Calculate Your Hourly Labor Rate
How much are you going to charge per person, per hour for the average job? This number should be based on things like the going rate in your area, how much money you want to earn per hour, and how much youre paying your employees.
If youre just starting off, look at the work and estimate the time it will take you to complete the job. Then consider how much you want to make per hour.
Pricing by the hour makes sense because lot size isnt always an accurate pricing metric. For example, garden homes might take you half an hour to complete, even if they are the same size as a quarter-acre lot, which could take you 45 minutes to complete.
Jason Creel explains that your hourly rate is important, but you shouldnt communicate it to your clients.
He explains:
Lets just say that your hourly rate is $60 per hour. Now, youre not going to speak to the customer and say, hey, I charge $60 an hour, so Im going to time myself when I cut your grass, and then multiply that by 60. Youll quickly learn how to estimate and then multiply that in your mind.
Pro tip: if youre just starting out and not sure about how long a lawn will take, keep track of the time it takes you to complete the job using time tracking software or a stopwatch. From there, find the average of your labor hours over time before figuring out exactly what speed you work at.
Prefer watching a video? Jason Creel talks about pricing out lawn care services below:
What Influences The Prices For Lawn Mowing Jobs
Time, Place, Accessibility and Size
The typical lawn mowing cost is affected by several factors, some of which weve previously mentioned in the last section. Supply and demand tend to shift, depending on where you live.
The size and accessibility of your lawn can play a part in increasing prices due to the difficulty of the job, requiring different mower sizes to be utilized.
The time of the year can also be a big factor in whether you can take advantage of seasonal discount prices when demand might be slowing down.
Equipment Models
Lawn mowing services may also charge you depending on the equipment they use. Electric lawn mower variants may not cost that much but make use of your electric line to charge up instead.
Gas lawn mower models will have to consider gas usage and possible maintenance costs, raising the price but providing a more effective clean sweep of the lawn.
If your lawn only needs the barest of maintenance, they may opt to use a lawn cutter instead, which might lead them to charge you less for equipment use.
Cordless mowers allow a more quiet and compact way of trimming grass, although the limited battery life can be a barrier to a thorough cutting.
Ride on mower prices are the highest-prices of lawn cutter models, reaching up to $6,999 per unit, but arguably give the most convenient services provided your lawn has reasonable ease of access.
How Much Should I Charge For Mowing Lawns
The average price of lawn mowing services is $61 per visit. However, several factors influence this price, including:
- Size of the lot.
- Condition of the lawn.
- Additional services required.
The best way to get an accurate estimate is to visit your customer to check out what needs to be done and discuss your services with them.
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Can I Save Money By Mowing My Own Lawn
Technically, you will save money if you mow your own grass. The problem is that its a continual and annoying service. Youll have to mow your lawn twice a month in summer and once a month in winter. This gets boring really fast. You could spend that time earning money or doing things you love, so its a question of how highly you value your time.
If you hire a service that has a ride-on lawnmower, then they can get the grass cut really quickly. You can schedule this service at regular intervals and completely remove all stress involved. It might be worth it to buy your own ride-on lawnmower, but these can easily cost around $5,000.
If you have a very large lawn and are willing to spend the time cutting it, then you may recoup the costs of hiring a professional service. Still, its probably easier just to hire the professionals who already have this equipment without paying through the nose for it!
Are There Additional Costs For Specialised Lawn Mowing Services
Yes, though its harder to pin down these costs precisely and youll have to contact a provider for a detailed quote. Edging work is commonly requested when there are trees, patios, and pools around the lawn . If a whipper snipper is needed, this will also come at an increased cost.
Lawn painting and striping is most certainly an additional service that will be priced separately. This can look really good if done right, but keep in mind that the grass will grow so the effects tend to be temporary.
If the clippings need to be collected, you will be charged a little extra. But this is mainly because it will simply take more time to empty the catcher. If green waste needs to be disposed of by going to the local skip, this will also add to the final cost.
Aeration, fertilization, pruning, and other services are often requested but these mainly come under the heading of gardening, not lawn mowing.
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Approximate Price Of A Lawn Mowing Job
A lawn mowing job will cost you about $84.46. This is for an average-sized lawn that requires a standard maintenance routine including grass cutting, sidewalk edging, trimming, and removal of debris and grass clippings in the curbs, walks, lawn areas, drives and patios. If you need additional services, ready your pockets as youre likely to pay a bigger amount.
