Free Lawn Mowing Cost Calculator
Find out what every mowing job actually costs you — then decide what to charge.
Your True Cost
This job costs you
$11.13
Est. 15min
Don't know your equipment cost per hour? Use our Equipment Cost Calculator →
Est. time: 15min
What this calculator includes that others don't
Most lawn mowing calculators only count labor and maybe fuel. That's like calculating your car costs without including the loan repayment.
This calculator adds up six cost categories: labor, equipment wear, vehicle running costs, fuel, insurance, and optional green waste disposal. It also includes the hidden time that eats into your day — setup, packdown, and admin.
The result is your true job cost. Not a guess. Not an industry average. Your actual cost based on your actual numbers.
Once you know what a job costs, the margin slider shows what you'd need to charge at different profit levels. Most profitable operators target 25-40% margin after all costs.
Want to know what your equipment actually costs per hour? Try our Equipment Cost Per Hour Calculator.
Frequently asked questions
- What costs does this calculator include?
- This calculator includes six cost categories: labor (your hourly rate applied to total job time), equipment (your cost per hour from depreciation and maintenance), vehicle (ute or truck running costs), fuel (your monthly fuel spend prorated per job), insurance (annual premium prorated), and optionally green waste disposal. It also accounts for setup, packdown, and admin time that most calculators ignore.
- How is equipment cost per hour calculated?
- Equipment cost per hour accounts for the purchase price spread over the expected lifetime in hours, plus annual maintenance. For example, a $15,000 mower with a 3,000 hour life and $1,200 annual maintenance costs around $6 per hour. If you don't know your figure, use our Equipment Cost Per Hour Calculator to work it out.
- What is a good profit margin for lawn mowing?
- Most profitable lawn care operators target 25-40% margin after all costs including equipment and vehicle. Below 20% means you are vulnerable to any cost increase wiping out your profit. The margin slider in this calculator shows exactly what you would need to charge at each level.
- Why does admin time matter?
- Every job has hidden time you don't bill for: quoting, invoicing, travel planning, customer communication. Even 5 minutes per job at $45 an hour adds $3.75 to your real cost. Over 20 jobs a week, that is $75 a week or nearly $4,000 a year of unrecovered cost.
- How accurate is the time estimate?
- The time estimate uses industry-standard coverage rates: around 600 square metres per hour for mowing with a standard walk-behind mower. Actual time varies with grass height, obstacles, terrain, and equipment. Use this as a baseline and adjust your setup and packdown time to match your real experience.
- What is the difference between cost and price?
- Cost is what you spend to do the job. Price is what you charge the customer. The gap between them is your profit margin. This calculator focuses on cost first so you can see your true breakeven point, then adds your target margin to show what you need to charge to actually make money.
Stop leaving money on the table
Every job you quote without your real costs is money you're giving away.
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