Wood Chippers: Should You Rent Or Buy?

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Wood chippers are helpful in completing all sorts of jobs, including storm cleanup, tree trimming, right-of-way clearing along roadways, and more.

Wood chippers are an incredibly versatile type of equipment offering value to tree care professionals, arborists, and landscaping businesses, as well as property owners, municipalities, and farmers. Whether you’re cleaning up after storms, maintaining commercial properties, or running an arborist operation, a quality wood chipper helps crews quickly turn limbs, branches, shrubs, woody debris, yard waste, and other vegetation into manageable wood chips. 

When sizing up wood chippers (also referred to as “tree chippers,” “wood mulchers,” and “brush chippers”), you’ll ultimately need to decide: Is it better to rent or buy a wood chipper? The answer depends on your workload, budget, and long-term needs. Read our wood chipper guide to learn how they work, the main types available, and when buying or renting one makes more sense.

What Does A Wood Chipper Do? 

Wood chippers reduce branches, brush, logs, woody debris, and other green waste into small, uniform wood chips that are much easier to transport and store, and that can be repurposed in several ways. Users feed material into an infeed chute, where knives mounted to a drum or disc cut and grind it into chips discharged through a chute for collection. 

Users can haul away or reuse the chips for landscaping beds, gardens, animal bedding, walking paths, and other projects around yards, parks, worksites, commercial properties, hobby farms, livestock operations, orchards, and vineyards. 

You Can Use A Wood Chipper To Complete:

• Seasonal cleanup
• Arborist tree trimming and pruning cleanup
• Residential and commercial tree removal cleanup
• Landscaping and property maintenance for estates and commercial sites
• Storm cleanup after damaging weather events
• Municipal and park maintenance
• Land clearing and site preparation ahead of construction

What Types Of Wood Chippers Are Available? 

TreeTrader.com features new and used wood chippers for sale and rent, organized into towable and self-propelled categories, with each type suited to different jobsites. For example, self-propelled models are well-suited for rough or uneven terrain or for residential and landscape jobsites with tight access.

Towable Wood Chippers

These trailer-mounted units, available in light-duty and commercial sizes, are designed for efficient transport between jobsites by chipper trucks, pickups, tractors, UTVs, or other vehicles. 

Self-Propelled Wood Chippers

These mobile units have their own undercarriage (wheels or tracks) and don't require towing once they’ve reached the jobsite. They excel on rough terrain and are handy in locations with limited access.

In addition to mobility (towable vs. self-propelled), wood chippers can also be categorized by capacity and purpose. These categories overlap with mobility types: light-duty chippers are typically towable, commercial brush chippers come in both towable and self-propelled forms, and whole-tree chippers are mostly self-propelled.

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Trailer-mounted wood chippers, available in light-duty and commercial sizes, are designed for efficient transport between jobsites by landscaping and tree care professionals.

Light-Duty/Residential Chippers

Compact, gas-powered units with lower horsepower, typically handling branches from 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10.2 centimeters) in diameter and best suited for homeowners and light-duty property maintenance. These are primarily towable units.

Commercial Brush Chippers

Built for arborists, contractors, and municipalities, these chippers are a common choice for tree care professionals, offering higher horsepower and hydraulic feed systems and commonly processing material from 6 to 12 inches (15.2 to 30.5 cm) or greater in diameter. These are available in both towable and self-propelled forms.

Whole-Tree Chippers

Although less common for tree care and landscaping tasks, these high-capacity, diesel-engine-powered machines are ideal for large-scale logging, land clearing, and forestry applications. Most are self-propelled.

Choosing the right wood chipper largely depends on the material size, workload, transport needs, and usage frequency. 

