Pine and poplar are the two cheapest boards at most lumberyards and the usual choices for painted trim, shelving and first furniture projects. Poplar here means yellow-poplar (tulip tree), a hardwood, not aspen or cottonwood. This page compares it with eastern white pine, the soft pine sold as common and select boards.
Pine vs Poplar: the numbers
| Property | Eastern white pine | Yellow-poplar |
|---|---|---|
| Janka side hardness, 12% MC | 380 lbf | 540 lbf |
| Density at 12% MC | 24.5 lb/ft³ | 29.4 lb/ft³ |
| Weight per board foot | 2.04 lb | 2.45 lb |
| Bending strength (MOR), 12% MC | 8,600 psi | 10,100 psi |
| Stiffness (MOE), 12% MC | 1.24 million psi | 1.58 million psi |
| Crushing strength parallel to grain | 4,800 psi | 5,540 psi |
| Shrinkage green to ovendry, tangential | 6.1% | 8.2% |
| Shrinkage, radial | 2.1% | 4.6% |
| Shrinkage, volumetric | 8.2% | 12.7% |
| Tangential / radial ratio (cupping tendency) | 2.9 | 1.78 |
| Width change per 1% MC, flatsawn (Table 13-5) | 0.212% | 0.289% |
| Heartwood decay resistance (Table 14-1) | moderately resistant (old growth only); otherwise slightly or nonresistant | slightly or nonresistant |
What the numbers mean
- Hardness: Yellow-poplar is 42% harder than Eastern white pine (540 against 380 lbf), so it resists dents from furniture feet, dropped tools and wear correspondingly better.
- Weight: Yellow-poplar is 20% heavier. A 1 x 6 board 8 feet long (4 board feet nominal) weighs about 9.8 lb in yellow-poplar and 8.2 lb in eastern white pine at 12% moisture content.
- Strength and stiffness: Yellow-poplar is 17% stronger in bending and 27% 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 0.127 in (1/8 in) in eastern white pine and 0.173 in (3/16 in) in yellow-poplar, 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: Eastern white pine: moderately resistant (old growth only); otherwise slightly or nonresistant; Yellow-poplar: slightly or nonresistant. Sapwood of every species has low decay resistance.
Appearance, working and what to watch for
Yellow-poplar is a little harder and noticeably stronger and stiffer than eastern white pine, and it is usually sold clear (without knots) in hardwood grades. Its heartwood is pale with green, purple or grey streaks that make it unattractive under a clear finish, but it paints beautifully: smooth, closed grain, no knots bleeding through and no resin. Pine is softer, lighter, and full of character under a clear finish, but its knots and resin can bleed through paint unless sealed with a shellac-based primer.
Both are easy to cut, plane and sand. Pine dents more easily; poplar holds crisp edges and details better on mouldings. Poplar moves more across the grain than white pine. For hidden parts of furniture, drawer sides, and anything painted, poplar is the shop standard; for rustic, knotty or clear-finished pieces, pine.
Finishing each wood
For painted pine, seal knots with a shellac-based primer first, otherwise resin can bleed through and stain the paint yellow, sometimes months later. Poplar needs no knot sealer; a good primer and light sanding give a smooth surface. Under a clear finish pine ambers with age, which suits rustic pieces. Poplar’s green streaks turn brown with time and light, but its colour stays uneven, so it is rarely clear-finished. Both woods can blotch under oil stains; use a pre-stain conditioner or a gel stain.
Which to choose: verdict by use
| Use | Better choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Painted trim, mouldings and cabinets | Poplar | Clear, smooth and paints well with no knot bleed. |
| Rustic or knotty furniture with clear finish | Pine | Attractive knots; poplar's green streaks look odd under clear finish. |
| Shelves that carry weight | Poplar | Stiffer, so it sags less. |
| Drawer sides and secondary wood | Poplar | Stable enough, easy to work, cheap. |
| Carving and beginner hand-tool work | Eastern white pine | Soft and even. |
Frequently asked questions
Is poplar harder than pine?
A little: yellow-poplar has 540 lbf of Janka hardness and eastern white pine 380 lbf (Wood Handbook). Southern yellow pine is harder than both.
Is poplar stronger than pine?
Yes, than white pine: bending strength 10,100 psi against 8,600 psi, and stiffness 1.58 million psi against 1.24 million psi.
Which is cheaper, pine or poplar?
Common pine boards with knots are usually the cheapest boards in a store. Clear poplar usually costs less than clear (select) pine, which is why it is the standard paint-grade wood for trim and cabinets.
Is poplar a hardwood?
Yes. Yellow-poplar is a broadleaf hardwood in the magnolia family, even though it is softer than many softwoods.
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.