How we compute this

Before there is enough real data near you, we show a modeled estimate. It is built from the things that actually drive tree-work cost: local labor and disposal rates for your area, the size of the tree (its height and how big around the trunk is), how hard it is to reach and drop safely (over a house, near power lines, backyard only), and add-ons like stump grinding, hauling the debris, and permits. It is a starting point, not a bid.

We never show a single "average." Prices for the same job spread out a lot, so we show a range and where your quote falls inside it. Once ranges are backed by real quotes, each one will tell you how many it is based on, how far around you we looked, and how recent they are. Today every range is modeled from job size, conditions, and regional labor rates, and the result says so.

When we have only a few quotes near you, we say so, we keep leaning on the model, and we widen the range instead of pretending to be precise. Below about twenty quotes we describe your position in tenths ("higher than about 7 of 10"), never in fake-precise percentages. Until real quotes exist near you, that comparison is against modeled prices, not against jobs, and the result says that too.

This is crowdsourced, so the honest question is: what stops a tree company from entering fake quotes to bend the numbers? Here is what we do, and what we cannot promise.

What we do:

• A bot check and per-network daily limits make bulk and automated entries much harder.
• Identical resubmissions collapse into one, so nobody pads the count by repeating a quote.
• The submission format has a private field for the company name, and we will start collecting it so we can spot when many "different" quotes trace back to one company. We would never show it. That check is not running yet.
• Once real quotes exist near you, we will use resistant math, not raw averages, so one submitter cannot swing a whole area. Until that layer ships, every range is the model, and a thin or noisy area stays labeled as a modeled estimate with a wide range.
• We are adding the option to attach the real estimate (a photo or PDF). Once that ships, an attached quote will count for more than a number someone typed.
• No range is computed from real quotes yet. Before one is, we will describe here exactly how submissions are checked, rather than asking you to take a promise on faith.

What we cannot promise: that every number entered is genuine. A patient company could enter realistic-looking fake quotes, and no crowdsourced site fully prevents that. Our defense is to trust thin data less, to count verified quotes more, and to be honest on every result about how much real data is behind it. If a range looks off to you, treat it as one input, not a verdict.

We store only the first five digits of your ZIP, never your street address. Company names are stored privately and never shown. When document uploads arrive, we will strip any hidden location and camera data before anything is saved, and those files will stay private. We never show contractor names, and no tree company can pay to appear in the numbers or to move them.

Today the tree-quote check earns nothing, and the calculators carry no affiliate links. If we add any, they are listed on our Affiliate Disclosure page. We plan to add an optional button on the result page to request quotes for your job through a matching service. If we add it, we will say so next to the button, we may be paid when you use it, and nothing is sent unless you click. We may also show ads on pages that describe local prices once enough real data exists. None of this changes the ranges: the numbers never depend on who pays.

ForestMatters is independent and veteran-owned. Questions or a correction? Email hello@forestmatters.com.

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