How Much Does Tree Removal Cost on the Gold Coast? (2026 Guide)
In 2026, tree removal on the Gold Coast costs from about $245 for a small tree under 5 m to $14,700 for an extra-large tree with difficult access, including GST. Height, access, power lines, stump grinding and green waste disposal make the biggest difference to the final figure.
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Every figure on this page comes from a published price guide, with its source and the date it was read shown beside it. They are estimates, not quotes. The only number that binds anyone is the written quote the tree business gives you after seeing the job.
How much does tree removal cost on the Gold Coast in 2026?
Tree removal is priced mainly by height, then adjusted, sometimes heavily, for access and what sits underneath the tree.
| Job | Estimated range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Small tree (under 5 m)per tree | $245–$785Typical $490 | What's The Damageas of 26 October 2026 |
| Medium tree (5–10 m)per tree | $785–$2,450Typical $1,475 | What's The Damageas of 26 October 2026 |
| Large tree (10–20 m)per tree | $1,950–$4,900Typical $3,425 | What's The Damageas of 26 October 2026 |
| Extra-large tree (20 m+)per tree | $4,400–$14,700Typical $6,350 | What's The Damageas of 26 October 2026 |
Note how wide each band is. A medium tree of 5 to 10 m spans $785 to $2,450, which is not imprecision in the source: it is the real spread between an open backyard with truck access and a tree of the same height wedged between a pool and a neighbour’s roof.
If you want a single number to budget against, the typical figures sit closer to the bottom of each band than the top: about $490 for a small tree, $1,475 for a medium one, $3,425 for a large one.
How much does stump grinding cost?
Stump grinding is nearly always quoted separately from removal, and priced by the stump’s diameter rather than the height of the tree that stood on it.
| Job | Estimated range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Small stump (under 30 cm)per stump | $145–$295Typical $195 | What's The Damageas of 26 October 2026 |
| Medium stump (30–60 cm)per stump | $245–$490Typical $345 | What's The Damageas of 26 October 2026 |
| Large stump (60 cm+)per stump | $390–$880Typical $590 | What's The Damageas of 26 October 2026 |
Grinding several stumps in one visit is usually cheaper per stump, because the cost of getting the machine to site is shared. If you have more than one, mention them all in the same enquiry rather than booking them separately.
How much does palm removal cost?
Palms are priced by height, trunk count and species rather than by wood volume.
| Job | Estimated range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Palm removalper palm | $245–$1,175Typical $390 | What's The Damageas of 26 October 2026 |
| Large palm (10 m+) or Canary Island date palmper palm | $1,175–$2,950Typical $1,775 | What's The Damageas of 26 October 2026 |
A Canary Island date palm sits in the upper band regardless of height. They are heavy, spined and slow to dismantle, and the work is closer to a large tree removal than to taking out an ordinary palm.
How much does tree lopping and pruning cost?
| Job | Estimated range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Tree pruning or trimmingper tree | $195–$1,175Typical $440 | What's The Damageas of 26 October 2026 |
| Arborist hourly rateper hour | $69–$175Typical $120 | What's The Damageas of 26 October 2026 |
Pruning spans an even wider range than removal, because it covers everything from lifting a canopy clear of a fence to reducing a mature gum over a roof. If you are getting several trees done, ask for them to be quoted together.
What else gets added to a tree quote?
