In this guide 9 sections
Every few weeks my Facebook group has the same fight. One guy says $150 is the minimum. “Anything less they can do it themselves.” The next guy says that would never work where he lives. A third says people round his way want their grass mowed for five bucks.
They are all arguing about the wrong number. The minimum price isn’t something you copy off someone in another state. It comes from your own costs, and then your market tells you if it holds.
I have been mowing since 1992. This is how I set my minimum, the numbers I actually use, and what to say when a customer pushes back.
The short answer
- Your minimum covers the stop, not the grass. Driving there, unloading, blowing off and getting paid take the same time whether the lawn is tiny or not.
- Work it out from your hourly rate. Time for your smallest lawn, including the drive, times what you need to earn an hour. Round up.
- My minimums: $35 for a regular mow, $60 for a one-off.
- Let your quotes test it. Just starting out? Aim to win one in two. Once you have work coming in, price so you win one in three. Win every quote and you are too cheap.
- Say it before you drive out. A minimum you only mention on site is a minimum you’ll end up dropping.
Why you need a minimum at all
Think about what happens on a small lawn. You park, drop the ramp, get the mower off, mow for ten minutes, do the edges, blow the path, load up, and drive to the next one. Then you send the invoice and chase it if it’s late.
The mowing was ten minutes. The stop was closer to half an hour.
If you price a small lawn by its size alone, you’re working for nothing for most of that half hour. Do that across a whole round of small lawns and you’ll be flat out all week and still wonder where the money went.
I once quoted a lady $60 for a regular mow. She told me her old guy only charged $20. I asked what happened to him. His mower broke and he couldn’t afford to fix it, so he went out of business. That’s what a price with no minimum does. It looks fine until something breaks.
More: Are you charging enough for your lawns?
How to work out your minimum
You need two numbers.
1. What you need to earn an hour. If you are starting out, aim for at least $60 an hour. You only get about six and a half productive hours out of a working day once you count driving, fuel stops and breakdowns. At $50 an hour that falls short. At $60 you cover your running costs and still pay yourself. Once you are fully booked, push it higher. If you don’t know your number yet, my free hourly rate calculator works it out from your costs.
2. How long your smallest lawn really takes. Not the mowing. The whole stop, from the moment you leave the last job to the moment you pull out from this one.
Then:
Minimum = your hourly rate × minutes for the smallest stop ÷ 60. Then round up.
Here is an example. A small front lawn, ten minutes to mow and edge. Lawns in my rounds sit seven or eight minutes apart, so call it eight minutes of driving. Another few minutes to unload, blow off and load up. That’s around 25 minutes.
$60 an hour × 25 minutes ÷ 60 = $25. Round it up, because nothing ever goes faster than you planned, and your costs only go one way. That is how I got to my own minimum, which is $35 now.
Time your own small lawns for a couple of weeks before you set your number. Put every job in a simple list: customer, minutes including travel, price, and what that works out to an hour. The lawns that come in under your hourly rate are the ones your minimum needs to fix.
Or let my free lawn price calculator do the maths for you.
My minimums, and why a one-off costs more
- Minimum regular mow: $35
- Minimum one-off mow: $60
These are my numbers. Your currency and your costs will be different. The maths in the last section works anywhere.
Why does a one-off cost nearly double? A regular lawn sits in a round. It’s on the way to other jobs, it’s cut short every visit, and the customer already knows how you work.
A one-off is none of that. It’s usually out of your way. It’s often long, because people ring when the grass has got away on them. There are toys, dog mess and junk to work around. You might never see that customer again, so you have to be paid properly the first time.
Here’s what I say on the phone: “Just so you know, our minimum for one-off jobs is $60. That covers up to 60 minutes of work. If it’s more, I’ll let you know when I see it.”
For one-offs I also take payment up front. Most people don’t mind at all. The ones who argue about it are usually the ones who wouldn’t have paid.
Watch for the customer who wants to be “on call”, ringing you only when they think it needs doing. That’s a one-off every time, so they pay the one-off rate every time. You can’t plan a round around them, so don’t give them the regular price.
More: Incoming lawn mowing quotes: 7 red flags
$150 or $5? What your market will pay
One comment in that group fight got it right: “Market has to support that price. You can’t get that everywhere.”
