How Much Does Stump Grinding Cost in Texas?

Grinding one stump costs about $120 to $438 in national cost guides updated in 2025 and 2026. Two guides put the average at $200, and a third at $272. Most price the work at $2 to $5 per inch of stump diameter. Many companies also set a minimum charge of $75 to $100.

Closer to home, a home-services marketplace lists one medium stump at about $80 to $140 in Hillsboro and Waco. One national guide lists a medium stump in a large Texas city at $110 to $193. These are market numbers, not our price list. For a written quote on stump grinding around Hillsboro, call or text (817) 937-1506.

What do cost guides list for stump grinding?

The table pulls together ranges from national cost guides and one marketplace’s town pages. Each line is a published market range.

One contractor marketplace reports a wider national range for a whole job, $230 to $593. A spread that wide is why a written quote matters more than any average.

How does the price per inch work?

Guides price a stump by its diameter, the distance across it. Multiply that width by $2 to $5 for the base price. A 20 inch stump comes to $40 to $100 on that math.

Small stumps rarely reach the minimum on inches alone. A 10 inch stump comes to $20 to $50, so the $75 to $100 minimum sets its price. Two guides publish these lines by size:

Big stumps can run past these lines. One cost estimator starts a large stump at $173 to $307.

What changes the price of grinding a stump?

• Size. Every inch of diameter adds to the bill, and big stumps take more time.
• Count. The first stump carries the trip and the setup. Guides list each added stump on the same visit at $37 to $75.
• Access. One guide says a stump on a steep slope or behind a narrow gate costs more. Another adds up to $50 an hour for hard-to-reach spots.
• Wood. One guide says softwoods like cedar land at the low end. Another adds $50 to $150 per stump for hardwoods such as oak and elm.
• Roots. Grinding roots is its own line, about $100 to $200 an hour in the guides.
• Depth. Guides describe grinds from 1 inch to 12 inches below the ground, by stump size. A deeper grind takes more time.
• Cleanup. Some companies charge to haul the grindings away, often $50 to $200.

Do cedar and mesquite stumps need the same grind?

Not always, because the two trees act in different ways after a cut.

Ashe juniper, the blueberry cedar common in Central Texas, does not sprout from its roots. Texas A and M’s Brush Busters program says a cut at ground level controls it. Redberry cedar, more common in West and North Central Texas, has to be cut below the soil surface.

Mesquite is different. Texas A and M brush research says regrowth stops with a cut below the bud zone. That cut sits 6 to 14 inches down, by tree size. A grind at grade can leave buds in the soil, so watch the spot for sprouts the next season. On Hill County’s most common soil, a black clay, NRCS lists scattered elm and mesquite in the native prairie.

Does grinding cost less than pulling a stump?

Yes, in the cost guides. One lists grinding at $150 to $300 and full removal at $200 to $700. Another puts full removal at $175 to $516.

The difference is the roots. Grinding turns the stump into chips below the ground and leaves the roots in place. Pulling lifts out the whole root ball and leaves a large hole to fill. One marketplace guide adds that grinding can cost less on an old tree with big roots or hard soil.

We grind stumps and leave pulling them to an excavation contractor. If a house or a barn will sit on the spot, ask the builder whether to grind or pull.

What do you do with the grindings and the hole?

Grinding leaves a mix of wood chips and soil where the stump stood. The grindings stay on site, and one guide notes that keeping them skips a disposal fee.

Extension horticulturists say the chips make good mulch around trees once they season. Spread them about 2 inches deep and keep them off the trunk.

For grass, fill the hole with topsoil instead of chips. The same experts say grass wants at least a foot of topsoil for good roots. Fine chips mixed into the soil can tie up nitrogen that plants need, a university extension service warns.

What does a pasture full of stumps cost?

Guides say some companies switch to a flat rate when many stumps sit in one place. Others bill by the hour, at $125 to $200 an hour.

When the stumps sit in a thicket, the brush comes first. Forestry mulching turns brush and small trees into a layer of mulch on the ground. Then the stumps left from clearing get ground. For costs by the acre, read what land clearing costs per acre in Texas. For the whole job, see land clearing in Hillsboro and the country around it.

How do you get a real number for your stumps?

Count the stumps and measure each one across. Note the kind of tree and any gate or slope on the way in. Point out any private line on your land, like a water line to a barn. The 811 law does not cover a line that serves only your property.

Then we look at the job and put the quote in writing. See how our stump grinding works, or call or text (817) 937-1506.