Compare Costs of Hiring a Lawn Care Service vs DIY

Hiring a Lawn Care Service Overview

If the idea of spending your weekends pushing a mower or a spreader doesn’t sound appealing, you might want to hire a professional lawn care service. It will cost you significantly more, but for some people, the extra time is worth the money.

You can hire a professional service simply to mow your lawn each week for a fairly minimal cost. You can hire a service to fertilize and treat your lawn on a regular basis. Or, you can opt for full-service lawn care and landscaping to ensure that you never have to spend time on yard work.

Hiring a Lawn Care Service Cost

It’s difficult to estimate the total cost of hiring a lawn care service because it depends on the services you request, the size of your lawn and your region of the country. At a minimum, budget about $30 per visit for basic mowing and edging. For a half-acre lawn, budget closer to $40 to $50 per visit.

Services such as trimming hedges, mulching and weeding run extra. Trimming usually costs about $200 to $400 each visit (although you may only need one or two visits per year in colder climates), while weeding can cost up to $50 per month.

Lawn care services charge about $400 to $700 per year for chemical applications. That includes fertilizing your lawn, killing weeds, preventing weed growth and controlling insects. Most services will treat your lawn six to eight times per year.

Hiring a Lawn Care Service Pros

• Saves time - Time is money, or so they say. When you hire a professional lawn care service, you won’t have to spend a good chunk of every weekend mowing, weeding and fertilizing. Spend that time doing things you enjoy.
• Professional look - It’s easy to pick out the lawns in the neighborhood that are serviced by professionals. They’re green, lush and the envy of everyone else on the street. Replicating that look with DIY lawn care is difficult and time-consuming.

Hiring a Lawn Care Service Cons

• More expensive - Hiring a professional service is considerably more expensive that handling your own lawn care. Rather than paying only for basic supplies, you’re covering the cost of hours worth of labor each week.

DIY Lawn Care Overview

Lawn care is hard work, but the results are rewarding. A well-manicured lawn can vastly improve curb appeal and increase the resale value of your home. If you take pride in creating a beautifully-sculpted lawn with your bare hands and few simple tools, do-it-yourself lawn care is probably for you.

DIY Lawn Care Cost

DIY lawn care is less expensive over the long term than hiring a professional service. But you’ll need to invest in some tools and supplies upfront.

Gas-powered push mowers usually sell for about $200 to $400, while riding mowers - which are almost a necessity for large lawns - go for anywhere from about $800 t0 $2,000. A basic spreader can be found for less than $100.

Then you’ll have to budget for the cost of grass seed, fertilizer, chemical treatments, flowers and scrubs.

DIY Lawn Care Pros

• Less expensive - Although DIY lawn care requires an upfront investment, it is less expensive in the long run than hiring a professional service.
• More control - When you’re in charge of the lawn care, you can be meticulous about how you want the job done. You decide how often the lawn should be mowed or how many times per year the hedges should be trimmed.

DIY Lawn Care Cons

• Hard work - DIY lawn care is difficult and time consuming. If you want a perfectly manicured lawn, plan on spending several hours each week mowing, fertilizing, weeding and landscaping.

Find the Best Lawn Care Pros Who Will Compete for Your Business