Your costs set the floor. Your market sets the ceiling. If your maths says $45 and every homeowner in town says no, the problem is your costs, your round or your lawns, not the homeowners.
The way to find out is to quote, and count. I call it the Goldilocks rule:
- You win every quote: you are too cheap. Put your minimum up.
- You lose four out of five: you are too dear, or you are quoting the wrong lawns.
- You win about one in three: about right once you are established.
If you are brand new, aim for one in two at first. You need lawns on the books and money coming in. Once you have a steady round, put your prices up until you are winning about one in three.
Write down every quote, the price, and whether you got it. After twenty quotes you’ll know more about your market than any argument in a Facebook group can tell you.
And the guy who wants his lawn done for five bucks? He isn’t your customer. Let him go. Every hour you spend on a lawn that doesn’t pay is an hour you can’t sell to one that does.
More: How to quote on lawns, the complete guide
How to tell a customer your minimum
Say it early, before you drive out. Ask the first question I always ask on a new enquiry: “Were you after a price for a one-off or a regular mow?” Then tell them where your prices start.
For a regular lawn:
“Our regular mows start at $35. Once I’ve had a look at yours I’ll give you an exact price.”
If they say their lawn is tiny and $35 is too much:
“Totally fair. Most of the cost is getting there and setting up, so even a small lawn has a minimum. If it doesn’t suit, no worries at all.”
Don’t apologise. Don’t over-explain. A homeowner who hears a calm, clear minimum thinks “proper business”. A homeowner who hears you wobble thinks “I can get him down”.
If they say no, you have saved yourself the drive. If they say yes, you are covered either way.
More: Dealing with lawn care leads and the texts I actually send
When to raise your minimum
Your costs go up every year. Fuel, parts, insurance, a new mower. A minimum you set three years ago is already a discount.
Signs it’s time:
- You are winning nearly every quote.
- You are fully booked and still turning work away.
- Your timed list shows small lawns earning well under your hourly rate.
Put the new minimum on new customers first. That costs you nothing. For existing customers, don’t do a blanket rise. I raise one customer a week, starting with the lowest-paying lawn, and base it on how long the lawn actually takes. If they leave, a new lead at the new minimum takes their spot.
Think of your round as a ladder, not a treadmill. Every low-paying lawn you swap for a better one is a step up.
More: Lawn care price increase letter and my free price rise calculator
Mistakes that wreck your minimum
- Dropping it to win one job. A discount on a regular lawn isn’t a one-time thing. You give it every visit, for as long as you have the job.
- “First cut free” or “tenth mow free”. These bring in bargain hunters who leave the minute someone cheaper turns up.
- Giving one-off customers the regular price. It costs more for good reasons.
- Copying someone else’s number. $150 might be right for a guy with a big rig in an expensive suburb. It tells you nothing about your costs.
- Never timing your lawns. If you don’t know how long the stop takes, your minimum is a guess.
More: What to do if someone asks for a discount
Do today: pick your three smallest lawns. Next time you do each one, time the whole stop from leaving the last job to pulling out of this one. Multiply by your hourly rate. If any of them come in under your minimum, that’s your first price rise.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good minimum charge for lawn mowing?
Work it out from your own costs: your hourly rate times how long your smallest stop takes, including driving, then round up. Mine is $35 for a regular mow and $60 for a one-off. In the US you will hear people argue for anything up to $150, depending on the area and the gear.
Should a one-off mow cost more than a regular mow?
Yes. A one-off is usually longer grass, out of your way, and a customer you may never see again. My one-off minimum is $60, nearly double my regular one, and I take payment up front.
Is $150 too much for a minimum?
For most solo operators mowing residential lawns, yes. It can work in a wealthy area or for bigger properties with bigger gear. Test it: if you still win about one in three quotes at $150 once you are established, your market supports it.
What do I say when a customer says their lawn is too small for my minimum?
Tell them most of the cost is getting there and setting up, so every lawn has a minimum. Say it calmly and let them decide. Some will say yes. The ones who say no were never going to be good customers.
Should I put my minimum price on my website?
A “regular mows from $X” line helps. It filters out people looking for the cheapest guy before they ring you, and the ones who do ring already know your price.
34 years mowing lawns. Built it up to five vans and 450 contracts, then cut back to a 20-hour week on the best lawns. My story.
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