Energy & Garden
Garden Maintenance Calculator
What a lawn and garden service should cost — per visit, per month and per season — by area and service tier.
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About this calculator
Maintenance services price from a simple structure: a rate per 1,000 sq ft per visit, a minimum charge per visit, and a visit calendar. This calculator applies that structure openly — three tiers from mow-and-edge to premium care, weekly to monthly visits, and your length of season — so you can price a plan, check a quote, or compare a service against your own equipment and hours honestly.
What this number means
Garden maintenance is priced like a subscription but quoted like a mystery. Underneath, almost every service works the same way: a rate per 1,000 sq ft per visit, a minimum charge so small lawns still cover the truck roll, and a visit calendar set by how fast grass grows where you live. This calculator exposes that structure, so a quote can be checked rather than just accepted — and so the do-it-yourself comparison includes the honest line items: equipment, fuel, servicing, and your own Saturday hours at the same visit count.
The minimum charge is the number to understand. Below roughly 5,000–8,000 sq ft (depending on tier), you are not really buying area coverage — you are buying the crew's arrival. That is why halving a small lawn rarely halves the quote, and why combining services into one visit is where the savings live.
The formula
- Per-visit cost = max(tier minimum, area ÷ 1,000 × tier rate) — Basic $9/1,000 sq ft (min $45), Full $14 (min $75), Premium $20 (min $115)
- Visits per month = Weekly 4.33 · Every 2 weeks 2.17 · Monthly 1
- Monthly cost in season = Per-visit cost × visits per month
- Visits per year = Visits per month × service months
- Annual cost = Per-visit cost × visits per year
Worked example
A 5,000 sq ft lawn on the Full tier, weekly visits, 10-month season.
- Area price: 5 × $14 = $70 — below the tier minimum, so the per-visit cost is the $75 minimum
- Monthly in season: $75 × 4.33 = $324.75 (about $325)
- Season: 4.33 × 10 = 43.3 visits → annual cost $75 × 43.3 = $3,247.50
- Same lawn on Basic: $45 a visit, $194.85 a month. On Premium: $115 a visit, $497.95 a month
Assumptions and limitations
- Rates are national planning figures for an established route service in 2026. Dense metros and high-cost suburbs run 20–40% above them; rural routes with large open lawns can run below, because big simple areas are fast to service.
- The model assumes a reasonably open, gently sloped lawn. Steep banks, heavy tree cover, lots of edging around beds and paths, gated access and pet-waste clearance all add time, and time is what you are buying.
- Visit counts use calendar averages (4.33 weekly visits a month). Real schedules flex with growth: many services visit weekly in spring, stretch to ten days in a dry summer, and taper in autumn within the same monthly price.
- One-off work — spring cleanup, storm debris, re-sodding, tree work — is normally billed separately from a maintenance plan, as are materials like mulch and plants beyond a stated allowance. The cost guide below shows how those extras are usually priced.
Frequently asked questions
For a typical 5,000 sq ft suburban lawn in season: about $195 a month for basic mow-and-edge on a weekly schedule, about $325 a month for full maintenance (mowing plus fertilisation, weed control and trimming), and about $498 a month for premium care. Every-2-weeks visits roughly halve those figures; out of season, most plans pause or drop to a token visit.
Because most of a visit's cost is arriving: fuel, drive time, loading, and a two-person crew's first fifteen minutes. Below about 5,000 sq ft on the Full tier, the area price falls under the $75 minimum and the minimum is what you pay. It is also why consolidating tasks into one visit is cheaper than booking separate mowing and trimming calls.
Weekly costs about twice the visits but each visit is faster and the lawn never needs a growth-chop, which stresses grass and leaves clumps. Every 2 weeks suits slow-growing, dry or shaded lawns and smaller budgets. In a wet spring, a fortnightly lawn can need double-cutting — some services charge for it, so ask before the season starts.
Basic is mowing, edging and blowing only — you still handle fertiliser, weeds, shrubs and leaves yourself. Full adds the scheduled chemistry and trimming most lawns need: fertilisation, weed control, hedge and shrub work, autumn leaf clearance. Premium adds the improvement work — aeration, overseeding, mulch top-ups, irrigation checks — for lawns being actively upgraded or kept to a showcase standard.
On cash alone, rarely: a serviceable mower, trimmer and blower setup costs $600–$1,200, lasts years, and consumables run perhaps $150 a year. The service wins on time and consistency — the worked example's 43 visits represent roughly 45–65 hours a year of your own labour, plus maintenance and disposal trips. Price your hours honestly and the comparison usually decides itself.
It follows grass growth, not the calendar: roughly March to November through the middle of the US (9–10 months), May to October in the far North (6–7), and effectively year-round in the frost-free South (12). Most annual quotes divide the season's visits into equal monthly payments, so a "monthly" price often already includes the winter gap.