Everything is worked out in your browser. What you type is not sent, saved or logged. Close the tab and it is gone.
Every rate, price and time on this page is a box you type. We put no typical numbers in, so nothing here is a suggestion of what to charge.
The job
Add a line for each part of the work. Type how much of it there is and how much your crew does in one hour.
Measure each lawn in square feet (length × width of each section, or one number), after taking out the house, drive and beds. Edging and trimming go in feet. Add a line for anything else you price.
Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
Line 4
Your costs
What the visit costs you. Leave a box empty if it does not apply.
Your price
Choose how you set the price. The calculator does the arithmetic; the numbers are yours.
Price = cost ÷ (1 − margin). Margin is the share of the price that is profit.
Service plans
Type the percent you take off each visit for a plan. Leave a box empty for no discount.
Add-ons
Extras the customer can order on top of a visit. They are priced on their own and never change the visit price.
In the margin method, leave the price empty to see the price at your margin.
Price sheet for your customer
A one-page sheet with what each visit covers, the price per visit, the plans and your add-ons, in English, Spanish or both. It uses only the numbers above.
Payment terms, how to book, what is not covered. You write it; we add nothing.
Type the numbers above until there is a price per visit.
Need a website to go with it? See Digital Works Forge website packages. A small San Antonio studio that builds sites for local businesses.
How to price a lawn mowing job in six steps
- Add a line for each part of the work. The page starts with a few lines for lawn care. Rename them if you like, and add more up to 12 lines with "Add a line". A simple split is one line for the front lawn, one for the back lawn, one for edging and trimming and one for blowing and cleanup.
- Type how much there is. Lawns are in square feet, either one number or length × width. Edging and trimming are in feet. Blowing and cleanup are a count. Subtract the house, the drive and the beds yourself before you type the lawn.
- Type your own production rate. For each line, type how many units your crew does in one hour. The page has no default and offers none. Hours for a line are your amount of work ÷ your units per hour.
- Fill in your costs. Type how many people are on the crew, what one hour of one person's work costs you, your setup and cleanup minutes, your travel and fuel per visit and your supplies and disposal per visit.
- Choose how to set the price. Work from your cost and the margin you want, from your hourly rate or from your price per unit. Then type your minimum charge for small lawns, your plan discounts and any add-ons.
- Read the result and print the sheet. See the time, the cost of the visit, the price, the profit, the margin and the markup. Then type your business name and notes and use "Download the price sheet (PDF)" for a one-page letter to your customer.
How this lawn mowing price calculator works
It follows the same chain you follow in your head at the curb. First, how long the visit takes. Second, what that time and the drive cost you. Third, the price that leaves what you want after your costs.
Everything on the page comes from numbers you type. There are no starter rates, so an empty box stays empty until you fill it. If something is missing, the result tells you exactly what to type next.
The time for each line is your amount of work ÷ your units per hour. Add the lines, add your setup and cleanup minutes, and you have the time on the clock for one visit. With more than one person, labor hours are the crew size times that time.
Measuring a lawn without special tools
You only need a tape, a measuring wheel or the sections you already know. Split the yard into rectangles, walk or tape each one, and multiply length × width. Add the rectangles for the front lawn into one number, and do the same for the back.
Subtract what is not grass: the house, the drive, walks, patios and beds. Measure the footprint of each one, the same way, and take it off the total. Type the result as one number, or type the length and width of a section when it is a clean rectangle.
For edging and trimming, measure in feet along the edges you actually cut: the drive, the walks, the beds and the fence line. For blowing and cleanup, use a count that matches how you work, such as one for each area you blow off.
- Odd shapes: break them into rectangles and triangles, or into sections you can add.
- Repeat customers: measure once, write the numbers down, and reuse them every visit.
Finding your own production rate
A production rate is how many units your crew does in one hour: square feet of lawn, feet of edging, a count of blow-offs. Your mower, your deck width, your crew and your lawns are not anyone else's, so the page leaves the box empty.
To find yours, time yourself on real lawns. Start the clock when you begin cutting and stop it when that part is done. Divide the amount by the hours it took. Do it on several lawns, since open grass and a tight yard with many obstacles can run at very different speeds.
