How to price a lawn
Every profitable per-cut price is built from the same five pieces:
- Honest time — including the drive. A 45-minute lawn 15 minutes from the last stop is a 60-minute lawn. Windshield time is the silent killer of route profit; it gets paid like mowing time because your crew is on the clock either way.
- Burdened labor, not bare wages. Payroll taxes, workers' comp, and paid downtime add 20–35% on top of the paycheck.
- Equipment reality. A $12,000 zero-turn that lasts 1,500 hours costs $8/hr before fuel and blades. Crews that price at "wages plus a little" are quietly donating their mowers to their customers.
- Overhead. The truck, trailer, insurance, winter, and the estimates you drive to and don't win. Recover it on every stop or it comes out of your profit.
- Margin — applied to the price. A 20% margin means cost ÷ 0.80, not cost × 1.2. And the stop minimum matters: below a floor price, unloading the trailer costs more than the lawn pays.
What do lawn care companies charge?
U.S. residential mowing commonly lands between $40 and $80 per visit for typical suburban lots, with $45–60 the most common band and larger or gated properties above that. Solo operators sometimes go lower — and the ones who last usually regret it, because at $35 a cut with real equipment and drive costs, the margin often rounds to zero. Your number should come from your route density, your equipment, and your crew cost — the full market-rate breakdown is here.
Frequently asked questions
Is this calculator really free?
Yes. It runs entirely in your browser — nothing you type is sent to a server, stored, or shared. Your inputs are saved locally on your own device so they're still there next visit.
Should I price per cut or per month?
Quote monthly where you can — it smooths your revenue, locks the customer in for the season, and hides the per-visit math from price-shoppers. Build it from the per-cut number (about 4.3 cuts per month in season) and consider a small discount for season-long agreements. The full math is here.
Why does drive time belong in the price?
Because your crew is paid for it and your truck burns fuel through it. Two identical lawns can differ 30% in real cost purely on route position — which is why tight routes are the most profitable thing in this business, and why one far-away lawn at a "good" price is usually a bad deal.
What about mulch, cleanups, and hedge jobs?
Same skeleton: honest hours × burdened crew cost + materials with a waste allowance + disposal fees + overhead + margin. The workbook's job pricer handles those line items; for quick mowing quotes, this page is enough.