Field guide

Lawn Care Cost: Mowing Prices and What a Contract Should Cover

Published Nov 3, 2026 · VettedLandscapers editorial

Short answer

Expect roughly $45 to $85 a mow for a quarter-acre lot, by HomeGuide's figures, or $44 to $71 a visit for most homes, by LawnStarter's. In our cities, LawnStarter's average mowing prices run from about $44 in Huntsville to $58 in Chattanooga. Southern lawns need mowing most of the year: LawnStarter puts the Southeast season at about 45 weeks, or $1,980 to $3,060 a year for weekly mowing. Full-service lawn care runs about $100 to $400 a month, by HomeGuide's figures.

Only one of the 390 landscaping company websites we've read posts a price, so the figures below come from national cost guides and from LawnStarter's city pages, checked in October 2026. Use them to judge a quote, then read the contract: with lawn care, what's included matters as much as the price per visit.

What a mow costs in our cities

City	Average mowing price	Average yard
Huntsville, AL	$43.74	8,815 sq ft
Knoxville, TN	$46.08	5,540 sq ft
Nashville, TN	$48.87	9,352 sq ft
Memphis, TN	$49.40	6,021 sq ft
Jackson, MS	$55.33	8,013 sq ft
Atlanta, GA	$56.24	5,503 sq ft
Birmingham, AL	$56.91	6,172 sq ft
Pensacola, FL	$57.61	7,172 sq ft
Chattanooga, TN	$57.82	6,406 sq ft

From LawnStarter's city pages, October 2026. LawnStarter, a lawn care booking service, doesn't publish its method or sample size, so treat these as a rough guide. Its Montgomery page showed no averages.

Price doesn't track yard size neatly. Huntsville's average yard in that data is bigger than Chattanooga's, and its average price is lower. Angi says to expect higher prices "if your yard is oddly shaped or has many features to mow around," and Forbes points to sloped, rocky or wooded lots.

By lot size

Lot	Per mow (HomeGuide)
1/8 acre	$30 to $40
1/4 acre	$45 to $85
1/2 acre	$50 to $100
1 acre	$60 to $150
2 acres	$100 to $260

LawnStarter's buckets, which cover ranges of lot sizes, mostly run tighter: $41 to $61 a visit up to a quarter acre, $49 to $69 for a quarter to a half acre, $59 to $114 for a half acre to an acre, and $99 to $264 for one to two acres.

LawnStarter says the minimum charge "is usually around $30," and lawns under 5,000 square feet usually pay the minimum. HomeGuide says its mowing price "typically includes weed eating."

How often, and what that does to the price

Cutting less often doesn't save as much as you'd think, because each visit costs more. HomeGuide's per-mow prices for a quarter acre: $45 to $65 weekly, $60 to $85 every two weeks, and $70 to $100 every four weeks. LawnStarter adds that "most companies charge a long grass fee if the grass is over 6 to 12 inches."

Alabama Extension's advice in growing season is to mow every 5 to 10 days and take off no more than a third of the blade at a time. In practice, LawnStarter's data shows 42% of Birmingham lawns cut weekly and 51% every two weeks; in Atlanta, 67% are cut every two weeks.

A year of mowing

LawnStarter puts the Southeast mowing season at about 45 weeks, at $44 to $68 a week, or $1,980 to $3,060 for the year. HomeGuide notes that lawn pros "work 8 to 12 months out of the year, depending on the climate," and that "rates may increase at busy times of the year or decrease in winter." For a 1/8 to 1/4 acre lot, HomeGuide puts 10 months of mowing at $900 to $2,000, or $2,000 to $4,000 with full service.

Monthly plans

Plan	What it usually includes	Per month
Basic	Mowing, blower cleanup, weed control	$75 to $225
Full-service	Adds hedge trimming and edging	$125 to $275
Premium	Adds fertilizing, mulching and overseeding	$200 to $400

HomeGuide's gardener plan tiers. HomeGuide puts full-service lawn care overall at $100 to $400 a month; Forbes puts most monthly lawn care at $50 to $200, about $125 for a quarter acre.

Add-ons and one-time jobs

Service	Typical price
Fertilizing	$65 to $100 per application (HomeGuide)
Weed control	$50 to $125 per treatment, up to 10,000 sq ft (HomeGuide)
Aeration	$75 to $250 (HomeGuide); $107 to $202 (LawnStarter)
Overseeding	$0.04 to $0.18 per sq ft (HomeGuide); $700 to $1,800 a yard (Forbes)
Leaf removal	$150 to $350 (HomeGuide); $107 to $435 (LawnStarter)
Spring cleanup	$125 to $300 (HomeGuide)
Fall cleanup	$150 to $400 (HomeGuide)
Shrub trimming	$5 to $20 per bush; hedges $185 to $450 (HomeGuide)

This Old House's 2026 review of national lawn care companies found average annual plan prices of $615 to $861, depending on the company.

Spraying takes a license

Spraying weed killer or insect control on a lawn for pay takes a state license in all five of our states, with narrow exceptions. In Alabama, state law requires a permit for paid weed control, and ADAI licenses lawn and shrub spraying under its Ornamental and Turf Pest Control category; in Tennessee, a pest control charter from the Department of Agriculture; in Georgia, a pesticide contractor license; in Mississippi, a pest or weed control license; and in Florida, a pest control business license from FDACS, which covers weed-and-feed products too. Florida also requires for-hire fertilizer applicators to hold its fertilizer certification. Ask who applies the products, and look the company up: our hiring checklist has the state lookups.

What the contract should say

No consumer agency we checked publishes a lawn-contract checklist, so this one is built from the questions cost guides tell homeowners to ask, plus Florida's renewal law. Get answers in writing:

What each visit includes: mowing, edging, string trimming, blowing off hard surfaces, and whether clippings are bagged.
How often, and for how long: the start and end of the season, and whether winter visits are included or priced separately.
Weather: HomeGuide's question is "When will you reschedule in case of bad weather?" Ask whether a rained-out week is skipped or made up, and whether you're billed for it.
Extras: "Will cleanup and yard-waste disposal cost more?" Ask about long-grass fees, too.
Price changes: whether the rate can change mid-season and how much notice you get.
Billing: per visit, monthly or prepaid. This Old House notes that "some companies charge you per treatment, while others require payment in full before starting treatment."
Your part: This Old House suggests you "ask if the company requires you to mow and water your lawn" for treatments to work, and whether the service guarantee depends on it.
Cancellation and renewal: how to cancel, how much notice, and whether the plan renews on its own.

Prepaying a year can earn a discount, which HomeGuide puts at 3% to 10%, but the same guide also says "never give a total payment upfront." If you prepay, get in writing what happens to visits you've paid for but haven't received.

In Florida, state law requires a service contract that renews automatically to disclose that "clearly and conspicuously" and to let you cancel "in the same manner, and by the same means" you signed up. Contracts of 12 months or more that renew for more than a month also require notice 30 to 60 days before the cancellation deadline. A renewal clause that breaks these rules is generally void.

Sold at your door? The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule gives you until midnight of the third business day to cancel many sales of $25 or more made at your home. See how to hire a landscaper for the details and exceptions.

Find lawn care near you

Browse lawn care and mowing companies in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi and Florida. In Alabama, our landscaping calendar covers when to feed, seed and mow.

Sources

This guide is general information, not legal or professional advice. Rules and prices change; check with the agency or business before you rely on them. Spot something wrong? Tell us.