Here’s a handy chart that lists common firewood types and helps you find the best one for your needs. Sort any column to see the best score by BTU rank, ease to split, smokiness, amount of sparks, coal quality and fragrance. We average the scores for each of these factors and rank the best firewood to burn with an overall score rating.
The BTU rank is a fixed list that ranks firewood by highest BTU per cord. All other categories are given a score of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score. A=excellent, B=good, C=average, D=poor, and F=bad.
| wood | rank | BTU | split | smoke | sparks | coals | smell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osage Orange | 1 | A | A | A | F | A | A |
| Hickory | 2 | C | A | A | B | A | A |
| Dogwood | 3 | A | F | A | A | C | C |
| Oak White | 4 | B | C | A | A | A | B |
| Locust Black | 5 | B | F | A | A | A | C |
| Beech | 6 | B | F | A | A | A | B |
| Apple | 7 | B | C | A | A | B | A |
| Locust Honey | 8 | B | A | A | A | A | C |
| Oak Bur | 9 | B | A | A | A | A | B |
| Mulberry | 10 | C | A | C | F | A | B |
| Maple Other | 11 | C | A | A | A | A | B |
| Oak Red | 12 | C | C | A | A | A | B |
| Ash White | 13 | C | C | A | A | B | C |
| Walnut Black | 14 | C | A | A | A | B | B |
| Juniper | 15 | D | C | C | F | F | A |
| Larch | 16 | D | C | C | F | C | C |
| Coffeetree | 17 | D | C | A | A | B | B |
| Hackberry | 18 | D | A | A | A | B | C |
| Pine Lodgepole | 19 | D | A | C | F | C | B |
| Elm Siberian | 20 | D | F | C | A | B | C |
| Birch | 21 | D | C | C | A | B | C |
| Douglas Fir | 22 | D | A | F | A | C | C |
| Cherry | 23 | D | A | A | A | A | A |
| Ash Green | 24 | D | A | A | A | B | C |
| Elm American | 25 | D | F | C | A | A | B |
| Sycamore | 26 | D | F | C | A | B | C |
| Hemlock | 27 | D | A | A | F | F | B |
| Maple Silver | 28 | D | C | A | A | A | B |
| Box elder | 29 | D | F | C | A | F | C |
| Aspen | 30 | D | A | A | A | B | C |
| Cedar Western | 31 | D | C | C | F | F | A |
| Chestnut | 32 | D | A | C | F | F | C |
| Willow | 33 | D | A | A | A | F | C |
| Alder | 34 | D | A | A | C | B | C |
| Catalpa | 35 | D | F | C | A | B | F |
| Pine Ponderosa | 36 | D | A | C | F | C | B |
| Pine White | 37 | D | A | C | C | F | B |
| Cottonwood | 38 | D | A | C | A | B | C |
| Spruce | 39 | D | A | C | F | F | C |
| Fir White | 40 | D | A | C | A | F | C |
| Poplar | 41 | D | A | C | F | C | F |
| Basswood | 42 | D | A | C | A | F | B |
| Buckeye | 43 | D | C | A | A | F | C |
| Cedar Eastern | 44 | D | A | A | F | F | C |