Landscaping prices: sod, beds, planting, patios and hedges priced from your costs
Price a sod install, a planting bed, shrubs and trees, a paver patio or a hedge job from your labor cost, your real production rate, material, drive time and margin — then see where you land against typical landscaping prices.
Every other landscaping pricing calculator gives you a national average and calls it a price. This one works from your numbers: what your labor actually costs you per hour, how fast you really work, your drive time, your materials and the margin you need. The typical range is shown for context, not as the answer.
What it prices
- Sod install — priced per sq ft; typical customer price $1.00–$2.00 per sq ft
- Planting bed prep and mulch — priced per sq ft; typical customer price $3–$8 per sq ft
- Shrub or small tree planting — priced per plant; typical customer price $75–$200 each
- Paver patio — priced per sq ft; typical customer price $15–$30 per sq ft
- Hedge trimming — priced per linear ft; typical customer price $2–$6 per ft
How to use it
1. Pick the job type and enter the quantity. Square feet, linear feet, panes, loads — whatever that job is sold by.
2. Put in your loaded labor cost. This is what one person costs you per hour including payroll taxes, workers' comp and any benefits — or what you need to pay yourself. It is not the rate you charge. If you have never worked this out, start with the wage and add 25%.
3. Check the production rate. The default is a typical figure per person per hour. Your real number, from your last few jobs, is better.
4. Drive time, setup and minimum charge. Small jobs die on the trip. The calculator pays every crew member for drive time and setup, and applies your minimum if the job comes in under it.
5. Materials, overhead and margin. Materials at cost plus your markup; overhead per billable hour (monthly overhead ÷ hours you actually bill); the net margin you want on the job.
Landscaping pricing: what actually moves the number
Materials are half the job. Sod at $0.50–$0.70 a square foot, pavers at $4–$8, a 3-gallon shrub at $30–$50: on landscaping the material line is as big as labor. Enter real supplier prices with a modest markup and put the margin on the labor, because customers can price the plants online.
Production rates swing with access. Sod goes down at 300 sq ft an hour with a truck at the curb and 150 through a side gate with a wheelbarrow. Pavers are 10–15 sq ft an hour including base and compaction. The defaults assume normal access; adjust for the site.
Prep is separate. Sod needs the old lawn removed and the grade fixed; a patio needs excavation and 6 inches of compacted base. Price prep as its own line rather than hiding it in the per-foot rate.
Season. Installs peak in spring and fall and the good crews are booked. Price the peak higher; see the trade demand calendar.
Worked example
A 1,200 sq ft sod install with a two-person crew at 280 sq ft per person-hour: 4.3 person-hours of laying, plus an hour of setup and cleanup and a 30-minute round trip for both. At $26 loaded labor, $15 per billable hour of overhead, sod at $0.60 per sq ft with 20% markup and a 20% margin, the calculator prices it at about $1,480, or $1.23 per sq ft — squarely in the typical range, with the sod itself accounting for $864 of it. Use the sod calculator to get the pallet count first.
How the math works
- Hours = quantity ÷ production rate, plus setup and drive time for every person on the crew.
- Labor = person-hours × your loaded cost. Overhead = clock hours the job occupies × your overhead per billable hour.
- Price = (labor + materials + fees + overhead) ÷ (1 − margin), plus the material markup. Dividing by (1 − margin) gives a true margin on the sale; multiplying by (1 + margin) does not, and it is the most common pricing mistake in the trades.
- If the result is under your minimum charge, the minimum applies.
Turn it into an estimate
Hit Turn this into an estimate and the price lands in the estimate generator as line items, ready to send. When the customer says yes, the same numbers become the invoice in BIG INVOICE, which works offline with no account. Send it on the landscaping estimate template, and see landscaper salary by state.
FAQ
How much should I charge for landscaping?
Common jobs: sod at $1 to $2 per square foot installed, planting beds at $3 to $8 per square foot, paver patios at $15 to $30 per square foot, and hedges at $2 to $6 per foot. Materials are roughly half of most of those numbers, so price them from real supplier quotes.
How much do landscapers charge per hour?
$45 to $100 per hour per person, or $100 to $200 for a two-person crew with a truck, though most installs are quoted by the job. Use the hourly figure to check that a quote covers your loaded cost and overhead.
How much to charge to install sod?
$1 to $2 per square foot installed, with the sod itself at $0.50 to $0.70. Removal of the old lawn and grading are extra, typically $0.50 to $1.00 per square foot more.
How much to charge for a paver patio?
$15 to $30 per square foot installed, including excavation, base, sand, pavers and edging. A 300 sq ft patio is $4,500 to $9,000. Pavers are $4 to $8 of that per square foot; the rest is base material and the labor to compact it properly.
Does this pricing calculator use my numbers or averages?
Yours. The typical range is shown as context, but the price comes entirely from the labor cost, production rate, materials, overhead and margin you enter. Change any of them and the price changes.
Is this calculator free?
Yes, completely. No account, no email, no download. It runs in your browser and we never see your numbers.