How to Price Landscaping Jobs in 2025 (with Calculator & Profit Tips)
June 16, 2025 - 17 min read
June 16, 2025 - 17 min read
Table of Contents
| TL;DR Pricing landscaping jobs in 2025 requires more than guesswork—this guide shows how to estimate labor, materials, overhead, and apply the right markup for healthy profits. Use FieldCamp’s tools to simplify quoting, track costs, and win more jobs with confidence. |
Accurately pricing a landscaping job is a skill that separates a profitable business from a struggling one. If you charge too little, you eat into your margins and work overtime to stay afloat. If you overcharge, you risk losing clients to competitors.
In 2025, with ongoing landscaping trends, along with inflation, labor shortages, and increased demand for sustainable landscaping, pricing right isn’t just important, it’s everything.
This guide walks you through how to confidently estimate landscaping jobs, combining expert insights with real-world examples so you can win more jobs and protect your bottom line.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
How to Price Landscaping Jobs in 2025
Many new or growing landscaping businesses struggle with pricing because it feels like a guessing game. But pricing isn’t about what “feels right” — it’s about breaking down each cost, applying your margin, and knowing your value in the local market.
When pricing is off:
A well-priced job not only covers your costs but also ensures you can grow: hire staff, upgrade equipment, and pay yourself properly. Accurate estimates also build trust with clients who feel you’re being transparent and professional from the start.
Choosing the right pricing strategy is critical to your success as a landscaping professional. Below are the most commonly used models, along with their calculation methods, real-world examples, and clear pros and cons to help you decide what works best for your business.
How it works: You charge based on the total number of hours your team works on the job, multiplied by your hourly rate.
Pros:
Cons:
Best used for: Small projects, repairs, or new businesses still figuring out timing
How it works: You charge a rate per square foot of space being landscaped, usually used for lawns, turf installation, or planting.
Pros:
Cons:
Best used for: Lawn care, sod installation, mulching
How it works: You quote a single price for the full scope of work, regardless of hours worked or square footage.
Pros:
Cons:
Best used for: Standardized services or jobs with clear start/end points
How it works: You bill the client for labor (by the hour) plus the cost of materials used, with a markup.
Pros:
Cons:
Best used for: Custom landscaping, design-heavy jobs, or when scope is evolving
How it works: You offer a fixed seasonal or monthly price for routine services like mowing, trimming, or fertilization.
Pros:
Cons:
Best used for: Lawn maintenance, commercial property care, HOA contracts
There isn’t a single “right” way to price all landscaping jobs. The model you use should depend on the type of job, client expectations, and how predictable the scope is.
For a comprehensive breakdown of service pricing strategies across different industries, check out our complete service pricing guide which covers advanced pricing methodologies you can adapt to landscaping.
A lot of pricing mistakes come from assumptions. That’s why a site assessment is critical.
Go beyond just measuring square footage. A strong assessment should help you uncover both obvious and hidden cost drivers. Consider documenting:
Capture photos, rough sketches, and site notes that you can refer to while quoting. This groundwork will shape the accuracy of your final estimate.
Track Essential Site Insights in FieldCamp
Attach photos, log property notes, mark client preferences, and flag hidden cost factors—all in one place. No more missed markups or surprise costs.
Labor is usually the largest cost in any landscaping job, so estimating it correctly is key. Start by breaking down the total effort in terms of person-hours.
If your project will take about 40 hours to complete and you’ll have six people working simultaneously, that’s 240 total labor hours.
Once you have your total hours, multiply them by your hourly cost per worker. This isn’t just wages—it should also include employer-side payroll taxes, workers’ comp, insurance, and any other labor-related expenses.
Let’s say the fully loaded hourly cost is $16.47: 240 hours × $16.47 = $3,952.80 total labor cost
If you’re new to the landscaping business or building out pricing systems, time tracking tools can help you refine these estimates over time. Track how long jobs take, compare them to your quotes, and build smarter benchmarks for the future.
Count Crew Activity in Real Time
Get clear timestamps for every job so dispatchers know exactly when work begins and ends—no guesswork, just smarter quoting and scheduling.
List out everything you’ll need—from decorative stone to functional supplies—and make sure you’re not underestimating. Every plant, bag of mulch, or piece of timber adds up, so you’ll want a full inventory before quoting. Factor in quantities and calculate the full cost, including taxes and delivery.
Common items include lawn turf, gravel, compost, fertilizer, and mulch. You might also need cement for pathways, timber for garden edging, or even boulders and lighting for design accents. These aren’t just line items—they shape the look, feel, and cost of your work. Always account for waste and delivery charges.
Managing landscaping materials like mulch, turf, and cement? With FieldCamp, you can log every supply, track usage, and avoid cost overruns with smart inventory controls built for contractors.
