Tree Trimming Cost: How to Price Trimming and Palm Jobs

Trimming is the steady work in a tree trimming business. Removals pay big, but trimming fills the days between them and brings customers back every two or three years. The trouble is that trimming is easy to underprice, because every tree is different. Here is how to price it.

What tree trimming costs in 2026

Typical US prices per tree:

• Small trees, under 30 feet: $200 to $450
• Medium trees, 30 to 60 feet: $450 to $900
• Large trees, over 60 feet: $900 to $1,800
• Palm trimming: $75 to $150 for palms under 30 feet, $150 to $350 for taller ones

Crown reduction, deadwood removal on big oaks and work over a roof push prices to the top of the range. Several trees at the same address bring the per tree price down, because setup and travel are shared.

The two ways to price trimming

By the tree. You look at each tree, estimate the time, and give a price per tree. Homeowners like it because they can pick which trees to do. Most small companies quote this way.

By the day. For big properties or many trees, quote a crew day ($1,800 to $3,000 for a crew of three with a chipper) and agree on what gets done. This protects you when a job turns out slower than it looked.

How to estimate the time

For each tree, think through:

• Height and spread. Taller trees mean climbing or a bucket truck
• What you are doing. Light cleanup, raising the canopy over the roof, thinning for wind, or a full crown reduction
• Deadwood. Dead limbs are slower and riskier
• What is under it. A roof, a pool screen or a power line means roping down every cut
• Cleanup. Chipping and raking take as long as cutting on many jobs

Pricing palm trimming

In Florida, Texas, Arizona and California, palm trimming can be a business by itself. Price per palm by height and type:

• Queen and foxtail palms under 25 feet: $75 to $125
• Royal palms and tall Washingtonias: $150 to $350, often more if you need a lift
• Add seed pod removal ($30 to $50) and haul-away

Trimming palms in spring and early summer, before hurricane season, is an easy sell. Do not overprune. "Hurricane cuts" that leave only a few fronds weaken the palm, and good customers know it.

Add-ons that customers say yes to

• Haul-away instead of leaving the brush
• Stump grinding on old stumps in the same yard
• Hurricane prep thinning before June 1
• A return visit in two or three years at the same price

Give a range before the visit

Most trimming leads are people who want to know if it is $300 or $3,000. When your website shows a ballpark by tree count and height, the visit becomes a confirmation, not a negotiation. The estimate calculator does exactly that, and the free tree removal cost calculator shows trimming ranges too.

A worked example

Three live oaks in a Davie backyard, 35 to 45 feet, branches over the roof, plus two queen palms.

• Oaks: raise the canopy, clear the roof by 10 feet, remove deadwood. About 2 hours each for a crew of three: $650 each, $1,950
• Palms: $95 each, $190
• Haul-away included

The quote: $2,140. Offer it with a 10 percent discount if they book before hurricane season, and add a reminder to trim again in two years.

Mistakes that cost trimming money

• Quoting "trim the trees" without saying what that means. Write down how far off the roof, how much you thin and what happens to the brush
• Forgetting the cleanup time. On a big oak, chipping and raking can take as long as the cutting
• Doing extra trees for free because the customer asked while you were there. Quote them on the spot
• Topping trees because the customer asked. It weakens the tree, grows back worse and does not belong on your name

Turn trimming into repeat work

Write down every tree you trimmed and when. Text the customer in two or three years. A trimming customer who trusts you is also the one who calls you first when a tree comes down. Read how to get more reviews so each job brings the next one.