What is the cheapest common wood species?
Poplar and white pine tie for cheapest of the fourteen species here, at $4 a board foot. Mahogany is four times the price. What an 8-foot 1x6 actually costs to buy, species by species.
Poplar and White pine tie for cheapest, at $4/bf — an 8' 1x6 in either costs about $21 bought as rough 4/4 stock.
Mahogany is the priciest at $16/bf — the same board costs about $83, 300% more for the identical piece of wood in a different species.
How that is worked out
- An 8' 1x6 needs 4.00 board feet of 4/4 rough stock — the same for every species, since board footage is pure geometry.
- Buying rough carries the usual waste allowance for cutting to a clean, flat 1x6: 4.00 bf × 1.3 = 5.20 bf to actually buy.
- Multiply that by the species' price per board foot and every row in the table below falls out the same way — the only thing that changes species to species is the price.
Cost of an 8' 1x6, bought as rough 4/4 stock, cheapest first
| Species | $/board foot | Board feet to buy | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poplar | $4 | 5.20 | $20.80 |
| White pine | $4 | 5.20 | $20.80 |
| Douglas fir | $5 | 5.20 | $26.00 |
| Soft maple | $6 | 5.20 | $31.20 |
| Cedar | $6 | 5.20 | $31.20 |
| Red oak | $7 | 5.20 | $36.40 |
| Ash | $7 | 5.20 | $36.40 |
| Hickory | $8 | 5.20 | $41.60 |
| White oak | $9 | 5.20 | $46.80 |
| Hard maple | $9 | 5.20 | $46.80 |
| Sapele | $10 | 5.20 | $52.00 |
| Cherry | $11 | 5.20 | $57.20 |
| Walnut | $14 | 5.20 | $72.80 |
| Mahogany | $16 | 5.20 | $83.20 |
Worth knowing
- Prices reviewed 2026-09-01 and they go stale fast — they are ballpark national averages for 4/4 FAS-grade stock, and a real yard quote can differ by a lot in either direction depending on region and grade. The board foot calculator takes any price you actually have.
- This prices rough stock, not S4S surfaced boards — a board already milled flat and square from a specialty retailer costs more per board foot than the figures here, sometimes a lot more.
- Price tracks scarcity and demand more than it tracks any number elsewhere on this page. Mahogany is not the hardest, heaviest or most stable species on this site — it is the most restricted and the most sought after for finish carpentry.
Work out your own numbers
- Board foot calculator
How much lumber to buy for a finished piece, what it will cost, and what to ask for at the yard.
Related questions
- What is the cheapest hardwood for furniture?
- Poplar, tied with white pine (a softwood) at $4 a board foot. Poplar is the usual choice for paint-grade furniture and drawer sides specifically because it is a genuine hardwood at a softwood price — it just isn't a species anyone chooses for its looks.
- Why does walnut cost more than oak?
- Slower growth, a smaller usable log diameter, and steady demand from furniture makers all push walnut's price up — $14/bf against red oak's $7. None of that is about strength or workability; oak and walnut are both excellent furniture woods, and the price gap is almost entirely about how much of each species comes out of the ground.
- How much does an 8 foot board of oak cost?
- About $36 for red oak or $47 for white oak, buying an 8' 1x6 as rough 4/4 stock at this site's reference prices. White oak's premium is real lumber-market pricing, not just a rounding difference — it is the tighter-grained, more rot-resistant of the two.