Need-To-Know Wood Chipper Specs & Features 

Whether renting or buying a wood chipper, carefully comparing specifications and features will help ensure a good match for your situation. Consider especially the following items:

• Feed capacity: The largest-diameter material the chipper can safely process
• Throat size: The dimensions of the intake opening, which impact processing speed and ease of use
• Engine power: Higher horsepower usually results in faster processing and greater productivity
• Fuel type: Smaller models run on gas, larger units on diesel, and some models used for light-duty tasks on electric power
• Chipper design: Drum chippers are known for high production, while disc models are generally more fuel-efficient
• Feed system: Hydraulic and auto-feed systems offer enhanced safety compared to manually fed units
• Weight and towing requirements: These help determine the type of towing vehicle you’ll need to haul your chipper between jobsites
• Discharge chute design: Height adjustability, rotation, and angling enable more precise chip placement, such as directly into a chipper truck bed
• Maneuverability: Compact size and turning radius are key for navigating backyards, landscaping beds, and other tight spaces

When Does Renting A Wood Chipper Make Sense? 

Renting a wood chipper is often a practical, less expensive option for short-term or occasional needs, such as fall or spring cleanup, storm response work, or a contractor taking an occasional tree removal project. Consider renting if you:

• Want to keep upfront costs lower
• Need to test the latest features and technologies, capacity, and performance before buying
• Lack storage space or towing capability
• Prefer to avoid maintenance and repair costs and responsibilities

If you're interested in renting a wood chipper, consider the inventory available for rent on TreeTrader.com's partner platform, RentalYard.com, with options to rent both self-propelled and towable wood chippers.

When Does Buying A Wood Chipper Make Sense? 

Buying a wood chipper comes at a higher upfront cost, but it can pay off if your municipality, tree care company, or landscaping business uses the machine regularly. Investing in a wood chipper may be beneficial if you:

• Will have use for a wood chipper throughout the year
• Need immediate availability, such as after storms
• Frequently handle large or high-volume jobs
• Want to customize the unit for a specific task

For many tree service businesses, owning a wood chipper can enhance worker efficiency, increase daily workload capacity, and reduce haul-away requirements and costs. Additionally, ownership comes with the comfort of knowing that chippers typically retain their resale value.

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Before renting or buying a wood chipper, check the maximum size of material that it can handle, the towing requirements, and what safety features it provides.

Should I Buy A New Or Used Wood Chipper?

If buying a wood chipper, your next decision is whether to buy new or used, based on your needs. Each offers advantages, so keep the following in mind when choosing: 

• Buying new comes at a higher purchase price but offers warranty protection and greater short-term reliability.
• Buying used offers significant cost savings up front but comes with a higher risk of repair costs.
• Buying new lets you acquire the latest technologies, safety features, and emissions compliance.
• Buying used is a cost-effective option for upgrading a fleet or adding backup or multiple machines.

Common Questions To Ask When Buying Or Renting A Wood Chipper

Before deciding, ask the seller or rental company these questions: 

When buying used:

• How many hours are on the machine?
• Are maintenance logs available?
• Are replacement knives, belts, and hydraulic components readily available, and what do they cost?

When renting:

• What are the daily, weekly, or monthly rental rates?
• Are delivery and pickup options available?
• What support is provided if service is required?

When renting or buying a wood chipper:

• What is the maximum material size the chipper can handle?
• What are the towing requirements (weight, hitch type, and required towing capacity)?
• What safety features are included (feed control bar, emergency stop, shut-off control, etc.)?

Performing A Thorough Inspection Is Also Important

Check that the engine starts easily, knives are sharp, and the hydraulic system, belts, feed rollers, and drum or disc show no signs of excessive wear, damage, or leaks from items such as rocks, metal, nails, and other debris that may have entered the machine during use. 

Investing In A Wood Chipper Is Easier Than You Think

Explore TreeTrader.com to find new and used wood chippers for sale from leading brands, including Altec, Bandit, Carlton, Morbark, Timberwolf, Vermeer, Vortex, and Wallenstein. Or rent a wood chipper via RentalYard.com from our trusted rental companies and dealers.

Already have a wood chipper in mind and ready to make a purchase? Financing is available through CurrencyFinance, with loans up to $500,000 available with competitive rates and flexible repayment terms of up to 72 months for wood chippers, mulchers, stump grinders, and other tree care and landscaping equipment. Complete our simple online application today to explore your options.