Cost Of Winterizing Your Lawn
Depending on where you live, you may need to winterize your lawn for the harsh winter weather. Winterizing your lawn will ensure the lawn your worked so hard to keep healthy and beautiful does not die from the first snow, and can also prevent dead spots or the unappealing brown spots that we all see too often at the beginning of spring.
The average cost for winterizing a lawn is about $400, but the price can vary drastically depending on where you live and the size of your lawn. If you have a lawn care provider you can ask them about their winterizing process and what your lawn would need, or you can find a lawn care professional today to take on the job.
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What Is A Fair Hourly Rate Or Lawn Care Are You Getting Ripped Off
So youre about to hire a lawn care service and youre wondering.
What is a fair price to pay for landscaping?
Or what is a fair hourly rate to pay for lawn care services?
The good news is that you’re not alone,
Look, the fact is, this is a question we often get running the GreenPal platform. And, helping homeowners all over America find, schedule, and pay local lawn care services.
It gets better. We decided to research to get to the bottom of what is a fair hourly rate to pay for lawn mowing services.
Here is what we learned!
Overview Of Lawn Mowing And Weekly Maintenance
Grass cutting is offered by landscape and lawn care professionals. This page of Costimates focuses specifically on lawn mowing, trimming and edging walkways and the driveway, and blowing debris off hard surfaces tasks done on every visit. Typical rates are $.01 to $.08 per square foot.
Saying that lawncare prices are less than 1 cent to about 8 cents per square foot might not be useful as you evaluate what it will cost to hire a lawn mowing service. So, here are costs for common lawn sizes. Cost per square foot drops significantly as the size of the yard increases.
- 500 square feet : $45 $60
- 1,000 square feet : $50 $70
- 5,000 square feet : $60 $85
- 10,900 square feet : $70 $110
- 21,750 square feet : $85 $130
- 43,500 square feet : $100 $150
The majority of a lawncare pros expenses are in travel time, fuel, labor and equipment, so the brief time they spend at your home doesnt reflect their total costs per client. A full list of lawn mowing price factors is discussed below.
And if these costs still seem a little high, one trip to the gas station helps explain the fact that costs have increased significantly recently.
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How Much Does Lawn Mowing Cost
Our goal is to make our pricing simple, transparent, and affordable.
Here are the standardized prices we use for lawn mowing, based upon square footage.
There are many variables that will increase or decrease the price but these are the general guidelines we use.
These prices are per mowing service on a weekly or bi-weekly schedule.
| Square Footage of Lawn | |
| Greater than 35,000 | Estimator will view property |
Dont know your lawn square footage? No problem. Call us and we can use our satellite imaging software to get your exact measurements.
I Have A Large Lawn How Can I Keep The Lawn Mowing Costs Down During The Summer Months
Consider turning over some of the lawn to borders or pathways or just losing some for a hard-surfaced area like decking or a patio. You could also allow some of the lawn to run wild and keep it as an area to encourage wildflowers and insects or create a sports and play area for the children which will inevitably suffer but will leave you with a smaller area to keep pristine. Another option is to split the work with a gardener and do some of the cutting work yourself this halfway house can work well as you are more likely to be able to fit around the weather but always coordinate what you are doing with the gardener so that you dont cut across each other.
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Pricing Guide: How Much Does Lawn Care Cost
How much does lawn care cost? That depends on what lawn care services you need. While mowing costs on average $29 to $65, yard cleanup prices range from $170.50 to $374.30, and overseeding will typically cost $336 to $1,010 depending on the size of your lawn.
The golden rule: The size of your yard and the services you require will have the most significant impact on how much you spend on lawn care.
Our pricing guide should help you estimate how much different lawn care services will cost you. Well review their prices, how the services can benefit your lawn, and what other factors can affect total cost.
How Often Should You Mow Your Lawn
The frequency of mowing your lawn depends on the weather in your area, the season, and your personal preference. During the prime growing season, you will most likely want to mow your yard weekly, though you may stretch that to ten days if you live in a hot area with lots of sun and prefer longer grass to protect the roots from the heat. Preseason and the end of the growing season see slower growth, so bi-weekly mowing will likely be sufficient.
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How Is My Invoice Calculated
We calculate the time on site by multiplying the number of staff who service your property by our hourly rate, from the time they arrive on site until the time they depart.
We then add a standard fifteen minutes travel time for each of two staff. The travel time is the same whether you have one, two or three staff working on your property.
Finally, we add any additional charges for supplies or non-standard equipment.
Buying A Lawn Mower And Diy
If you choose to mow your own lawn the main cost involved is purchasing a lawn mower, which you can get for a significantly lower price on second hand sites or garage sales.
