Set a price per cut, how often you mow and how long it takes, and see what one lawn and a full route pay across the season.
HomeGuide's pricing guide for pros, written in December 2025, lists four ways to charge: $40 to $80 an hour, $60 to $150 an acre, a flat $30 to $100 a visit for lawns of an eighth to a quarter of an acre, and $900 to $2,000 a year as a subscription covering 25 to 35 visits.
Its table by yard size runs from $30 to $40 a weekly cut and $40 to $50 every two weeks for an eighth of an acre, to $45 to $65 weekly and $60 to $85 every two weeks for a quarter acre, to $60 to $100 weekly and $80 to $150 every two weeks for a full acre. Two acres run $100 to $200 weekly.
Commercial mowing is cheaper per acre: HomeGuide lists $50 to $150 an acre under five acres and $25 to $60 an acre above five. Grass taller than six inches is charged extra, at $70 to $150 a visit.
Because the fixed time does not shrink with the lawn. Parking, unloading, trimming the edges, blowing off the drive and loading up take about as long on an eighth of an acre as on half an acre. HomeGuide's own table shows it: an eighth of an acre at $30 to $40 a cut works out to $240 to $320 an acre, while a full acre is $60 to $100.
So use the per-acre figure to check large lots and the per-cut figure for small ones. The calculator shows your price per acre so you can see when a small lawn is priced like a big one and a big one like a small one.
A cut is your price plus any add-ons. A month is that times the cuts in a month: 4.33 for weekly mowing and 2.17 for every two weeks. A season is the month times your mowing months.
Pay per hour takes fuel and wear off the price of a cut and divides by the minutes on site plus the minutes driving. The fuel default of $3 is our placeholder; replace it with your own figure once you have a week of receipts.
Route figures multiply by the lawns you mow. Hours a week counts every visit at your on-site and driving time, and lawns to fill a 30-hour week tells you how many customers like this one a full route needs.
Charge more per cut for every two weeks. HomeGuide says most companies charge a lower rate for weekly visits and a higher rate for fortnightly ones, because the grass is longer, takes longer to cut and leaves more clippings. Picking every two weeks in the calculator loads $72.50, the middle of HomeGuide's $60 to $85 for a quarter acre.
HomeGuide's guide also suggests $30 to $85 a visit for recurring customers against $50 to $100 for a one-time cut. Price the one-off jobs high: they come with overgrown grass and no second visit.
More than fuel. HomeGuide lists what a mowing business needs: a reliable mower, an edger, a string trimmer, a leaf blower, safety gear, a vehicle and trailer, a business licence where required, and liability and vehicle insurance. With employees it adds workers' compensation. A mower tune-up costs $50 to $200.
HomeGuide's formula for pricing is labour plus overhead plus a profit margin of 15% to 20% above costs. Review your rates at least once a year, when fuel or materials rise sharply, and when you are fully booked, which it reads as a sign you are underpriced. If you are struggling to win jobs, it may be the other way round.
Route density is the cheapest raise you can give yourself. Ten lawns on two streets pay more per hour than ten lawns across town at the same price, because the driving minutes in the calculator fall toward zero. When a customer asks for a referral discount, offer it on lawns next to ones you already cut.
It smooths the winter. HomeGuide lists yearly mowing subscriptions at $900 to $2,000 for an average yard, covering 25 to 35 visits depending on the weather, and $2,000 to $4,000 a year for plans that add trimming, weeding, fertilizing, overseeding or leaf clean-up.
Check the per-visit figure before you sign one. A $1,200 plan that brings 30 visits is $40 a cut, below the $45 to $65 HomeGuide lists for a weekly quarter acre. Price the plan from your per-cut rate times the visits you expect, and bill it in twelve monthly payments so the customer pays in January as well as June.
HomeGuide's add-on prices: leaf removal at $150 to $350 a visit, aeration at $75 to $250, yard clean-up at $125 to $400, fertilizing at $65 to $100 a treatment and hedge trimming at $3 to $6 a linear foot. Autumn clean-ups are easiest to sell to customers you already mow for.
In the north, the same customers need their drives cleared in winter. Our snow removal price calculator prices that half of the year. HomeGuide puts typical profit margins for mowing at 5% to 20% a job and start-up costs at $5,000 to $8,000 if you already own a truck, with a new riding mower at $1,800 to $5,000 or more.
HomeGuide's pricing guide for pros puts residential mowing at $60 to $150 an acre, and commercial at $50 to $150 an acre under five acres and $25 to $60 above five. Small lawns cost more per acre because the set-up time is the same: an eighth of an acre at $30 to $40 a cut is $240 to $320 an acre.
HomeGuide lists $40 to $80 an hour for residential mowing. Most customers prefer a price per cut, so time your first few lawns, including the drive, and set a per-cut price that pays your hourly target. A route of close neighbours earns more per hour than the same lawns spread across town.
Few mowers price by the square foot, but you can convert. An acre is 43,560 square feet, so HomeGuide's $60 to $150 an acre is about $0.0014 to $0.0034 a square foot. Small lawns run well above that, so a per-cut price with a minimum works better for most residential yards.
HomeGuide lists yearly mowing subscriptions at $900 to $2,000 for an average yard, covering 25 to 35 visits depending on the weather. Plans that add trimming, weeding, fertilizing, overseeding or leaf clean-up run $2,000 to $4,000 a year.
Yes. HomeGuide's table puts a quarter-acre lawn at $45 to $65 a cut weekly and $60 to $85 every two weeks, because the grass is longer and takes more time. Grass over six inches tall is billed higher again, at $70 to $150 a visit.