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There are plenty of good reasons to bring back the wood stove. Wood is usually more economical than other fuels. It’s renewable, so it’s more environmentally friendly than fossil heating alternatives. The best wood-burning stoves are efficient, easy to live with, and there’s nothing quite like warming yourself in front of a real flame. They still provide heat if the power is out, and if you need to, you can even cook on most of them.
In terms of size, performance, style, and budget, there are plenty of options. In fact, searching online can be a bit confusing. To give you a useful place to start when upgrading your fireplace or installing a new wood stove, we’ve put together this list of the best wood stove brands and included examples of their products and prices.
1. Woodstock Soapstone Company, Inc.
Price Range: $$$ to $$$$
Our Top Picks: Survival Hybrid Wood Stove for $2,057; Palladian Soapstone Wood Stove for $3,476; and Progress Hybrid Wood Stove for $4,410.
Founded in 1978, the Woodstock Soapstone Company says its wood stoves are distinctive due to the use of soapstone in their interiors. This natural rock absorbs heat and can then radiate it for up to 24 hours after firing, providing warmth well after the fire has gone out. All of the company’s wood stoves are built in West Lebanon, New Hampshire.
The brand focuses on hand-built quality and high efficiency. A variety of striking styles is available, most with numerous color options and performance enhancements. As an example, the Progress Hybrid wood stove is available in a choice of five body colors; short or tall legs; and the option to purchase an ash lip, heat shield, or pipe shield—or all three. You can even choose which side the door opens. Most of these options come at an additional cost but allow Woodstock Soapstone wood stoves to be personalized to individual needs.
Shop Woodstock Soapstone wood stoves at Woodstock Soapstone Company, Inc.
2. Pacific Energy
Price Range: $$ to $$$$
Our Top Picks: Pacific Energy Neo 1.6 LE2 Wood Stove, Pacific Energy Super 27HD Wood Stove, and Pacific Energy Summit Classic LE Wood Stove (contact Pacific Energy for pricing).
Canadian wood stove brand Pacific Energy Fireplace Products was founded in 1978. The company prides itself on “challenging conventions and pioneering innovations.” All production takes place in British Columbia, using North American components chosen for quality and durability.
Models in the range are available to suit a variety of room sizes. While most of the wood stoves are based on traditional styles, numerous design elements differentiate Pacific Energy wood stoves from their competitors. Most stoves can be customized with a variety of finish options. For example, the high-performance Pacific Energy Summit Classic LE offers three door and leg options, along with a choice of four colors in porcelain enamel for the main body of the stove.
Shop Pacific Energy wood stoves at Pacific Energy.
3. Blaze King
Price Range: $$$ to $$$$
Our Top Picks: Ashford 20.2 Wood Stove, Chinook 30.2 Wood Stove, and King 40 Wood Stove (contact Blaze King for pricing).
Since 1977, Blaze King Industries has aimed to make high-quality wood stoves that are particularly fuel efficient. The company claims to use up to a third fewer logs than competitors and to far exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) requirements in terms of emissions. Blaze King has two manufacturing facilities, one in Washington State and the other in British Columbia, Canada.
Blaze King offers a dozen different models, each varying in style from classic freestanding to modern European and including inserts. The company claims that the King 40 is the most efficient wood stove in the world with its 81 percent efficiency. It has a firebox capable of holding 80 pounds of wood and can burn for up to 40 hours.
Shop Blaze King wood stoves at Blaze King.
4. Lopi
Price Range: $$$$ to $$$$$
Our Top Picks: Answer NexGen-Hybrid Wood Stove, Liberty NexGen-Fyre Wood Stove, and Rockport NexGen-Hybrid Wood Stove (contact Lopi for pricing).
The story goes that back in 1979, founder Kurt Rumens, a drummer, began selling wood stoves to buy gas to get his band to gigs. Rumens thought he could design a better stove than the ones he was selling, so he teamed up with his friend Dick Miller and started Lopi. Some time later the company was bought by Travis Industries, Inc., the largest privately owned hearth manufacturer in North America. Lopi wood stoves are designed and hand assembled in Mukilteo, Washington.
All Lopi wood stoves feature heavy-duty construction using steel or cast iron. They have a sturdy, traditional appeal, but under the surface, a lot of engineering has gone into ensuring efficiency. The compact Answer NexGen-Hybrid wood stove is a good example, incorporating a five-sided convection chamber that distributes heat without a fan. For those concerned about the challenge of lighting a wood stove, push-button ignition is an option.
Shop Lopi wood stoves at Lopi.
5. Forge & Flame
Price Range: $$$ to $$$$
Our Top Picks: Quadra-Fire Discovery III Wood Stove starting at $2,699; Quadra-Fire 5700 Wood Stove starting at $3,707; and Vermont Castings Defiant Wood-Burning Stove starting at $4,480.
Forge & Flame is a brand created in 2013 by Hearth and Home Technologies (HHT) as an umbrella for its huge range of wood, pellet, gas, and electric stoves. Wood stoves are offered by two brands: Vermont Castings, which was founded in 1975 and has manufacturing facilities in Vermont and Indiana, and Quadra-Fire, which started business in the late 1980s and manufactures in Pennsylvania, Washington, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Quadra-Fire wood stoves are a contemporary take on traditional style and incorporate modern technology for easy starting, efficient burning, and precise temperature control. Vermont Castings wood stoves have a timeless appeal that harks back to enameled stoves of yesteryear. The Defiant model in particular is a stunning display of craftsmanship but has the modern convenience of thermostatic control. It’s suitable for larger rooms.
