FieldLogHow to price a landscaping job
Landscaping spans a huge range — mowing a lawn, installing sod, building a patio — and each kind of work prices differently. The first question to answer is what kind of job you're estimating, because installation and maintenance use different models.
Installation vs. maintenance
Installation (sod, planting beds, hardscape) is priced as a project: materials, equipment, labor, and disposal, plus markup. Maintenance (mowing, pruning, seasonal cleanup) is priced as recurring service — usually a flat rate per visit based on property size, or an hourly rate with a minimum. Keep the two separate in your pricing; a maintenance client and an installation client expect different documents.
Materials
- Sod: roughly $0.30–$1.00 per sq ft delivered, depending on variety and region. Add soil prep — grading, topsoil, and starter fertilizer can double the installed cost.
- Plants: nursery cost plus delivery. A common approach is charging the nursery price plus 30–50% to cover transport, handling, and the warranty on plants that don't survive.
- Mulch and stone: priced by the cubic yard, applied at a depth that defines coverage (2–3 inches is typical for mulch).
- Hardscape: pavers, edging, and gravel are priced by area with the base material as their own line item.
Labor and equipment
Labor for a crew of two to three commonly bills $40–80 per hour combined in many markets, with skid steers and mini-excavators added as a machine line at $75–150 per hour. Check your local going rates — they vary more than materials do. Disposal is a real cost: soil, sod, and concrete debris need hauling, and dump fees are per ton. Price haul-away as a line item every time, never as an afterthought.
Pricing methods
- Per square foot for sod, mulch, and gravel — the area sets the price.
- Per plant for planting — small perennials and shrubs carry an installed price each.
- Hourly for design work or jobs where the scope is still taking shape.
- Fixed bid once the scope is defined — the client gets one number for the finished result.
A worked example — 500 sq ft of sod
- Sod: 500 sq ft × $0.60 = $300
- Soil prep and starter fertilizer: $150
- Labor: 6 crew-hours × $55 = $330
- Disposal of old turf: $80
- Estimate total: $860 plus tax on taxable items
Site and season factors
Access matters: a fenced backyard with no gate means carrying everything by hand. Slope adds grading work. And landscaping is seasonal — in peak season you can hold your rate, and in the off-season a booked schedule is worth more than a stubborn price. Build a 5–10% contingency into projects where the soil hides surprises.
Building the estimate
FieldLog is an Android app for building estimates offline — no account or internet connection required. Add sod, plants, labor, and disposal as separate line items with quantities and unit prices, save your common plants and materials as catalog items, and generate a branded PDF with your company details to share with the client. The free plan includes 3 estimates per month.
Related guides
FieldLog helps you create professional estimates on your Android device — no internet required.
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