak or a tall pecan over the house. Crane work is common. |
Four things push a job toward the top of its range. A lean toward the house rather than away from it. No gate wide enough for the chipper, so every piece gets carried to the street by hand. A power drop running through the canopy, which means the utility has to de-energise before anyone climbs. And dead wood, because a dead tree cannot be climbed and has to be taken from a bucket or a crane.
Anyone quoting you a flat $399 for a large tree over a structure has not looked at the access. Get it in writing.
When a tree has to come down
Some of these are obvious and some are not:
- Fresh soil heaving on one side of the base. The root plate is moving and the tree is already failing.
- A cavity or hollow at the trunk base you can push a screwdriver into.
- A split where two main leaders meet, especially on Bradford pear and silver maple.
- Mushrooms or shelf fungus growing out of the trunk or the root flare.
- Bark falling away in sheets with nothing living underneath.
- Oak wilt confirmed in the tree, where removal protects the oaks around it.
A tree can also simply be in the wrong place. Roots into a slab, a canopy that has swallowed the driveway, a hackberry seeded itself against the foundation fifteen years ago. Those are fine reasons and we will not try to talk you out of it.
For a 40-foot live oak leaning over the house, do not try this yourself. The difference between a controlled rigging job and a bad afternoon is a few thousand dollars of roof.
How the job runs
- You send photos, one from far enough back to show the whole tree and one of the base. We measure diameter from the photo or ask you to put a tape around it at chest height.
- We check the permit rule for your address, because that answer is different in Austin, Round Rock and Georgetown.
- You get a flat written price, itemised, with the stump as a separate line.
- On the day we drop protection over anything the wood could land on, then take the canopy down in pieces from the top.
- Brush goes through the chipper, rounds go on the truck, the yard gets raked and blown. Stump grinding happens the same visit if you booked it.
The Austin rules that catch people out
Inside Austin city limits, any tree 19 inches or more in diameter at 4.5 feet above the ground needs a permit before it comes down. At 24 inches it becomes a Heritage tree, and for the protected species list, which includes live oak and pecan, removal needs a genuine justification rather than a preference. Dead and imminently hazardous trees are handled under a different process. We work this out before quoting, because finding out afterwards is expensive.
Outside Austin the answer changes. Round Rock and Georgetown each run their own tree ordinance with their own thresholds. Unincorporated Travis, Williamson and Hays County land frequently has no tree permit requirement at all. Full detail is in our Austin tree permit guide.
The other date to know is the oak wilt window. We do not open oaks between February 1 and June 30, and when a removal during those months is unavoidable we paint every cut immediately. More on that on the oak wilt page.
Questions about tree removal
How long does it take to remove a tree?
Most Austin removals take half a day to a full day. A 25-foot hackberry in an open yard is done in about three hours including cleanup. A 70-foot live oak between a house and a pool is a full day, sometimes two if the wood has to be carried out to the street by hand because no gate is wide enough for the chipper.
Will you damage my lawn or driveway?
We lay plywood under the truck and chipper wherever the ground is soft, which in Austin means most of the year on clay soil east of I-35. Big rounds get dropped onto mats rather than straight onto turf. If a crane has to sit on your driveway we will tell you before the day, because outriggers on an older slab can crack it.
Do I need to be home?
Not for the work itself, as long as we can get to the tree and the gate is unlocked. Plenty of our Austin jobs happen while people are at the office. We do want you there for about five minutes at the start if it is your first job with us, so we can both agree on exactly which tree and how much of it.
Is it cheaper to remove a tree in winter?
Slightly, and it is the best time to book. January and February are quiet in Austin, so scheduling is easy and prices sit at the lower end of each range. Late spring and the weeks after any big storm are the opposite. A bare canopy is also faster to work through, which shows up in the labour.
What happens to the stump?
It stays unless you pay to grind it, which is why we quote it separately. Grinding runs $120 to $400 depending on diameter and access, and it is much cheaper booked with the removal because the machine is already on the trailer. We grind 8 to 12 inches below grade so you can sod or plant straight over it.
Does my insurance pay for this?
Only if the tree has already damaged something covered, like a roof, fence or car, and even then the removal payout is often capped near $500 to $1,000. Taking down a healthy or leaning tree before it falls is not covered by any standard Texas policy. Our insurance guide goes through the exact wording.
Where we remove trees
We take trees down across the whole metro: tree removal in Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Leander and Pflugerville, plus Hutto, Lakeway, Kyle and Buda.