Lawn mower costs:
- Amazon Bosch Lawn Mower $215.00
- Self Operating Lawn Mower $1700
Mowing your lawn on a regular basis stops weeds from growing and makes your yard look great. If you dont have the time or prefer spending your afternoons with friends and family, there are several lawn mowing professionals that can help you.
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Lawn Care Costs Per Acre
Lawn care prices per acre run from $150 to $250. Just like with mowing, more significant lawn care such as seeding, weed control, fertilization, and aeration is typically priced per acre, with many companies performing more than one of these services at a time. Maintenance costs range widely due to the variety of services that may be needed. They may include one or more services, such as seeding with fertilization or aeration. These services are usually performed and billed separately from mowing. If you have several acres, costs will definitely be higher:
| Number of Acres |
|---|
| $400 – $700 |
Will A Gardener Use My Lawnmower
This is up to you and the arrangement you have with the gardener or garden service company. Some gardeners prefer to use your equipment as it saves the wear and tear on their own, others who may charge more will prefer to use their own mowers which they are familiar with and which may be bigger, faster and offer a better cut. Discuss this with the gardener when he comes to price the work. There is no point offering him a mower with blunt blades which has seen better days as it will only take him longer to cut the grass and you wont get such a good result.
If you are concerned about the potential noise implications in using a professional lawn mowing service, click here to find out more about government legislation on lawnmowers and noise emissions.
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Factors That Affect Lawn Mowing Price
- Size of the lawn As stated earlier in this guide, the size of the lawn is a major factor that determines the lawn mowing cost. If a lawn is large, the lawn mowing cost would be high. Small lawns cost less because of this size factor.
- Mowing frequency The mowing rate determines the price of the lawn mowing service. Lawn owners who require regular owing would definitely pay more than lawn services that only need once weekly or bi-weekly mowing. To keep your lawn yard in great shape, consider agreeing on a lawn mowing service plan that fits your budget.
- Other services needed Lawn care servicesare beyond lawn mowing as there are other activities that are needed to keep your lawn in good health. When included in your next-day lawn care, the cost of lawn mowing would increase.
The other services might include watering, mulching, fertilizer application, weeding, etc which all cost more than regular lawn mowing.
- Location of the property Lawn mowing prices vary per location. Some cities will cost more than others. At GoMow Lawn mowing, we offer reliable and trusted next-day lawn care where we care for your grass with a professional service that you can afford.
What Our Research Indicates About Landscaping Rates
GreenPal recently conducted a poll of over 10,000 lawn care service providers all over the country about how much they charge for weekly or bi-weekly lawn mowing services.
As it turns out.
78% of lawn care professionals we polled responded they charge at least $60 per man per hour. Or $1 a minute.
Next. 12% responded they charge on average $50 per man per hour
Lastly, 10% responded they charge $40 per man per hour or less
But thats just part of the story
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Lawn Mowing Cost Calculator
Cost Calculator
| Range perlawn square feet: | $NaN | |
| Range for this type of project: | $NaN | |
| This includes mowing, edging, and blowing adjacent sidewalks and driveways free of debris. | ||
| Flower Planting | ||
| Handles the placement, digging, transplanting and initial watering. Does not include price of flowers. | ||
| Bed Weeding | $NaN | arrow_drop_down |
| Pull weeds to preserve the health of your garden and allow flowers to flourish. Includes bagging weeds. | ||
| Lawn maintenance | $NaN | arrow_drop_down |
| Can include leaf or pine needle removal, curbing, aeration, or other herbicide treatments. Includes labor and equipment costs. | ||
| Brush removal | ||
| Remove brushes and yard waste, involves transporting waste and recycling. | ||
| Mulching | $NaN | arrow_drop_down |
| Provides erosion control while a seeding or shrub planting is started. Will conserve moisture and help with weed control. |
Do Gas Mowers Play A Part In The Cost Of Mowing A Lawn
One aspect that often goes overlooked by professionals and customers alike is the cost of running a gas mower. Many companies are moving away from gas mowers to avoid fluctuations in their service pricing.
Since these mowers run on gas, international gas prices will impact the cost. It might only be by a few dollars, but if the markets spike or drop, customers will see it in their pricing.
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Lawn Care Costs Per Month
The average cost of lawn maintenance if you have all of your maintenance services billed monthly is between $350 and $450 per month. Monthly service most often includes weekly mowing and different maintenance items based on the season. Because different services will be performed each month, your monthly service cost will be higher some months and lower on others.