✅ Get low stock alerts before you run out
✅ Prepare material kits for repeat jobs or services
✅ See real-time inventory levels across all your projects
Overhead costs are often forgotten, but they add up fast. These are your indirect expenses, the ones that don’t show up directly on a job invoice but still eat into your profit if you don’t account for them.
Think about what it costs to run your landscaping company each week or month:
How to calculate it per job:
Let’s say your weekly overhead cost is $1,000 and your crew works 100 labor hours per week.
So, your hourly overhead cost is: $1,000 ÷ 100 hours = $10 per hour
If a project takes 240 labor hours: 240 × $10 = $2,400 overhead cost for that job
Even the most accurate base estimate can fall short if you overlook the hidden costs that sneak in around the edges. These extra expenses, though small individually, can quickly eat into your profits if not factored in. Here’s what to watch out for
Once you’ve estimated labor, materials, equipment, subcontractors, permits, and overhead, it’s time to pull it all together.
Here’s what a final landscaping cost calculation might look like:
Total cost before profit:
$3,952.80 + $3,500.00 + $2,400.00 = $9,852.80
This figure becomes the foundation for applying your desired profit margin.
Establishing a solid profit margin is the foundation of profitable landscaping work. Your profit margin represents the percentage of revenue you retain after covering all project expenses—labor, materials, and overhead costs.
Your profit margin is the portion of each project’s total revenue that becomes actual profit once all direct costs are deducted. This percentage determines your business’s financial health and growth potential.
For landscaping professionals, maintaining a 15-20% profit margin creates a sustainable buffer for unexpected expenses, equipment maintenance, and business expansion. When you target a 20% profit margin, your total project costs should represent 80% of your final client price.
Profit Margin Formula:
Final Project Price = Total Costs ÷ (1 – Desired Profit Margin)
Practical Example:
Combined project costs: $800, and Target profit margin: 20%
Calculation: $800 ÷ (1 – 0.20) = $800 ÷ 0.80 = $1,000 total price
This ensures your $200 profit covers landscaping business expenses and contributes to long-term sustainability.
Try FieldCamp’s free [Profit Margin Calculator] to instantly check whether your quote will cover your costs and hit your targets. It’s simple, transparent, and designed for landscapers like you.
Once you’ve established your profit margin target, implementing the correct markup ensures you achieve that profitability goal. Markup is the amount you add to your base costs to reach your desired selling price.
Understanding Markup Implementation
Markup translates your profit margin goal into actionable pricing. While profit margin is calculated from the selling price, markup is calculated from your costs, making it a practical tool for quote development.
Markup Conversion Formula
Markup Percentage = Profit Margin ÷ (1 – Profit Margin) × 100
Let’s Convert Your Desired Profit Margin to Markup:
Markup Formula:
Client Price = Base Costs × (1 + Markup Percentage)
Let’s understand profit margin and markup with an example:
Cost: $1,000
Desired 20% profit margin
Required markup: 25%
Selling price: $1,000 × 1.25 = $1,250
Profit: $250
Profit margin check: $250 ÷ $1,250 = 20% ✓
This ensures you hit your target profit margin every time!
Need assistance calculating markup for specific services like lawn installation, hardscaping, or seasonal maintenance? Try our free lawn care cost calculator for instant pricing guidance.
Once your numbers are finalized, it’s time to package your landscaping estimate into a professional quote that clients can easily review and approve.
Your landscaping quote should include:
This lets you move from estimate to approval without the hassle—and gives your client a polished, clickable experience they’ll appreciate.
Book a demo to see how FieldCamp not only simplifies your quoting workflow but also takes care of your entire field operations—from scheduling to invoicing—all in one place.
Here are some ballpark ranges, based on real projects:
Your region and client expectations will affect these numbers, but they serve as a reliable benchmark to work from.
Pricing isn’t one-size-fits-all. What works in rural Ohio may tank your margins in San Diego.
Tips to localize:
Before you send out your next quote, make sure nothing slips through the cracks. This free checklist helps you review labor, materials, overhead, and more, so every estimate is accurate and professional
Smart landscaping businesses win more jobs not by being the cheapest, but by being the clearest, most reliable option. When your quotes are accurate, transparent, and backed by data, you become the obvious choice.Need help getting started? Try FieldCamp’s free trial and quote with confidence and boost your profits in 2025.
They break down labor, materials, overhead and apply a profit margin based on industry standards, usually using estimating software.
Anywhere from $45 to $85 per hour, depending on your location, job complexity, and whether it includes labor burden and overhead.
For turf and planting, square foot works well. For cleanups or hardscaping, flat rate is often easier for clients to understand.
Have a clause in your contract stating that additional work will be quoted separately. Document changes and get client approval before continuing.
Yes, for new clients or contracts. For existing agreements, honor your commitment but let clients know rates may change next year.
In 2025, the average hourly wage for landscaping workers ranges from $16 to $25, depending on location, experience, and job type.
