Are wooden pallets decent wood?
It depends what &quot;worth it&quot; means, because I would say it's much like other hobbies or activities that one can do. Is it worth it making your own candles? Your own quilts? Your own tri-level deck out back? That's something a stranger can't easily quantify.
Economically, unless your time is really cheap (eg. you're young/old), it's not worth it from a materials standpoint. You can expect to spend 10 mins on a board in aggregate, after pulling nails, hand-sanding, sorting, and dimensioning. That's if you have basic tools. A planer would cut that down, but that's an expensive piece of gear, and pallet wood &quot;surprises&quot; can drive up the consumables cost of planer operation, negating some of the savings.
Locally, I can buy a new 1x4 that's a couple pallets long for $4. So the labor cost of one hour of work (6 finished boards) would be $12 if you replace lumber. The lumber would be in much better shape though, so consider that. If you want crude and cheap, a 1x3x96 &quot;furring strip&quot; is only $2; or $6/hour for comparable quality.
Money aside, it can be a fun limitation for advanced woodworkers, a cheap/free source of material for hobbyists or crafters, or the only source for those with limited means. The resulting creations are a class of their own; a pallet-wood ____.  It does generate some &quot;bragging rights&quot; if you have something really nice that you got &quot;for free&quot; or &quot;upcycled&quot; or &quot;rescued&quot;, depending on the type of bragging you need.
I would say that if you want the challenge, go for it, but if you just want cheap wood and don't mind &quot;character&quot;, use furring strips.