| Job | Estimated range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Tree pruning or trimmingper tree | $195–$1,175Typical $440 | What's The Damageas of 26 October 2026 |
| Arborist reportper report | $295–$685Typical $440 | What's The Damageas of 26 October 2026 |
| Arborist hourly rateper hour | $69–$175Typical $120 | What's The Damageas of 26 October 2026 |
| Emergency or storm-damage workper job | $490–$4,900Typical $1,475 | What's The Damageas of 26 October 2026 |
| Tree on a house or structure, crane-assistedper job | $2,950–$11,750Typical $6,850 | What's The Damageas of 26 October 2026 |
| Green waste: ute or trailer tip run (Gold Coast)per load | $70–$150Median $100. Based on prices Gold Coast customers posted and accepted on Airtasker. Ask whether the tip fee is included. | Airtasker (Gold Coast green waste collection)as of 27 October 2026 |
| Green waste: small trailer load, 1 to 2 m³ (Queensland-wide)per load | $150–$400A Queensland-wide guide, not a Gold Coast price list. Larger trailers of 3 to 4 m³ are put at $250 to $500. | The Quote Yard (Queensland green waste guide)as of 27 October 2026 |
| Crane or elevated platform: crane hire added to a large removal (Queensland-wide)per job | $1,500–$5,000Depends on crane size, time and access. The same guide adds $500 to $2,000 where traffic management is needed. | The Quote Yard (Queensland tree guide)as of 27 October 2026 |
| Crane or elevated platform: EWP hire, per day (Brisbane figure)per day | $450–$1,200A Brisbane guide. No Gold Coast day rate was found, because local operators quote by phone. | The Quote Yard (Brisbane arborist guide)as of 27 October 2026 |
| After-hours or weekend surcharge (south-east Queensland)per job | $200–$800Added to the work done out of hours. The same guide puts an after-hours make-safe call-out at $450 to $1,500. | The Quote Yard (Queensland emergency tree guide)as of 27 October 2026 |
| Land clearing: small suburban block (Gold Coast)per block | $1,500–$4,000One Gold Coast operator’s published guide. It depends on size, vegetation density, stumps and how much is carted away. | Sollid Solutions (Gold Coast land clearing)as of 27 October 2026 |
| Land clearing: acreage or heavily overgrown block (Gold Coast)per block | $4,000–$15,000The source gives this as $4,000 to $15,000 and above, so the top is not a ceiling. A fixed written quote follows a free site visit. | Sollid Solutions (Gold Coast land clearing)as of 27 October 2026 |
Most of those extras are quoted job by job, and no Gold Coast tree business was found publishing a rate card for them. The rows above are the closest published figures, and each row names its region and source, because several come from Queensland-wide or Brisbane guides rather than the Gold Coast. They are a rough guide to the scale of a line item, not a price for your job.
- Green waste. Gold Coast task prices for a ute or trailer tip run sit at $70 to $150, with a median of $100 (Airtasker, as of 27 October 2026). If a tree business takes everything away, a Brisbane operator puts that at $200 to $1,200 on top, depending on truck loads (Dynamic Tree Solutions, as of 27 October 2026). If you cart it yourself, the City of Gold Coast says loads of recycling and green waste only can be dropped off free, and where that does not apply, such as commercial loads, the standard green waste fee is $124.50 per tonne inside City limits, with a $20 minimum for up to 160 kg (as of 27 October 2026).
- Crane or elevated work platform. No Gold Coast day rate was found. A Brisbane guide puts an elevated work platform at $450 to $1,200 per day and another Brisbane operator at $800 to $2,200 per day, with cranes at $1,800 to $4,500 per day plus operator fees (both as of 27 October 2026). The two disagree, which is a reason to ask your quote to name the equipment and the hours.
- After-hours work. A south-east Queensland guide gives an after-hours surcharge of $200 to $800 (as of 27 October 2026). It is not a Gold Coast rate card.
- Logs and heavy timber carted away. No published figure was found, so none is given here: it is quoted per job. The source says only that taking logs away changes the price, so ask the business to price it separately.
- Land clearing. One Gold Coast operator publishes $1,500 to $4,000 for a small suburban block (as of 27 October 2026). The land clearing page has the detail.
Ask about each of these when you get your quote. They are the items most likely to appear on an invoice without having been discussed.
Why do quotes vary so much?
Because the price is set by the difficulty of the job far more than by the size of the tree. Two 12 m gums can differ by thousands of dollars.
| What changes | Effect on the price |
|---|---|
| Height and trunk width | The main driver. A taller tree takes longer, needs more rigging and produces more green waste. |
| Access for machinery | A tree a truck and chipper can reach costs less than one behind a narrow side gate, where everything is carried out by hand. |
| Proximity to the house, fences or pool | A tree with room to fall can be felled in sections quickly. One over a roof has to be dismantled piece by piece and lowered on ropes. |
| Power lines | Work near power lines needs extra clearance, and sometimes a planned outage, which adds time and cost. |
| Slope and ground conditions | A steep or soft block limits which machines can be used and slows the job. |
| Stump grinding | Usually priced separately from the removal, by stump diameter and how many there are. |
| Green waste and logs | Chipping branches on site is commonly included. Carting away trunk sections is usually extra. |
| Council approval and arborist reports | If the tree is protected, an application and sometimes a report come before the work, each with their own cost. |
| Urgency | Storm and after-hours call-outs are priced above the same job booked in advance. |
This is also why quotes given over the phone, without photos or a site visit, tend to move once someone actually arrives. A quote based on a description of “a big gum in the backyard” is a guess.
