Contractor Pricing Strategy
The short answer: most residential mowing jobs fall between $35-$85 per visit for a standard mow-trim-blow, depending on lot size, terrain, and your local market. But knowing the range isn't the same as knowing how to set your number. This guide walks through the actual math.
Standard quarter-acre mow-trim-blow: $40-$55 in most markets Your floor price = your full door-to-door cost + minimum acceptable margin Your ceiling price = what the local market supports for your service level Your actual price = somewhere between, adjusted for lot specifics and route density
The short answer: most residential mowing jobs fall between $35-$85 per visit for a standard mow-trim-blow, depending on lot size, terrain, and your local market. But knowing the range isn't the same as knowing how to set your number. This guide walks through the actual math.
For the full pricing strategy framework, see the parent guide: The Lawn Care Pricing Playbook.
Before you can price a single mow, you need to know what it costs you to have a crew on the road for one hour. This is your loaded hourly rate — not just wages, but everything.
| Cost Component | Monthly Estimate | Per Hour (160 hrs/mo) |
|---|---|---|
| Labor (wages + payroll taxes + insurance) | $3,200-4,800 | $20-30 |
| Equipment depreciation + maintenance | $400-800 | $2.50-5.00 |
| Truck + trailer (fuel, insurance, payment) | $600-1,200 | $3.75-7.50 |
| General overhead (phone, software, admin) | $300-600 | $1.90-3.75 |
| Total loaded hourly cost | $28-46 |
These ranges assume a single crew. Multi-crew operations divide shared overhead differently. The key: use your real numbers, not industry averages.
Time-on-lawn is only part of the equation. Use the door-to-door model that includes everything from pulling up to pulling away.
| Task | Small Lot (<3K sq ft) | Medium (3-6K) | Large (6-10K) | XL (10K+) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drive to property | 5-8 min | 5-8 min | 5-8 min | 5-8 min |
| Unload + setup | 2-4 min | 3-4 min | 3-5 min | 3-5 min |
| Mow | 10-15 min | 18-28 min | 28-40 min | 40-60 min |
| Trim + edge | 5-10 min | 8-15 min | 12-20 min | 15-25 min |
| Blow + cleanup | 3-5 min | 5-8 min | 5-10 min | 8-12 min |
| Load + transition | 2-3 min | 2-4 min | 3-4 min | 3-5 min |
| Admin (per job) | 2-3 min | 2-3 min | 2-3 min | 2-3 min |
| Total door-to-door | 29-48 min | 43-70 min | 58-90 min | 76-118 min |
Drive time is the wild card. Dense routes (multiple stops per street) compress it to 3-5 minutes. Scattered routes push it to 10-15. This single variable can swing your margin by 20+ percentage points.
Your floor price is the absolute minimum you can charge and not lose money.
Floor = (loaded hourly cost x door-to-door hours) + per-job consumables
Example for a medium lot:
Anything below $35 and you're subsidizing the job. Most operators want at least 25-35% above floor to have a real margin, which puts the price for this example at $44-47.
Your market ceiling is the highest price the local market supports for a standard residential mow-trim-blow at your service level.
How to find it:
Most markets have a 40-60% spread between the cheapest and most expensive operators for the same scope. If your floor price is $35 and the market ceiling is $55, your pricing range is $44-55 depending on how you position.
The base price gets adjusted up (never down) for property characteristics that increase your time or complexity.
| Property Factor | Typical Adjustment |
|---|---|
| Slopes or uneven terrain | +$5-15 |
| Fenced backyard (gate access required) | +$5-10 |
| Heavy landscaping / many obstacles | +$5-20 |
| Narrow gate (push mower required) | +$5-10 |
| Long distance from your route | +$5-15 |
| Overgrowth reset (first visit) | 1.5-2x standard rate |
| Bag-and-haul clippings | +$10-40 |
These adjustments aren't arbitrary — they reflect real time increases. A fenced backyard with a narrow gate might add 8-12 minutes per visit. At a $36/hr loaded rate, that's $5-7 in cost alone, before margin.
