Free tool for lawn care operators
Lawn Mowing Cost Calculator
Find the minimum you should charge to hit your target hourly rate. Enter the job time, your crew size, and what each person needs to earn per hour — get the floor price in seconds.
What each crew member needs to earn per hour for the job to be worth it. Most residential operators land between $60 and $90.
This is the floor to hit your target — not a customer-facing quote. Charge above it to leave room for profit.
Run this math on every real job.
MowRate times the job and does this math the second you tap Stop — then tells you if the price you actually charged hit target, and by how much. Job history syncs across your phone and laptop.
The formula behind it
A two-person crew working 45 minutes at a $75/man-hour target: $75 × 2 × 0.75 = $112.50. Charge less and you're paying the customer to mow their lawn.
For a deeper walkthrough of per-hour, flat-rate, and per-square-foot models, read our lawn care pricing guide.
Common questions
How much should I charge to mow a lawn?
Enough to hit your target hourly rate for every person on the crew. If your target is $75/man-hour and a two-person crew spends 30 minutes on site, the floor is $75 × 2 × 0.5 = $75. Charge below that and the job costs you money.
What's a good hourly rate for lawn care?
Most residential operators land between $60 and $90 per man-hour after covering labor, fuel, equipment, insurance, and overhead. Set your target above your true cost — that's the number this calculator uses.
Is a lawn mowing business profitable?
Yes, but only if every job hits your hourly target. Most operators lose money on 'good' accounts that are priced badly. Track the delta on every job for a month and the real number becomes obvious.
Do I include drive time?
No — this is on-site time only. Drive time and windshield time belong in your overhead when you set your hourly target, not in the per-job math.
Is this the price I quote the customer?
No. This is the floor — the minimum you need to hit your target. Your customer-facing quote should sit above it, with room for profit and the occasional bad-weather week.