Trimming is about the tree you're keeping: dead limbs over the driveway, branches scraping shingles, a crown opened up to let wind through, or clearance over a sidewalk.
Published prices
| Trimming | Angi, July 2026 (national) |
|---|---|
| Trees under 25 feet | $80 to $350 |
| 25 to 50 feet | $150 to $800 |
| Over 50 feet | $300 to $1,800 |
| Pine | $200 to $1,800 |
| Oak | $180 to $1,500 |
Angi puts the national average at $460, with most jobs between $270 and $1,800. Where a company does bill by the hour, Angi lists $25 to $50 per worker, though it notes that's not common.
Timing
Angi's guide calls the dormant season, late fall to late winter, the best time to trim, and says diseased or broken branches can be dealt with whenever they show up. For pines, Alabama Extension's urban forestry guide adds that removing broken limbs, avoiding wounds to the trunk and roots, and keeping vehicles off the ground under the canopy all help a tree resist bark beetles.
Limbs near power lines
If branches are reaching the lines, Angi's advice is to call the utility first. For public trees in Huntsville, the City's Urban Forestry division first works out with Huntsville Utilities whether the City or the utility handles line clearance, and it cooperates with the utility on replacing street trees removed for line clearance. OSHA guidance keeps ladders and aerial lifts at least 10 feet from power lines unless the worker is qualified for line work, and says the utility should be contacted to de-energize and ground the lines when that distance can't be kept. Huntsville Utilities lists its outage line as 256-53-LIGHT.
Pruning versus tree surgery
Alabama's Professional Services Law separates the two. Its definition of "tree surgery work" covers paid cavity filling or repair, bracing, cabling and wound treatment, and it specifically leaves pruning out. Anyone doing tree surgery work for hire needs an annual permit from the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries, so if a quote includes cabling or bracing a split trunk, ask about the permit.
The clippings
For a small job you handle yourself, Huntsville's curbside rules ask for limbs no longer than 5 feet and for leaves and shrub clippings in bags of 50 pounds or less. See brush and limb pickup.
Sources for this page
- Angi, professional tree trimming cost guide, 2026 data (by Rachel Hoffman; revised July 9, 2026)
- Alabama Cooperative Extension System: Managing Pine Bark Beetles in Urban Forests (FOR-2049, revised July 2020)
- City of Huntsville Blog: Going out on a ‘limb’ for public safety in Huntsville (Laura McPhail, September 9, 2022)
- City of Huntsville: Trees (Urban Forestry and Horticulture)
- OSHA: Tree Care Work: Falls and Falling Object Hazards (HB-3731, 2014)
- OSHA: Solutions for Tree Care Hazards (OSHA 3940, 2018)
- Huntsville Utilities (home page, outage line)
- Code of Alabama 1975, Title 2, Chapter 28: Professional Services Law (copy hosted by Alabama Cooperative Extension)
- City of Huntsville: Curbside Collection
Checked October 27, 2026. Ordinances, collection rules and prices get revised; confirm with the source before you count on a figure.