Cedar or pine is one of the most common questions for fences, raised beds, decks and outdoor furniture. Untreated pine and cedar behave very differently outdoors, while pressure-treated pine is a different product again. This page compares western redcedar with eastern white pine and with southern yellow pine (loblolly), the species most pressure-treated lumber is made from.
Cedar vs Pine: the numbers
| Property | Western redcedar | Eastern white pine | Loblolly pine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Janka side hardness, 12% MC | 350 lbf | 380 lbf | 690 lbf |
| Density at 12% MC | 22.4 lb/ft³ | 24.5 lb/ft³ | 35.7 lb/ft³ |
| Weight per board foot | 1.86 lb | 2.04 lb | 2.97 lb |
| Bending strength (MOR), 12% MC | 7,500 psi | 8,600 psi | 12,800 psi |
| Stiffness (MOE), 12% MC | 1.11 million psi | 1.24 million psi | 1.79 million psi |
| Crushing strength parallel to grain | 4,560 psi | 4,800 psi | 7,130 psi |
| Shrinkage green to ovendry, tangential | 5.0% | 6.1% | 7.4% |
| Shrinkage, radial | 2.4% | 2.1% | 4.8% |
| Shrinkage, volumetric | 6.8% | 8.2% | 12.3% |
| Tangential / radial ratio (cupping tendency) | 2.08 | 2.9 | 1.54 |
| Width change per 1% MC, flatsawn (Table 13-5) | 0.234% | 0.212% | 0.259% |
| Heartwood decay resistance (Table 14-1) | resistant | moderately resistant (old growth only); otherwise slightly or nonresistant | slightly or nonresistant |
What the numbers mean
- Hardness: Eastern white pine is 9% harder than Western redcedar (380 against 350 lbf), so it resists dents from furniture feet, dropped tools and wear correspondingly better.
- Weight: Eastern white pine is 9% heavier. A 1 x 6 board 8 feet long (4 board feet nominal) weighs about 8.2 lb in eastern white pine and 7.4 lb in western redcedar at 12% moisture content.
- Strength and stiffness: Eastern white pine is 15% stronger in bending and 12% stiffer. Stiffness is what decides how much a shelf of the same size sags under the same load.
- Movement: a flatsawn board 10 in wide that goes from 6% to 12% moisture content (a dry winter to a humid summer indoors) swells about 0.140 in (1/8 in) in western redcedar and 0.127 in (1/8 in) in eastern white pine, from Handbook Eq. 13-2 and the Table 13-5 coefficients. Allow for this in table tops, panels and floors.
- Decay resistance of the heartwood: Western redcedar: resistant; Eastern white pine: moderately resistant (old growth only); otherwise slightly or nonresistant; Loblolly pine: slightly or nonresistant. Sapwood of every species has low decay resistance.
- The percentages above compare the first two columns; the table also lists Loblolly pine for comparison.
Appearance, working and what to watch for
Western redcedar heartwood is decay resistant and very stable; untreated pine heartwood is not. Left outside, untreated white or yellow pine will rot within a few years where it stays damp, while cedar heartwood lasts much longer. Cedar is also lighter and shrinks less, so it checks and cups less in the sun. In exchange it is softer and weaker than southern pine, and it costs more.
Pressure-treated southern pine changes the comparison. Southern pine takes preservative treatment well, and treated lumber rated for ground contact outlasts untreated cedar in the ground. It is heavier, stronger and cheaper, but it is often wet when sold and shrinks and twists as it dries, and it needs fasteners rated for treated wood. Indoors, eastern white pine is the easy, cheap, paintable choice and cedar is used mostly for its scent in closets and chests (that is usually aromatic eastern redcedar).
Which to choose: verdict by use
| Use | Better choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fence boards and pickets | Cedar | Durable heartwood, stays straighter, no chemical treatment. |
| Fence posts and anything in the ground | Pressure-treated pine | Ground-contact treatment outlasts untreated cedar. |
| Deck framing (joists, beams) | Pressure-treated southern pine | Stronger, graded for structural use, treated against decay. |
| Raised garden beds | Cedar | Durable without treatment; many gardeners prefer untreated wood for food beds. |
| Indoor shelves, trim and furniture | Eastern white pine | Cheap, light and easy to work and paint. |
| Siding | Cedar | Stable, light and decay resistant. |
Frequently asked questions
Does cedar last longer than pine outside?
Untreated, yes. Western redcedar heartwood is rated resistant; eastern white pine is rated moderately resistant (old growth only); otherwise slightly or nonresistant and loblolly pine slightly or nonresistant (Wood Handbook Table 14-1). Pressure-treated pine is a different case.
Is pine stronger than cedar?
Southern yellow pine is much stronger: loblolly pine has a bending strength of 12,800 psi against 7,500 psi for western redcedar. Eastern white pine is only a little stronger than cedar.
Is cedar heavier than pine?
No, it is lighter: about 22.4 lb/ft³ for western redcedar against 24.5 lb/ft³ for eastern white pine and 35.7 lb/ft³ for loblolly pine at 12% moisture content.
Sources and method
All property values are read from our parsed copy of the USDA Forest Products Laboratory Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material (FPL-GTR-190, 2010), a US Government publication in the public domain, the same data as the wood species database. The percentages and the board examples above are our arithmetic on those values. The values describe small, clear, straight-grained specimens: real boards with knots or sloping grain differ, and structural lumber is sized from graded design values in your local building code, not from this table.
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory. Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material. General Technical Report FPL-GTR-190, 2010. Chapter 2 (species descriptions), Chapter 4 (Tables 4-3, 4-4 shrinkage; Eq. 4-7, 4-9, 4-12 density), Chapter 5 (Tables 5-3b, 5-5b strength and hardness), Chapter 13 (Table 13-5 dimensional change coefficients), Chapter 14 (Table 14-1 decay resistance)
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory. Wood Handbook, 2021 edition (FPL-GTR-282)
Last reviewed: 24 October 2026. How we build and check our data: methodology and corrections. Spotted an error? Please let us know.