Keep the lines separate. Mowing, edging and blowing each have their own pace, and a separate line for each shows you where the time goes.
Travel, minimums, margin and markup
Drive time and fuel happen once per visit, whether the lawn is small or large. Type your travel and fuel for the visit in your costs, and your supplies and disposal as well. They are added to labor to give the cost of the visit.
A small lawn can cost almost as much to reach as a bigger one. That is what the minimum charge is for. Type your minimum, and if the price comes out lower, the visit is charged at the minimum instead.
Margin is profit as a share of the price. Markup is profit as a share of the cost. Price = cost ÷ (1 − margin). For example, a cost of $100 and a 40% margin gives a price of $166.67, a profit of $66.67 and a markup of 66.7%. A 50% margin is a 100% markup. The page shows a table at 15%, 20% and on up to 50% margin with the matching markup. It is arithmetic, not a suggestion.
Weekly and every 2 weeks routes, and what a discount does
The plans table compares one visit with every week, every 2 weeks and every month. That is 52, 26 and 12 visits a year. The monthly figure is a year of visits ÷ 12.
You type a percent off per visit for each plan. Your cost per visit does not change, so a discount comes straight out of your profit and lowers your margin. The table shows the margin for each plan so you can see it before you offer anything.
Add-ons are the extras: hedge trimming, weed removal, leaf cleanup. Add one with "Add an add-on" (up to 8), give it a price and a cost, and it stays outside the visit price. With the margin method, an add-on that has a cost and no price is shown at your target margin.
The price sheet for your customer
Type your business name and any notes, in English, Spanish or both. The page builds one letter page: what each visit covers, the price per visit, the plans per visit and per month, your add-ons with their prices, your minimum charge and your notes.
Use "Download the price sheet (PDF)" to save it. The sheet uses only the numbers you typed. The Spanish on the sheet speaks to your customer formally, while the tool itself speaks to you in a friendly way.
Your numbers stay with you
The calculator is free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no limit. Everything is worked out in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, saved or logged, so your rates are not stored anywhere.
That also means close the tab and it is gone. Use "Download the price sheet (PDF)" before you leave, and write your numbers down if you want them next time. "Start over" clears the page.
Frequently asked questions
What do I measure for a lawn mowing price?
Measure the grass you cut, in square feet. Take the length × width of each section, add them up, and subtract the house, the drive, the walks and the beds. Edging and trimming are measured in feet, and blowing and cleanup are a count.
Does the calculator tell me what to charge?
No. It works from your numbers only and never names a price. You choose the method, type your rates and read the arithmetic. If the price comes out below your cost, the page says by how much.
How do I find my own production rate?
Time yourself on real lawns. Note the amount of work and the hours it took, then divide the amount by the hours. Repeat on several lawns, because your mower, your crew and the yard all change the pace.
Why are all the rate boxes empty?
Because a rate that is not yours would give you a price that is not yours. Each box is empty until you type your own number, so the result always reflects how your crew works.
How are travel and fuel counted?
As a cost per visit. Type what the drive and the fuel cost you for one visit, and it is added to labor and supplies to give the cost of the visit.
What is the minimum charge for?
It protects small lawns. If the price from your method comes out lower than the minimum you typed, the visit is charged at the minimum. Leave it empty if you do not use one.
What does a plan discount do to my margin?
Your cost per visit stays the same, so every percent off comes out of your profit. The plans table shows the margin for every week, every 2 weeks and every month, so you can compare before you decide.
What is the difference between margin and markup?
Margin is profit divided by the price. Markup is profit divided by the cost. A 50% margin is a 100% markup, so the two numbers are not interchangeable.
Where do hedge trimming, weed removal and leaf cleanup go?
Add each as an add-on, with its own price and cost. Add-ons are never part of the visit price, and they appear on the price sheet with their own prices.
Is my information saved or sent anywhere?
No. Everything is worked out in your browser, and nothing is uploaded, saved or logged. Close the tab and it is gone, so download your price sheet first.