Comparing quotes

Why two quotes for the same acreage differ by more than price

Published September 5, 2026Field notes

Direct answer

Why are land-clearing quotes for the same property so different?

Checked 2026-09-01

Two quotes on the same parcel commonly differ by a factor that surprises people, and the reason is almost never that one contractor is expensive and the other is cheap. It is that they are describing different work. One may be quoting a single mulching pass to a rough finish; the other a finer finish with retained trees protected and slash processed to a set depth. One may include the access route, the other may treat it as extra. One may have assumed stumps stay, the other that they go. Comparing the numbers before comparing the scopes is how a property owner accepts the lowest price and then pays the difference in change orders. The fix is not negotiation; it is writing one scope and asking everyone to price that.

The five differences that account for most of the gap

Finish standard, retained vegetation, material handling, stumps, and access. Each of them can change the hours on a site substantially, and each is easy to leave implicit in a conversation.

A finish standard is the most common. 'Cleared' can mean anything from stems knocked down and left, to a mulch mat processed fine enough to mow over. Those are different jobs with the same one-word description.

What a comparable scope contains

The mapped work limit, with the boundary described by something physical rather than by acreage
What is retained — species, size, specific trees, or a mapped area
The finish standard, stated as a mulch depth or particle size rather than as an adjective
What happens to material: mulched in place, piled, chipped, or removed
Stumps: left, ground, or excavated, and what the surface must support afterwards
The access route, and who is responsible for its condition afterwards
Anything known to be in the ground: wire, stone walls, old foundations, culverts, buried services

Why the acreage number is the weakest input

An acre of open field with scattered saplings and an acre of dense fifteen-year regrowth with mature stems are the same number and not remotely the same job. Density, average and maximum stem size, species and entanglement drive the hours far more than area does.

That is why a contractor asks for photographs, and why a quote given from acreage alone is a guess that both parties will revisit.

How to read a much lower number

A low quote is sometimes a genuinely more efficient operation, and sometimes a narrower scope. The way to tell is to ask what it excludes rather than to ask why it is low.

Ask the five questions above of both quotes. If the low one turns out to cover the same work, that is useful information. If it turns out to exclude the access route, the stumps and the finish, then the two numbers were never comparable and the gap was never a discount.

The same word, two different jobs

Term	Narrow reading	Broad reading	Hours affected
Cleared	Stems down, material left where it falls	Processed to an even mulch mat	Large
Retained trees	Whatever survives the pass	Named trees protected, worked around	Large
Stumps	Left at grade	Ground or excavated and backfilled	Large
Material	Mulched in place	Piled, chipped or hauled off	Moderate to large
Access	Existing route used as found	Route built, protected and restored	Moderate
Finish	Passable	Mowable	Moderate

Keep exploring

Keep reading

Field notes Overview ↗Clearing to a deadline changes the job, not just the schedule Project sequencing ↗What a mulching head cannot do, and what always gets priced separately Method ↗What the site looks like the day the machine leaves, and what it looks like in June Expectations ↗

Field questions

Know what the machine can—and cannot—solve.

01Why is one quote half the other?

Almost always because it covers less work. Ask what each excludes rather than why one is low.

02What is the single most important thing to specify?

The finish standard, stated as a measurable rather than an adjective. It has the biggest effect on hours and it is the term most often left vague.

03Is acreage a bad way to describe a job?

It is a starting point and a poor predictor. Density, stem size, species and entanglement drive the time far more than area.

04What should I photograph for a quote?

The access route, the boundary, the densest area, the largest stems, any wet ground, and anything you know is in the soil.

05Do stumps have to be removed?

Not usually, and it depends entirely on the intended use. Leaving them is cheaper and fine for many uses; a building area or a mowed field is not one of them.

06Can material be left on site?

Often yes, and it is normally the cheapest option. Depth matters, because too thick a mat suppresses what you want to establish.

07Who is responsible for the access route afterwards?

Whoever the scope says. It is a common gap, and it matters most on a shared or a neighbour's route.

08Should I tell contractors about buried wire or stone walls?

Always. Old fence wire in particular damages equipment and slows a job, and a contractor who finds it unexpectedly will reprice.

09Does a written scope make the price higher?

It usually makes it accurate. It removes the contingency a contractor otherwise has to carry for an ambiguous description.

10Should I choose on price at all?

On price for the same scope, yes. On price across different scopes, no — that is comparing two different jobs.

11What if I do not know what finish I need?

Say what the land is for. A contractor can translate a use into a finish standard; they cannot guess a use from an acreage.

12Does this site provide quotes?

No. It publishes planning information and passes a request to an independent contractor, who inspects, scopes and prices the work themselves.

Start with the site

Let’s walk the ground before choosing the machine.

Share the location, acreage, density, slope, access, photos, and intended outcome. We’ll turn the idea into a scope that can be evaluated on the property.

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