Lawn Mowing Cost Calculator: what to charge per mow
Put in the lawn size and what your time and equipment actually cost you. This works out the price per visit, per month and per season, your effective hourly rate and your break-even price — and shows the arithmetic, so you can check it. Free, no account. Calculations run in your browser. We only see the numbers if you open a shared link, because they’re in the link itself.
Every number already in the boxes is a placeholder, not an industry average. It is there so the calculator shows you something. Replace each one with your own figure — the answer is only as good as your numbers.
The lawn
Measure it on Google Maps: right-click the edge of the lawn, choose Measure distance, click around the grass and back to the first point — Maps shows the area. Mowable grass only, not the house or driveway. Your number — edit it.
Clock time for your crew to mow, trim, edge and blow 1,000 sq ft. Time a real job and divide by its size. Use more for bi-weekly or overgrown lawns. Your number — edit it.
Your costs
People on the job. Everyone is paid for the drive too. Your number — edit it.
What one person costs you an hour, including payroll taxes and workers’ comp. Solo? Put what you want to pay yourself. Your number — edit it.
Mower, trimmer, blower and truck: fuel, maintenance and wear, per hour they run. Your number — edit it.
Insurance, phone, software, accounting, marketing — as a percentage added to job costs. Your number — edit it.
Profit as a share of the price (not a markup on cost). 0 to 90. Your number — edit it.
Minutes driving to this lawn, plus load and unload. Your number — edit it.
The schedule
4 for weekly, 2 for bi-weekly. Your number — edit it.
How many months a year you mow this lawn. Your number — edit it.
How the price is worked out
Pricing a mow is pricing time. The calculator turns the lawn into minutes on the clock, costs those minutes, then adds overhead and profit:
- Job time = lawn size ÷ 1,000 × minutes per 1,000 sq ft, plus travel time.
- Labor = job time in hours × crew size × labor cost per person-hour.
- Equipment = job time in hours × equipment and fuel cost per hour.
- Break-even price = (labor + equipment) × (1 + overhead %). Charge less than this and the visit loses money.
- Price per visit = break-even ÷ (1 − profit margin %).
price = (labor + equipment) × (1 + overhead) ÷ (1 − margin)
Per month is the visit price times visits per month, and per season is the monthly figure times the months you mow. The effective hourly rate is the visit price divided by the job time, drive included — the number to compare with what you want the business to earn per hour on the clock. Every step rounds up to the next cent, so the answer never undercharges by a rounding error.
Why travel time belongs in the price
A 15-minute drive to a 15-minute lawn doubles the job. Most underpriced lawns are not slow to cut; they are far from the rest of the route. Put the real drive in the travel box, and the calculator charges for it. If a lawn only works at a price the customer will not pay, that is usually a routing problem, not a mowing one — quote neighbors of existing customers first.
Margin is not markup
The margin box is a share of the price. A 20% margin divides the break-even price by 0.8; it does not multiply it by 1.2. On a $23.00 break-even, 20% margin is $28.75 and a 20% markup is $27.60 — which is only a 16.7% margin. Use margin and the profit you plan is the profit you get.
Where our numbers come from
None of the default figures are averages — they are placeholders so the page shows a worked example. The only published figure we quote: the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median wage of $19.27 an hour for grounds maintenance workers in May 2025, with the lowest 10% earning under $15.01 and the highest 10% over $28.10. That is what a worker is paid, before payroll taxes and insurance, not what a mow should cost.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Grounds Maintenance Workers. One-third rule: Mississippi State University Extension, Enhance Lawn Health and Beauty with Proper Mowing.
Questions
How do I calculate a price for lawn mowing?
Work out how long the job takes your crew on the clock, including the drive, then cost that time: labor for everyone on the crew plus what your mower, trimmer, blower and truck cost to run per hour. Add your overhead percentage to get the break-even price, then divide by one minus your target profit margin. That is price = (labor + equipment) x (1 + overhead) / (1 - margin). The calculator above does each step and prints the working, so you can check every number.
What is a reasonable price for mowing a lawn?
A reasonable price is one that covers your full cost of the visit and leaves the margin you planned, and that local customers will pay. We do not publish an average price, because an average from someone else's costs and region tells you nothing about whether you make money on your route. Put your own numbers in above, then compare the result with what competitors near you actually quote.
How much should I charge every 2 weeks for lawn mowing?
Grass that has grown for two weeks takes longer to cut and bag than grass cut weekly, so a bi-weekly visit usually needs more minutes per 1,000 sq ft. Time a real bi-weekly job, put that time in the minutes box, and set visits per month to 2. The calculator then gives the per-visit price and what the customer pays per month and per season.
How much should I charge for 2 hours of mowing?
Take the effective hourly rate the calculator shows for your numbers and multiply by two, and make sure the two hours include the drive and the unload. If your break-even works out to $40 an hour and you want a 20% margin, two hours on the clock is $40 / 0.8 x 2 = $100. Quoting by the hour only works if you know your real cost per hour, which is what the break-even line gives you.
What is the average pay for someone to mow your lawn?
We do not publish an average price for a mow: one built from other businesses' costs and regions does not tell you what to charge on your route. What is published is what workers are paid: the US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median wage for grounds maintenance workers at $19.27 an hour (May 2025). That is a wage, not a price; a business also pays payroll taxes, insurance, equipment and overhead on top, which is exactly what this calculator adds up.
Is $50 for lawn mowing good?
It depends entirely on how long the job takes you. Put your numbers in and compare $50 with the price per visit and the break-even line. If $50 is above your break-even you make money on that lawn; if a $50 lawn takes your crew an hour with the drive, check the effective hourly rate before you agree to it.
What is the one-third rule for mowing?
Never remove more than one-third of the grass height in a single mowing. Mississippi State University Extension states it as the rule for every turf species. It matters for pricing because a lawn that has outgrown the rule needs a second pass or more bagging, so an overgrown first cut or a stretched schedule should be priced with more minutes per 1,000 sq ft.
Is profit margin the same as markup?
No. Margin is a share of the price; markup is added on top of cost. A 20% margin on a $23 break-even is $23 / 0.8 = $28.75, and $5.75 of that is profit, which is 20% of $28.75. A 20% markup on the same $23 would be $27.60, and that is only a 16.7% margin. This calculator uses margin, and the working shows the division so you can see it.
Priced the job? The next customer finds you on Google. When someone searches for lawn care near them, the reviews on your Google profile are part of what they see first. Tradeloper emails each customer a review request when the job is done, sends one polite follow-up if they do not reply, and tracks your Google review count and star rating daily. That is the Starter plan, $19/month.
Local map-rank tracking, AI social posts, job pins and the reviews widget are on Pro, $49/month — they are not part of Starter. Tradeloper is not a job scheduler or an invoicing tool, so keep the one you use for quoting and billing.
Start free — 14-day trial, no card →See how Tradeloper works for lawn care and landscaping, or use the free review calculator and review link generator and do it by hand.