Multi-stump discounts, the math crews do not explain

Published April 12, 2026 by the StumpCostCalc crew

Multiple freshly cut logs resting on a green field surrounded by tall trees, a land-clearing job that qualifies for multi-stump pricing — Photo via Pexels

Here is a question I have asked seven different tree services in the last three years: "If grinding one stump costs $250, why does grinding four of them only cost $475?"

Every single one gave me the same answer, word for word once or twice: the first stump pays for the trip. The rest are on sale.

That phrase is the economic model of local tree services in six words. Once you understand it, you can spot a bad quote in 10 seconds, negotiate confidently on a multi-stump job, and coordinate with neighbors to share a truck roll. Here is the full math.

What the first stump actually pays for

A stump grinding crew's fixed costs for a typical residential job, before a single tooth touches wood:

Truck and trailer drive from yard to site, 20 to 40 minutes round trip, $20 to $40 in fuel plus driver time
Loading and unloading the grinder from the trailer, 15 minutes each way, 30 minutes of labor
Liability insurance premium allocation, figure $25 to $50 per job
811 utility locate administration and scheduling
Wear and tear on the truck, the trailer, the grinder, and the operator's back
Office overhead, dispatch, scheduling software, the phone call that booked the job

Real number: a crew has to collect roughly $100 to $175 per job to break even on fixed costs before they start making margin. That is why minimum charges exist and why they cluster at $150 across the industry.

Once the grinder is onsite and running, the marginal cost of a second stump is mostly operator time and fuel. Fixed costs are already paid. That is why stumps two through ten are charged at 30 to 40 percent of the first-stump rate, and why the crew still makes money on the discount.

The per-stump discount convention

Across the eight cost-reference sites I track, the multi-stump discount convention is remarkably consistent:

LocalServiceCalculator: explicit per-stump math with discount applied after first
GrindNGoStumps (Wisconsin): uses a "total inches all stumps" input that implicitly discounts additional stumps
HomeGuide: "additional stumps run $35 to $65 each beyond the first"
LawnLove: "plan on $75 to $150 each for additional stumps on the same visit"
Angi: "most tree services offer a 30 to 50 percent discount on additional stumps"

The StumpCostCalc formula uses 0.35 (35 percent) as the additional-stump multiplier. That is the middle of the published range. A first stump that costs $200 means additional same-day stumps of similar size run $70 each.

Real numbers from 5 jobs

From my own notebook and three neighbors' quotes, October 2023 through October 2025:

Job 1 (single stump). One 16-inch maple, open access, suburban Chicago. Quote: $200. Price per stump: $200.

Job 2 (two stumps). Two 14-inch silver maples, same yard, same crew, one hour apart. Quote: $310. Price per stump: $155. Discount on second: 22 percent (a little tight).

Job 3 (five stumps). Five mixed 8-to-20-inch stumps from a tree-line removal, rural Indiana. Quote: $575. Calculated first-stump rate: $225. Each additional: $87. Discount on 2-5: 61 percent. Very generous, likely because the crew had a slow week.

Job 4 (seven stumps). Seven 12-to-24-inch oaks from the 2023 derecho, my yard. Quote from the lowball outfit I did not hire: $400 flat. Quote from the crew I did hire (Dale): $780. Calculated first stump: $240. Each additional six: $90. That is 37 percent on the first-stump rate, right at the calculator's 35 percent. This is what fair looks like.

Job 5 (neighborhood group of 12 stumps, 3 yards). Three adjacent yards booked the same crew same day. Quote: $1,100 total for 12 stumps averaging 15 inches. Per-yard split: $367. Individual quote if each yard had called alone: $550, $650, $580 respectively. Group saved $813 by coordinating. The crew still made more per-hour than they would have on three separate truck rolls.

The red-flag quote

If a crew quotes you the same dollar amount per stump on a multi-stump job, they are not giving you the bulk discount. A quote like "seven stumps at $250 each, total $1,750" tells me one of three things is true:

The crew does not understand their own cost structure and is leaving money on the table (rare)
The crew is inexperienced and pricing each stump independently like a new job each time
The crew is padding, betting you will not notice the missing discount

Ask directly: "Is there a discount for multiple stumps on the same visit?" A legitimate crew will either volunteer the discount immediately or explain why these particular stumps are priced the same (sometimes valid, example: stumps in three different yards, each requiring fresh setup). If they hem-and-haw and do not give you a discount, call another crew.

How to negotiate on a multi-stump job

Three tactics that have worked for me:

Ask for the number. "What is your standard discount for additional stumps on the same trip?" Most crews will say 30 to 50 percent on the spot. Get it in writing on the quote.

Bundle with neighbors. If two or three adjacent houses all have stumps, book the same crew same day. Crew saves two trips, everybody saves 40 percent. Email your neighbors or post on Nextdoor. I have done this twice and both times the crew gave a third price break just for the logistics.

Pile them in a visible spot. If you have a separate tree removal happening and multiple logs or stumps are involved, ask the removal crew to leave stumps cut tall (24 inches) so the grinding crew can see everything at once and quote the job accurately. Stumps buried under brush or hidden in a far corner of the yard get forgotten or mis-priced.

The mobilization fee, a legitimate exception

On rural jobs where the crew is driving 45+ minutes one way, you may see a flat mobilization fee ($75 to $150) separate from the per-stump charges. That is fair. The first-stump-pays-the-trip model assumes a 15-to-30 minute drive. When it is longer, either the first stump is priced higher to cover it, or you see a separate line. Both are honest.

Use the calculator

Run your multi-stump job through StumpCostCalc. The calculator does the per-stump math automatically using the 35 percent additional-stump factor and shows you exactly how much of the total is first-stump base and how much is the bulk add. Bring the output to your three bids. If a quote comes in 40+ percent over the calculator's high end on a multi-stump job, the discount is being withheld and you can call it out.

The first stump pays for the trip. The rest are on sale. Do not let anybody charge you retail on all of them.