Firewood Price NZ: What You Should Actually Pay
Firewood pricing in NZ varies wildly — by region, by supplier, by wood type, and by how seriously the wood was dried. This page covers what to look for, what's reasonable, and how to compare prices like-for-like.
The short answer
Expect to pay between $200 and $700 for a cubic metre of NZ firewood, depending on type and quality. Kiln-dried hardwood sits at the top of that range. Bulk pine offcuts sit at the lower end. Wood briquettes are priced by weight rather than volume, but per-evening cost is competitive.
What affects firewood prices in NZ
Wood type
Hardwoods (gum, macrocarpa) cost more than softwoods (pine, douglas fir). They also burn longer, so cost-per-evening can even out.
Drying method
Kiln-dried firewood costs more than air-seasoned. The premium is real — kiln-dried firewood lights first try, burns hotter, and contains less water weight, so you're paying for actual heat instead of moisture.
Delivery distance
Firewood is heavy. Suppliers that deliver locally are usually cheaper than ones that ship long distance.
Order size
Bulk orders (5m³+) get the lowest per-cubic-metre rate. Small bagged firewood from petrol stations is the most expensive per kilo by a huge margin.
How our prices stack up
Bulk kiln-dried firewood: 5m³ and 8m³ loads, free local delivery across the Waikato. Direct from our Ōtorohanga sawmill — no middleman markup. See current pricing →
Wood Fire Puck subscription: $36/week for a 3-box plan, $50/week for 5-box, $90/week for 10-box. Free delivery, pause or cancel anytime. See subscription pricing →
Bunnings retail: our 10L Wood Fire Puck boxes at Bunnings nationwide. Check Bunnings price →
How to compare firewood prices fairly
Same volume, same dryness, same delivery distance. A $300 cubic metre of properly kiln-dried firewood is usually cheaper to actually heat with than a $200 cubic metre of half-seasoned wet wood — because more of what you paid for is actual fuel.
For briquettes, compare per-kilo cost AND heat output. Briquettes carry about 3x the heat per kilo of seasoned firewood, so a higher per-kilo price often works out cheaper per evening of warmth.
Order firewood
Puck subscription → · Bulk firewood →
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