Best Lawn Care Services of 2024
All products and services featured are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Maintaining a pristine lawn takes considerable effort. Without the right tools and products, homeowners often see mixed results. Professional lawn care companies offer convenient, personalized solutions to keep your yard looking its best, whether through do-it-yourself (DIY) subscriptions or full-service plans. We spent hours researching the top lawn care companies’ pricing, plans, benefits, and industry reputation. Make an informed decision with this guide to the best lawn care programs.
Top Lawn Care Services of 2024
Get started with these five lawn care companies:
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TruGreen
Sunday
Lawnbright
Lawn Doctor
SavATree
How to Choose a Lawn Care Service
Your lawn is a significant factor in your home’s overall appeal and appearance. Poor lawn care service can lead to patchy, brown, and unsightly areas, so choosing the right provider for your needs is vital. Consider the following factors when choosing the best fit for your yard.
Service Programs
Lawn care companies differ from landscaping companies in many ways. Landscaping often involves mowing, planting new trees and shrubs, and designing beautified outdoor spaces.
On the other hand, lawn care services focus on the health and composition of your grass, trees, shrubs, and soil. Standard service programs include these:
- Overseeding: This service involves laying down new seed on an existing lawn to thicken grass, fill in bare spots, and combat weed growth.
- Pest control: Most lawn care companies offer add-on pest control for outdoor creatures such as grubs, mosquitos, and ants.
- Weed control: Weed control aims to eliminate unwanted growth in your yard, while preemergent applications strike at weeds before they take root to inhibit growth.
- Aeration: Lawn service companies use both spike and core aeration to break up compacted soil, allowing grass to build a healthier root system.
- Lime soil amendment: In this service, granulated limestone is added to soil to balance its pH levels and foster growth.
- Trees and shrubs: Typical services for trees and shrubs include inspecting and treating any diseases or pests inhabiting the tree and fertilizing around the base for proper growth.
- Fertilization: Applying fertilizer during the growing season delivers additional nutrients to promote new root and leaf growth, encourages thicker grass, and supports healthy roots.
Frequency of Service
The frequency of service for lawn care will vary based on your needs and goals for your lawn.
- Monthly: Monthly lawn service is somewhat standard for full-service providers. Professionals apply treatments that improve soil health, prevent pests, and help you maintain a healthy yard every four to six weeks on average.
- Quarterly: For DIY subscription lawn care, boxes usually arrive in the spring, summer, and fall, allowing you to apply your products quarterly. Both traditional lawn care and DIY services suspend most offerings during the winter months.
- Annual: Both DIY and comprehensive lawn care companies offer options needed just once per year, such as overseeding.
- As-needed: Some services, such as aeration or lime soil amendment, are only needed every few years. These can be performed on an as-needed basis rather than on a specific annual schedule.
Ingredients
Many lawn care providers avoid harmful traditional pesticides and fertilizers in favor of more natural ingredients. If you have small children or pets, you may benefit from looking for products certified as organic, so be sure to read the labels and ingredients listed on company websites. All three providers in this review offer natural options, and both Sunday and Lawnbright have at least one fully organic product for sale.
Cost
Comprehensive professional lawn care typically costs more than a DIY lawn care subscription service. The average cost for three TruGreen comprehensive lawn care services came to $876 annually for a home with approximately a quarter-acre lawn.
The average DIY subscription cost for the same lawn came to $368 annually. We got this figure by averaging plan costs for Sunday and Lawnbright.
Our Recommendation
For comprehensive service and convenience, we recommend that busy homeowners select TruGreen. This provider earns our top recommendation for its years of experience, hands-on approach, comprehensive service list, and customer support. Additionally, the company’s user-friendly mobile app allows users to manage their lawn care on the go.
For environmentally conscious homeowners, Lawnbright provides DIY plans using all-natural ingredients aimed at reducing nitrogen levels. In addition, Sunday’s plans are great for lawn care beginners looking for a cost-efficient service plan.
Professional Lawn Care FAQ
How do I choose a lawn care service?
In choosing a lawn care company, you will want to consider several factors:
• What services you’d like for your yard: Do you need extensive treatments like aeration and soil amendment, or simply some overseeding and fertilization? If your yard needs significant help to get healthy, you may consider a full-service provider.
• If you’d prefer DIY or a traditional service: Some companies like Sunday and Lawnbright will ship treatments straight to your door for you to apply, while providers like TruGreen will take care of your lawn directly. If you want to be more hands-on with your lawn, DIY may be right for you.
• Your price range: Unsurprisingly, traditional lawn care costs more than DIY services. The extra cost may be worth it for those who prefer not to spend their weekends on lawn care. On the other hand, a full-service price may be prohibitive for some homeowners.
How much do most lawn services cost?
Quotes we received from secret shopping for a one-acre lawn in Nashville averaged $2,159 for a year of traditional lawn care service or $288 for DIY subscription services. These services include pest control, weed control, fertilization, overseeding, and more. According to experts, pricing for landscaping services like mowing and weeding in the same area typically ranges from $50 to $200 per visit for a similar lawn.
What are some companies that have good lawn care services?
Some nationally recognized companies with good lawn care services include TruGreen, Lawn Doctor, and Weed Man for full-service choices. Good choices for DIY care include Sunday, Lawnbright, and Scotts.
Is it cheaper to fertilize your own lawn?
It is typically cheaper to fertilize your own lawn, but you lose the benefit of full-service lawn care. Lawn care specialists that provide fertilization services usually tailor a plan to your soil condition and grass type.
How can I make my lawn greener and fuller?
To grow greener, thicker grass, it’s best to start a lawn care plan that includes aeration, seeding, fertilization, and weed control.
How We Chose the Top Lawn Care Services
We researched and analyzed widely available lawn care services, spoke with customer service representatives, and analyzed customer experiences based on hundreds of consumer reviews and call listening sessions to find common pain points and lawn care service requests.
We also secret-shopped for quotes from six providers to simulate the customer experience with each process and compare pricing for similar services. Although lawn care offerings can vary based on seasonality and location, we reviewed and compared each provider’s service programs, frequency of service, customer support, pest and weed control options, contact options, industry reputation, ingredients, and state availability.
