Getting rid of a tree stump costs between nothing and about £500, and the range is that wide because "removal" describes four different jobs. Grinding is what most people end up paying for, at £120 to £400 for a single stump on our price card, or £70 to £150 if it is added to a tree removal while the crew is still there. Digging the stump out whole usually costs more once hire, spoil disposal and topsoil are counted. A chemical stump killer costs a few pounds but takes a year or more and still leaves you the stump. Leaving it to rot is free, and slow enough to be a decision rather than a default. Detailed grinding prices by stump width are on our stump grinding cost guide; this page is about choosing between the methods.
This guide is general information, not legal advice.
What "removal" means to different contractors
Before you compare quotes, pin down what is being removed, because two firms can quote the same stump and mean different things.
Grinding cuts the stump and the top of the root plate into chippings, typically to somewhere between 15 and 30 centimetres below ground level, which is enough to lay turf, gravel or a patio base over. The lateral roots stay in the ground and rot down over several years. That is what stump grinding means.
Full extraction takes out the stump and the root plate as one lump, by digger, winch or hand. That is stump removal, it is priced individually, and it is usually only worth it if you are building or laying foundations where the tree stood.
So ask two questions of any quote: how deep, and are surface roots included. A price that looks cheap often turns out to be a shallow grind that leaves a hump under your new lawn.
Method 1: grinding
The usual answer for a garden stump. A toothed wheel sweeps across it in layers. A small stump takes minutes, a wide old one with buttress roots can take an hour or more.
On our price card a single stump is £120 to £180 under 30cm across, £180 to £280 at 30 to 60cm, and £280 to £400 over 60cm, with a job minimum of about £150. Two or three stumps cost about 1.8 times the single price and four or more about 2.5 times, which matters if you have a row left from a conifer hedge. Ground out during the tree removal itself it is about £70 on a small tree, £100 on a medium one and £150 on a large one.
You are left with a shallow crater of chippings and soil. Most crews backfill with the arisings and tread it down; if you want them taken away and topsoil instead, say so when you ask for the price.
Method 2: digging it out
Hand digging genuinely works on small stumps, and the RHS says the stump and main roots of small trees can usually be dug out with a pickaxe and a sharp spade. On anything thicker than your thigh it stops being a weekend job.
For bigger stumps it means a machine. Mini digger hire is commonly quoted from around £85 to £160 a day plus delivery of roughly £35 to £120 each way, though those figures come from price-comparison sites rather than a depot, so ring two local hire yards. Then add the parts people forget:
- Spoil. A root plate plus the soil stuck to it will not fit in a wheelie bin. That is a grab load, a skip or a trailer to the tip.
- Backfill. You are left with a hole, not a divot. Screened topsoil is generally £45 to £90 a bulk bag depending on grade and area, and a decent-sized stump hole can swallow more than one.
- Access and reinstatement. A micro digger is built to fit a garden gate; a 1.5 tonne machine often is not, so measure your narrowest point including the gate posts. Tracked machines mark lawns, so budget for turf or seed.
Done properly this is the only method that truly takes the roots away, which is why it is the right call before building work. For a lawn or a border it is usually overkill.
Method 3: chemical stump killer
The cheapest thing you can buy and the slowest thing you can do. Ammonium sulphamate, the product older gardeners remember, lost its herbicide approval in the EU in 2008, so garden stump killers now are mostly glyphosate-based. They go on a freshly cut surface or into drilled holes, work best in late summer and autumn while the stump is still moving sap, and often need repeating.
A stump killer kills, it does not remove, so the wood is still there afterwards and still has to rot, be ground or be dug. The RHS does not support the use of weedkillers, recommending cultural methods first. Where it earns its place is on species that sucker aggressively, where killing the root system stops a forest of shoots coming up across the lawn.
Method 4: leaving it to rot
Free, and for plenty of gardens the right answer. A stump in a corner nobody needs the space from can be left, and the RHS points out that dead wood and stumps support a great deal of garden wildlife. The costs are not financial:
- Time. Softwood stumps break down in a few years, dense hardwood such as oak can take decades.
- Fungal fruiting bodies. Toadstools and brackets on a rotting stump are usually ordinary decay fungi doing their job. Honey fungus is the exception, because it spreads through soil by black bootlace rhizomorphs and an infected stump acts as a food base. RHS advice where it is confirmed is to excavate and destroy the infected root and stump material, so if you have lost other plants nearby, grinding is not enough on its own.
- Regrowth. Cherry, poplar, lime, willow and elm in particular throw suckers from the stump and the roots, and you will be mowing them off for years.
- The space. You cannot plant a tree in the same spot, pave over it neatly, or run a fence line through it.
The four methods compared
| Method | Typical cost | How long it takes | What is left |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grinding | £120–£400 per stump | An hour or two | Chippings, lateral roots rotting in the ground |
| Digging out by machine | Hire, spoil, topsoil and reinstatement on top of labour; usually more than grinding | Half a day to a day | A large hole to fill, roots gone |
| Chemical killer | A few pounds for the product | 12 months or more, often repeated | A dead stump you still have to remove |
| Leaving it | Nothing | Years to decades | A rotting stump, possible suckers and fungi |
What changes the price
Width is the main driver, measured across the top at the widest point. Species matters because dense hardwood grinds slower than conifer. Access decides machine size, and a grinder that has to come through the house or travel more than about 20 metres from the van adds roughly 15 per cent. The root plate counts: wide buttress roots, or surface roots you want chased out, are more work than the top measurement suggests. Proximity to walls, drives, drains and boundaries limits how the operator can approach. And buried services change everything, because a grinder works at exactly the depth garden pipes and cables sit at; see does stump grinding damage pipes and cables.
Getting a price
We are an introducer. We pass your enquiry to one vetted local specialist covering your area, and they confirm a fixed price. Start with stump grinding and the stump grinding cost guide for prices by size, or stump removal if the roots have to come out. If the tree is still standing, tree removal and the tree removal cost guide are cheaper done as one visit. Thinking of doing it yourself? Read can you remove a stump yourself first.
Questions
Is it cheaper to grind a stump or dig it out?
Grinding, in almost every garden case. A single stump ground out is £120 to £400 on our price card. Digging out means machine hire or a lot of labour, then getting rid of the spoil, then buying topsoil, then repairing the lawn. Digging out is the right choice when the roots genuinely have to go, such as before foundations.
How long does a tree stump take to rot naturally?
It depends on species and size. Softwood and conifer stumps soften within a few years, while a large oak or beech stump can still be solid after a decade or more. Cutting it low and keeping it damp speeds things up a little, but nothing turns years into months.
Will the stump grow back if I just leave it?
The stump itself will not regrow into a tree, but several species send up suckers from the stump and the roots, cherry, poplar, lime, willow and elm being the usual culprits. Repeatedly cutting the suckers off eventually exhausts the roots, and a cut-stump herbicide treatment is the other option.
Do I need permission to remove a stump?
Usually no, but the tree it came from may have been protected. A tree preservation order or a conservation area applies to the tree, so the important checks happen before felling, not after. See how to check if a tree has a TPO.