Most operators don't quote every property individually. Instead, build 3-4 tiers based on lot size bands, then adjust for the property-specific factors above.
| Tier | Lot Size | Base Price | Weekly Monthly | Bi-Weekly Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small | Under 3,000 sq ft | $35-42 | $140-168 | $70-84 |
| Standard | 3,000-6,000 sq ft | $42-55 | $168-220 | $84-110 |
| Large | 6,000-10,000 sq ft | $55-75 | $220-300 | $110-150 |
| XL | 10,000+ sq ft | $75-100+ | $300-400+ | $150-200+ |
These tiers are your starting point. Adjust the dollar figures to match your loaded cost calculation and local market. The tier structure itself — size bands with a range per tier — is the framework that scales.
Two operators can charge the same per-visit rate and have completely different margins. The difference is almost always route density.
| Scenario | Drive Time | Jobs/Day (8 hrs) | Revenue/Day (@$50/job) | Effective $/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dense route (3 min between stops) | 30 min total | 10-12 | $500-600 | $63-75 |
| Average route (8 min between) | 80 min total | 7-9 | $350-450 | $44-56 |
| Scattered route (15 min between) | 150 min total | 5-6 | $250-300 | $31-38 |
Same price per job. Dramatically different economics. This is why operators who cluster accounts in neighborhoods consistently outperform those with dispersed routes — and why neighborhood discounts ($5 off for adjacent properties) can actually increase profitability despite the lower ticket.
For more on route economics, see Common Pricing Mistakes That Kill Profits.
Per-visit billing is simpler but creates cash-flow volatility. Monthly billing stabilizes revenue but requires clear terms.
| Factor | Per-Visit | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | New operators, small book of business | Growing operations, 20+ recurring accounts |
| Cash flow | Lumpy (weather-dependent) | Stable and predictable |
| Billing friction | Low (pay per cut) | Low after setup (autopay) |
| Customer disputes | Rare | Moderate (weather skips, "fifth week" months) |
| Pricing math | Straightforward | Requires annual visit count estimate |
If you switch to monthly billing, the formula is: (per-visit rate x expected annual visits) / 12 = monthly rate. For a $50/visit account with 32 annual mows (typical in the South), that's $133/month.
For more on the transition, see When and How to Raise Your Prices.
Don't price by the hour for routine mowing. Hourly billing penalizes efficiency. The faster your crew gets, the less you earn per property. Reserve hourly pricing for unpredictable work like overgrowth reclamation or storm cleanup.
Don't match the lowest competitor. The cheapest operator in your market probably isn't accounting for their full costs. Competing on price is a race to negative margins. See How to Compete on Value Instead of Price.
Don't forget to factor in the cost of quoting. If you drive to every property for an estimate, that's $15-30 in labor and fuel per quote. At a 30% close rate, you're spending $50-100 in quoting costs per acquired customer. Phone quoting or online quoting dramatically reduces this. See How to Quote: Phone vs Online vs Site Visit.
“`
“`
Should I charge more for bi-weekly mowing? Most operators do, even if they don't advertise it. Bi-weekly lawns grow more between visits, increasing time per cut by 25-40% during peak growth. Either charge a higher per-visit rate or bill monthly at a rate that reflects the actual time spent.
What's a good minimum charge? Your minimum should cover at least 30 minutes of loaded time plus consumables. In most markets, that puts the floor at $35-40 for the smallest residential lot. Going below that rarely makes economic sense once you factor in drive time and admin.
How do I price a lawn I haven't seen? Most operators use lot-size tiers for phone/text quotes and add a "subject to property inspection" clause. Satellite imagery can give you lot size and a visual sense of obstacles before you ever visit. If the property is significantly more complex than the tier suggests, requote on the first visit.
When should I raise my prices? At minimum, annually before each season. Raise when your input costs increase (fuel, labor, insurance), when your route density changes, or when you've added enough value (reliability, communication, expanded scope) to justify premium positioning. See When and How to Raise Your Prices.