Work out how many board feet a board (or a stack of them) contains, and optionally get a rough cost from real dealer-posted prices.
A board foot is a volume of wood: 1 inch thick × 12 inches wide × 12 inches long (144 cubic inches). The formula is thickness (in) × width (in) × length (ft) ÷ 12, multiplied by the number of pieces. For example, one 4/4 board that is 6 inches wide and 8 feet long is 1 × 6 × 8 ÷ 12 = 4 board feet.
Hardwood thickness is quoted in quarters of an inch: 4/4 is 1 inch, 5/4 is 1¼, 6/4 is 1½, 8/4 is 2 inches. That is the rough thickness. Boards sold surfaced (S2S/S4S) are planed thinner — a 4/4 board is often about 13/16″ — but dealers generally still price by the nominal thickness, so use the quarter size you are buying, not the planed thickness.
Real boards come in random widths and lengths, dealers may round up each board, and some charge extra for narrow, short or wide stock, so buy 10–20% more than your cut list needs to cover waste. Treat this calculator's board feet as a planning number and confirm with your dealer.
If you pick a species, the estimate multiplies your board feet by the median of the dealer-posted prices on this site for that species (customer-reported prices are excluded). That median blends different thicknesses, grades, rough and surfaced stock, and dealers in different states, so your actual price could be well above or below it. See the species pages for breakdowns, and call the dealer for a real quote.
Species pages: Ash · Cherry · Hard Maple · Hickory · Mahogany · Poplar · Red Oak · Sapele · Soft Maple · Walnut · White Oak
State pages: Arizona · California · Colorado · Florida · Georgia · Indiana · Massachusetts · Michigan · North Carolina · Ohio · Pennsylvania · Texas · Virginia · Washington
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