Shop Forge & Flame wood stoves at Forge & Flame.
6. Drolet
Price Range: $$ to $$$
Our Top Picks: Drolet Spark II Wood Stove for $979.00; Drolet Escape 1800 Wood Stove for $1,390.41; and Legend III Wood Stove for $1,699.00.
Few wood stove brands can trace their history back as far as Drolet. Engineer François-Xavier Drolet opened his first workshop in Quebec, Canada, in 1875. Over the years, the company has made a diverse range of products, including fire hydrants, elevators, and ammunition. Stove production began in the 1960s, and manufacturing still takes place in Canada.
The Drolet range is extensive, and prices will be attractive to those on a modest budget. The company claims that its Legend III stove, which includes a blower, is among the most ecological on the market. It can also be fitted with Drolet’s Heatflow 5S system that allows heat to be recovered from the sides, back, and top and distributed to other rooms.
Shop Drolet wood stoves at The Home Depot or Drolet.
7. Morsø
Price Range: $$$ to $$$$
Our Top Picks: Morsø 1440 B Wood Stove, Morsø 6148 B Pedestal Wood Stove, and Morsø 2B Classic 2020 (contact Morsø for pricing).
The Morsø brand comes from Denmark and dates back to 1853. Its logo includes the proud legend “By Appointment to The Royal Danish Court.” Wood stoves are made from cast iron for durability and heat retention and meet the Nordic Swan Ecolabel standard for sustainability. Morsø wood stoves are made in the town of Nykøbing Mors.
Morsø wood stoves are available in a variety of styles, from traditional square models with squirrels cast into the sides to some of the best modern wood-burning stove designs with round bodies and a choice of pedestal or log storage underneath. The company states that the Morsø 2B Classic 2020 is a style that has been manufactured for more than 70 years. Although U.S. buyers may find this stove’s appearance somewhat unusual, it is nonetheless quite popular.
Shop Morsø wood stoves at Morsø.
8. Pleasant Hearth
Price Range: $$
Our Top Picks: Pleasant Hearth GWS-1200 Wood Stove for $712.49; Pleasant Hearth WSL-1800 Wood Stove for $1,009.34; and Pleasant Hearth HWS-2200 Wood Stove for $1,251.30.
Pleasant Hearth Fireplace Doors is an unusual brand name, and in fact, doors are just a small part of the company’s huge range of fireplaces, stoves, outdoor heating products, and accessories. Part of GHP Group, a manufacturer and distributor, the company manufacturers its stoves in the U.S.
The Pleasant Hearth wood stove range includes six models. With a style that could be described as simple yet robust, the stoves offer high efficiency at a low cost. A model like the Pleasant Hearth WSL-1800, with its 2,200-square-foot heating capacity, is worth considering as a budget-friendly option that’s still capable of heating a sizable space. A variable-speed blower is available at extra cost.
Shop Pleasant Hearth wood stoves at Lowe’s, Tractor Supply Co., or Northern Tool + Equipment.
9. Ashley Hearth
Price Range: $ to $$$
Our Top Picks: Ashley Hearth AW1120E-P Wood Burning Stove for $699.00; Ashley Hearth AW2520E-P Wood Burning Stove for $1,099.00; and Ashley Hearth AW3200E-P Wood Burning Stove for $1,837.06.
The Ashley Hearth brand has been through a few changes. The company started making wood stoves back in the 1970s, when it was simply called Ashley. It was later bought by Martin Industries. The name changed to Ashley Hearth in the 1990s when Martin Industries was taken over by the United States Stove Company. Although headquartered in the U.S., Ashley Hearth wood stoves are assembled in China.
Ashley Hearth wood stoves are competitively priced. While the styles might be considered plain, the focus is on durability. Each is fire brick lined for efficiency and comes with a large ash pan for easy cleanup. The Ashley Hearth AW3200E wood stove heats up to 3,200 square feet with its 30-pound log capacity and has a blower for rapid heat dispersal.
Shop Ashley Hearth wood stoves at Amazon, Lowe’s, or The Home Depot.
10. US Stove
Price Range: $ to $$
Our Top Picks: Vogelzang US1269E Wood Stove for $369.99; Vogelzang VG1120-L Wood Stove for $949.99; and Vogelzang VG2520E-BP Wood Stove for $1,079.99.
Although perhaps best known for Ashley Hearth wood stoves, the United States Stove Co., more commonly known as US Stove, makes its own small selection. Somewhat confusingly, it also sells the same models under the Vogelzang name, a brand the company acquired in 2012. Wood stoves are engineered in Tennessee but manufactured in China.
The whole range is very affordable. Most stoves are made from steel and are fairly simple in design, though each can have a blower fitted for improved heat distribution. The exception is the Vogelzang US1269E, which is made of cast iron. It’s a traditional design, very low cost, and perhaps the best stove to buy for those looking for a wood burner for guest accommodation or a cabin.
Shop US Stove wood stoves at Northern Tool + Equipment or US Stove.
How We Chose the Best Wood Stove Brands
We set out to answer a common question: What is the best wood stove brand? Of course there is no single answer because each of us has different expectations, tastes, and budgets. We looked for brands with a reputation for quality. We also wanted to provide a comprehensive selection of styles, and because one of the main benefits of heating with a wood stove is economy, we looked for a wide range of prices. Wood stoves come in a variety of physical sizes, which often impacts their ability to heat particular spaces, and this was another consideration. We believe our final list of the best wood stove brands incorporates manufacturers who satisfy all these needs.