How can I lower the cost?
Several of these are genuinely within your control:
- Send photos. A quote based on real photos is closer to the final figure, and it stops the padding that gets added to cover unknowns.
- Book ahead rather than in an emergency. Storm and after-hours work is priced well above the same job scheduled in advance.
- Bundle the work. Several trees, or trees plus stumps, in one visit shares the set-up cost.
- Keep the mulch. Letting the crew leave chipped material on site saves cartage and tipping.
- Keep the logs. If you have a fireplace or know someone who does, trunk sections are easier to leave than to remove.
- Clear the access path. Moving the trailer, the bins and the pot plants before the crew arrives is free, and it saves their time.
- Consider pruning instead of removal. If the issue is light, clearance or gutter debris, a prune may solve it for a fraction of the cost. See tree lopping and pruning.
One thing not on the list: choosing on price alone. Tree work is one of the more hazardous trades, and an uninsured operator working over your roof is a risk you carry, not them. Ask for the certificate of currency.
Is GST included?
Yes. The published guide these ranges come from states that its prices include GST. Check the GST position on your written quote, since that document, not this page, is what you pay against.
How accurate are these figures?
They are a published guide to typical Gold Coast pricing, read on 26 October 2026, and they are useful for budgeting and for sanity-checking a quote that looks wrong in either direction. They are not a substitute for someone standing in your yard.
If a quote comes back well above these ranges, that is not automatically a problem. Ask what about the job puts it there. Access, power lines and a tree over a structure all legitimately do. If a quote comes back well below them, ask about insurance, and ask what happens to the stump and the green waste.
Common questions
How much does it cost to remove a tree on the Gold Coast?
A published price guide puts Gold Coast tree removal at roughly $245–$785 for a small tree under 5 m and $4,400–$14,700 for an extra-large tree over 20 m, including GST (source: What’s The Damage, as of 26 October 2026). Height, access, power lines and stump grinding move the figure most. The cost guide has the full table.
What does emergency tree removal cost?
A published price guide puts Gold Coast emergency or storm-damage work at roughly $490–$4,900 per job, and a crane-assisted removal of a tree on a house or structure at $2,950–$11,750, including GST (source: What’s The Damage, as of 26 October 2026). Urgency, access and crane hire drive the figure. See the cost guide and the emergency tree service table.
How much does an arborist report cost?
A published price guide puts an arborist report at roughly $295–$685, and a consulting arborist’s hourly rate at $69–$175, including GST (source: What’s The Damage, as of 26 October 2026). Scope, tree count and whether the report supports a council application all move the figure. See arborist reports and the cost guide.
Is it cheaper to remove a tree in winter?
No Gold Coast pricing data was found either way, so this site does not claim a seasonal discount. What is clear locally is that demand spikes after summer storms, and a job booked in advance is generally priced below the same job as an emergency call-out. The cost guide lists what moves a quote.
Do I need to pay a deposit?
That is set by the business that quotes, not by this site. Ask what is payable and when, and get it in writing before any work starts. Queensland Fair Trading says that when you accept a quote you have formed a contract, so check the quote covers every part of the job and that the business knows not to start until you approve it. As plain advice, avoid paying the full price before the work is finished. Under the consumer guarantees, services must be provided with due care and skill. The cost guide lists what else tends to appear on a quote.
Is GST included in these prices?
Yes, for the tree removal, stump, palm and arborist figures. The published guide these ranges come from (What’s The Damage) states that its prices include GST. Some other sources used in the cost guide, such as the land clearing, green waste and crane figures, do not say either way. Confirm the GST position on the written quote you receive, since that quote, not this page, is what you pay.
How much does stump grinding cost on the Gold Coast?
A published price guide puts it at roughly $145–$295 for a stump under 30 cm, $245–$490 for 30–60 cm and $390–$880 for 60 cm and over, including GST (source: What’s The Damage, as of 26 October 2026). Root spread and machine access matter as much as the diameter. See stump grinding and the cost guide.
How much does palm tree removal cost on the Gold Coast?
A published price guide puts palm removal at roughly $245–$1,175, rising to $1,175–$2,950 for a palm over 10 m or a Canary Island date palm, including GST (source: What’s The Damage, as of 26 October 2026). Height, trunk count and access drive the price. See palm removal and the cost guide.
Last reviewed 27 October 2026