Oil prices by me are $3.50 and seem to be rising. I live in rural NY State. Pellets are still cheaper for me. That said, I would use pellets even if the cost were similar. We're home all day, 7 days per week and like the toasty heat of the pellet stove, especially in the main part of our small house where we spend the most time. If we used the furnace, we would never get our living room as nice and warm as we do.Same question here in CT. Right now oil price is only $2.66/ gallon and much less work than pellets. Pellet prices here are $409-$450/ton