Price The
Path To Zero.
A free carbon removal and offset cost estimator - compare sourced price-per-tonne ranges and permanence across avoidance credits, nature-based removal, biochar, and direct air capture, calculated entirely in your browser.
REACT_INPUT
Enter a quantity in tonnes CO2e. Every method below recalculates against it, so you can compare cost and permanence side by side before choosing an approach.
Everything is calculated locally in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded or sent to analytics.
Methodology & sources
- Avoidance & renewable energy credits: $3-$15 / tonne - Ecosystem Marketplace, State of the Voluntary Carbon Market 2025 (REDD+ ~$2.70/t, energy efficiency ~$5.80/t, market average $6.34/t); regreener.earth market observation, August 2026 (REDD+/avoidance €5-€10/t).
- Nature-based removal (afforestation, reforestation, blue carbon): $15-$50 / tonne - Ecosystem Marketplace SOVCM 2025 (nature-based average above $20/t, restoration ~$14/t); regreener.earth (afforestation/reforestation €7-€35/t, blue carbon €15-€40+/t); Senken 2024-2025 transaction data (afforestation/reforestation €22-€50/t).
- Engineered removal - biochar & mineralization: $100-$220 / tonne - regreener.earth (biochar €100-€200/t); Senken transaction data (biochar €105-€200/t, microbial mineralization €170-€200/t).
- Direct air capture (DAC): $200-$800 / tonne - US EPA 2025 estimate ($210/t); current commercial offtake pricing for liquid-solvent and solid-sorbent DAC ($300-$600/t); early-stage electrochemical DAC advance market commitments ($500-$800/t).
- Permanence ratings are a plain-language read of typical storage duration and reversal risk for each method category: avoidance/reduction credits prevent emissions rather than removing carbon already in the atmosphere and carry policy/leakage risk; nature-based removal stores carbon in trees and soil over decades but is exposed to fire, drought, and logging; biochar and mineralization target century-plus storage; direct air capture is typically paired with geological storage rated for permanence on a multi-thousand-year timescale.
These are indicative market ranges for general awareness, not a quote. Real prices vary by project, vintage, verification standard (e.g. Verra, Gold Standard, Puro.earth, Isometric), and buyer volume, and shift as markets move - treat this as a starting point for comparison, not a transaction price.
Avoidance vs Removal
Avoidance credits (forest protection, renewable energy) prevent emissions that would otherwise happen. Removal credits (reforestation, biochar, direct air capture) take carbon already in the atmosphere and store it. The two aren't interchangeable, and that difference drives much of the price gap between the methods above.
Why Permanence Matters
Permanence is how long stored carbon actually stays out of the atmosphere. Nature-based storage can be undone by fire, drought, or logging; engineered methods like biochar and direct air capture aim for storage measured in centuries or more. Longer permanence generally means a higher price per tonne.
Why Carbon Prices Vary
The price spread above reflects real cost differences, not markup: land-based methods are cheap to run but carry more reversal risk, while engineered removal needs energy-intensive infrastructure. Verification standard, project vintage, and buyer volume shift prices further within each category.