Board Foot Calculator

Calculate board feet, linear footage, and lumber cost using nominal dimensions and MBF pricing.

Thickness (nominal, inches)

Width (nominal, inches)

Length per piece (ft)

Quantity (pieces)

Price ($/MBF)

Default $650/MBF (framing lumber, 2026 national avg). Hardwood species will be higher.

Estimated Cost (with 10% waste)

$38.13

58.67 BF at $0.650/BF

Board feet per piece	5.33 BF
Total board feet	53.33 BF
With 10% waste	58.67 BF
Total linear feet	80 LF
Cost per board foot	$0.650
Estimated cost	$38.13

table_chartBoard Feet per Linear Foot

1x4	0.333 BF/LF
1x6	0.500 BF/LF
1x8	0.667 BF/LF
1x12	1.000 BF/LF
2x4	0.667 BF/LF
2x6	1.000 BF/LF
2x8	1.333 BF/LF
2x10	1.667 BF/LF
2x12	2.000 BF/LF
4x4	1.333 BF/LF
6x6	3.000 BF/LF

For a full lumber takeoff with waste and project pricing, use our Lumber Calculator.

construction

Contractor Note — Danny Reeves

Board foot pricing is how lumber yards quote hardwood and specialty lumber. Framing lumber is priced per piece or per MBF (thousand board feet). Always ask "is that per piece or per board foot?" before you agree to a quote — I've seen guys order $3,000 of walnut thinking it was per piece when it was per BF.

Methodology

Board feet = (nominal thickness x nominal width x length in feet) / 12. This uses nominal dimensions (not actual milled dimensions), which is the industry standard for board foot calculation. A 10% waste factor is added for cuts, defects, and layout. MBF = thousand board feet. Cost = total BF (with waste) x ($/MBF / 1000). Prices vary significantly by species, grade, and market conditions — always verify with your supplier.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a board foot?

A board foot (BF) is a unit of lumber volume equal to 1 inch thick x 12 inches wide x 12 inches long, or 144 cubic inches. It is the standard pricing unit for hardwood, specialty lumber, and wholesale dimensional lumber in North America. Board foot calculations always use nominal dimensions — a 2x4 is calculated as 2 inches by 4 inches, not the actual milled size of 1.5" x 3.5".

How to calculate board feet for a 2x4?

For a 2x4 that is 8 feet long: BF = (2 x 4 x 8) / 12 = 5.33 board feet. For a 2x4 at 10 feet: BF = (2 x 4 x 10) / 12 = 6.67 board feet. The quick reference is 0.667 BF per linear foot for a 2x4. Multiply that by the length in feet for any 2x4 piece.

What does MBF mean?

MBF stands for "thousand board feet" (M is the Roman numeral for 1,000). It is the standard wholesale pricing unit for lumber. If lumber is quoted at $650/MBF, that means $650 per 1,000 board feet, or $0.65 per board foot. Retail pricing at home centers is usually per piece or per linear foot, but mill and wholesale pricing is always per MBF.

Board foot vs linear foot — what's the difference?

A linear foot is simply a measurement of length — 1 foot of material regardless of cross-section. A board foot is a measurement of volume that accounts for thickness and width. A 1x12 at 1 foot long is exactly 1 board foot and also 1 linear foot. But a 2x6 at 1 foot long is 1 linear foot and 1.0 board feet, while a 1x4 at 1 foot long is 1 linear foot but only 0.333 board feet. Board feet let you compare the actual wood volume across different sizes.

How the Board Foot Calculator works

The formula is thickness (inches) × width (inches) × length (feet) ÷ 12. The divisor reconciles the mixed units — two of the three dimensions are in inches and one is in feet — and lands you on a board foot, which is 144 cubic inches of lumber.

Dimensions are nominal, not actual. A 2x4 is dressed to 1.5 by 3.5 inches, but the lumber trade buys, prices, and tallies it as a 2x4, so nominal is the right input. The tool offers the common nominal thicknesses (1, 2, 4, 6, 8 inch) and widths (2 through 12 inch), or you can type custom values for rough-sawn and specialty stock.

Board feet per piece is multiplied by quantity for the total, then by 1.10 to add a 10% waste allowance for cuts, defects, and culls. Cost comes from your MBF price — thousand board feet — divided by 1,000 to reach a per-board-foot rate, then applied to the waste-adjusted total. The tool also reports linear feet, which is what you actually order at a lumberyard counter.

Worked example: ten 2x4s at 8 feet each. Each piece is (2 × 4 × 8) ÷ 12 = 5.33 board feet, so ten pieces is 53.3 board feet, or 58.7 with the 10% waste allowance. That is 80 linear feet of material. At $650 per MBF — $0.65 per board foot — the lumber runs about $38.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a board foot?

A board foot is a volume of lumber equal to 144 cubic inches — nominally one inch thick, twelve inches wide, and one foot long. It is the unit hardwood and dimensional lumber are traded in, because it lets a mill price boards of different sizes on one scale.

How do you calculate board feet?

Board feet = thickness in inches x width in inches x length in feet, divided by 12. The 12 in the denominator handles the mixed units. A 2x4 that runs 8 feet is (2 x 4 x 8) / 12 = 5.33 board feet.

What does MBF mean in lumber pricing?

MBF is one thousand board feet — the M is the Roman numeral for a thousand, not the metric prefix. Mill and wholesale lumber is quoted per MBF, so a price of $650 per MBF works out to $0.65 per board foot. The calculator divides your MBF price by 1,000 to reach a per-board-foot cost.

Should I use nominal or actual dimensions?

Board footage is calculated on nominal size, which is how lumber is sold. A 2x4 measures 1.5 by 3.5 inches after surfacing, but it is bought, priced, and tallied as a 2x4. Enter nominal dimensions here; use actual dimensions only when you are checking whether a member physically fits.