PTO woodchipper price per inch of capacity
We divided every PTO woodchipper's 2026 price by its maximum branch diameter to get a single comparable number: dollars per inch of capacity. Here's the full ranking.
Sticker price alone is a bad way to compare woodchippers, because a $9,000 10-inch machine and a $1,700 4-inch machine aren’t doing the same job. The fairer comparison is price per inch of maximum branch capacity — total price divided by the largest branch diameter the manufacturer rates.
We ran that math on all 17 PTO woodchippers in our review database using current 2026 prices. The average is about $669 per inch. The table below is sorted cheapest-first; each model links to its full review.
| # | Chipper | Capacity | Feed | Price | $/inch | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farmry WCAP5 | 5"† | Manual | $1,698 | $340 | 1 yr |
| 2 | Farmry CP85 | 5"† | Manual | $1,899 | $380 | 1 yr |
| 3 | MechMaxx BX42S | 4" | Gravity self-feed | $1,699 | $425 | 1 yr |
| 4 | Woodmaxx WM-8M | 8" | Gravity self-feed | $3,690 | $461 | 3 yr |
| 5 | Woodland Mills TFG55 PTO | 5" | Gravity self-feed | $2,415 | $483 | 3 yr |
| 6 | Woodland Mills WC88 | 8" | Hydraulic | $3,995 | $499 | 3 yr |
| 7 | Woodmaxx WM-8H | 8" | Hydraulic | $4,095 | $512 | 3 yr |
| 8 | Woodland Mills WC68 | 6" | Hydraulic | $3,450 | $575 | 3 yr |
| 9 | Woodmaxx MX-8500G+ | 5" | Gravity self-feed | $2,990 | $598 | 7 yr |
| 10 | Woodmaxx MX-8800 | 8" | Hydraulic | $6,225 | $778 | 7 yr |
| 11 | Woodmaxx MX-8600 | 6" | Hydraulic | $4,790 | $798 | 7 yr |
| 12 | Woodland Mills WC46 | 4" | Hydraulic | $3,220 | $805 | 3 yr |
| 13 | Woodmaxx MX-9900 | 9" | Hydraulic | $7,350 | $817 | 7 yr |
| 14 | Wallenstein BX36S | 3.5" | Gravity self-feed | $2,895 | $827 | 5 yr |
| 15 | Wallenstein BX102S | 10" | Gravity self-feed | $9,240 | $924 | 5 yr |
| 16 | Wallenstein BX52S | 5" | Gravity self-feed | $5,150 | $1,030 | 5 yr |
| 17 | Wallenstein BX72S | 7" | Gravity self-feed | $7,840 | $1,120 | 5 yr |
† Capacity ratings are not all measured the same way
Farmry WCAP5: Farmry rates the WCAP5 at 5 inches in fresh or wet wood and 4 inches in dry wood. On the dry-wood rating it works out to $425/inch, not $340.
Farmry CP85: Farmry publishes no dry-wood rating for the CP85. Given the WCAP5's 4-inch dry figure, treat this 5-inch number as a green-wood rating too.
Every $/inch figure above uses the manufacturer’s headline capacity rating. Where a brand publishes a lower dry-wood figure, the machine’s real-world cost per inch in seasoned hardwood is higher than the table shows.
Price per inch = manufacturer price ÷ maximum rated branch diameter. Prices are 2026 figures from our review database and change with sales; capacity is the manufacturer’s rated maximum, not sustained throughput.
What price per inch does and doesn't tell you
Price per inch is a capacity-normalized cost metric. It answers “how much am I paying for raw chipping ceiling?” — useful when you’re deciding how far up the capacity ladder to climb. It does not capture feed type, build quality, warranty, or sustained feed rate, all of which move real-world value.
The cheapest per inch in this ranking is the Farmry WCAP5 at $340/inch, but it’s a 5" manual machine — a different tool than the 7" Wallenstein BX72S at the top of the price-per-inch scale. Read the metric within a capacity tier, not across the whole table.
Cheapest PTO chipper per inch in each capacity tier
Compared within capacity tiers — where the metric is most honest — a few models stand out as the value leaders:
- 8-inch hydraulic: the Woodland Mills WC88 at $499/inch ($3,995) is the cheapest way to reach 8-inch hydraulic capacity.
- For 6-inch hydraulic feed, the Woodland Mills WC68 is the value pick; the Woodmaxx MX-8600 costs more per inch but adds a 7-year warranty.
- At the subcompact 4–5 inch tier, the Woodmaxx MX-8500G+ and Woodland Mills TFG55 PTO lead on price per inch.
Match the tier to your tractor first — see our HP requirements guide — then use price per inch to pick within it.
Warranty value: price per warranty year
Capacity isn’t the only thing your money buys. Woodmaxx’s MX-Series carries a 7-year warranty — more than double the 3-year coverage on Woodland Mills WC-Series and imported Woodmaxx WM-Series machines. Dividing price by warranty length reframes the premium: a longer warranty spreads the cost over more covered years.
That’s the core of the WM-8H vs MX-8800 decision: the MX-8800 costs more per inch, but if you keep the machine a decade the 7-year coverage changes the math. For a full breakdown of the two Woodmaxx lines, see MX-Series vs WM-Series.
How we calculated this
For each PTO woodchipper in our review database, we took the manufacturer’s 2026 price and divided it by the rated maximum branch diameter to get price per inch. We used rated capacity (the manufacturer’s ceiling), not sustained throughput, because that’s the number buyers shop on and it’s consistently published.
Prices reflect current listings and move with sales and model-year changes; the table regenerates from our specs whenever prices are updated. Gas, electric, and tow-behind chippers are excluded so the comparison stays within one power class.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest PTO woodchipper per inch of capacity?
- The Farmry WCAP5 is the cheapest at about $340 per inch ($1,698, 5" capacity). One caveat on that: Farmry rates the WCAP5 at 5 inches in fresh or wet wood and 4 inches in dry wood. On the dry-wood rating it works out to $425/inch, not $340. Among 8-inch hydraulic machines, the Woodland Mills WC88 is cheapest at $499 per inch.
- What does the average PTO woodchipper cost per inch of capacity?
- Across the 17 PTO woodchippers we track, the 2026 average is about $669 per inch of maximum branch diameter, ranging from $340 to $1,120 per inch.
- Is price per inch the best way to choose a woodchipper?
- No — it's a starting filter, not a final answer. Match capacity to your tractor's PTO HP first, then use price per inch to compare within that capacity tier. Feed type, warranty length, and build quality also affect value and aren't captured by the metric.
- Why is a bigger woodchipper often cheaper per inch?
- Not always — it depends on feed type and brand tier. Mechanical and gravity-feed machines are cheaper per inch than hydraulic-feed ones at the same capacity, and premium brands cost more per inch than value brands regardless of size. Read the ranking within a capacity tier to see the real pattern.