How often should you use a lawn care service?

The typical lawn care services usually need to occur on a weekly or biweekly basis. Some services, such as pest and weed control, occur less frequently and are based on individual needs. Consult with your lawn care company to determine the best frequency for your specific treatment plan,

Can you negotiate prices for lawn care services?

While some companies offer discounts for bundled services, prices are usually set pretty firmly by most companies. Negotiating down costs is something that can happen, but it should not be expected. If you want to negotiate down prices, you will have to speak with a company’s customer service representative to see what kinds of deals it might offer. You might also want to share competitors’ prices if they are lower.

How much should you tip for lawn care services?

Tipping someone who services your lawn is generally considered a good idea and a common practice. Depending on how satisfied you are with the work being done, you should tip between 10% and 20%of the treatment fee. If you sign up for an annual treatment plan, you don’t necessarily have to tip the technicians each time they visit—it’s acceptable to tip annually if the same technicians visit your property throughout the year. And beyond monetary tips, it wouldn’t hurt to offer your lawn care technicians a cold beverage on a hot day!

Are lawn treatments worth it?

If you want to have a green lawn without weeds, lawn treatments can be effective. But most use toxic chemicals that can harm humans, pets, and the ecosystem. It’s important to consider the products being used to treat your lawn, and where possible, it’s best to opt for organic land management. Or perhaps you should just get rid of your lawn altogether. “People should really assess whether they need a lawn or whether there are other landscapes that might be more appropriate,” says Feldman. “More and more people are putting in habitats in which they’re planting perennial flowers, and people are even putting in mini forests. There are other things we can do with our property beyond planting grass.”

Best Lawn Care Services of 2023

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Picking a lawn care service company can be a tricky business. Often the right choice is not just about finding the best company overall but finding the one best tailored to your specific needs. Most lawn care companies offer a wide variety of services, from mowing and fertilizing to pest control, but precise treatment options can vary quite a bit.

Some companies simply connect you with a local contractor, a service that has its pros and cons. You’ll also find DIY, subscription-based services that ship natural lawn care products to your house so you can treat your own lawn. And, as always, when working with potentially toxic products as you do with lawn care, you should consider that some companies are more devoted to eco-friendly practices than others.

So with all these different considerations, use this handy guide to find the company that’s best suited for your lawn care needs. All companies on this list offer services across the country (though not necessarily in every state), and a few even offer services literally anywhere with an address. With so many options available, you’ll be sure to find the right fit for you.

Best Lawn Care Services of 2023

Best Overall: Lawn Doctor
Best Eco-Friendly Service: Weed Man
Best on a Budget: Lawn Love
Best Variety of Services: TruGreen
Best Subscription Service: Lawnbright
Best for Trees: SavATree
Best with Pest Control: Spring Green
Best App: LawnStarter

Disclaimer About Lawn Care Services

While spraying chemicals like weed killer is one of the easiest ways to keep your property looking its best, those treatments are typically toxic and should be avoided when possible.

“If you hire a [lawn] company, generally they will use both toxic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers with petrochemicals,” says Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides. He further adds that these chemicals can potentially lead to long-term, acute, and chronic effects, like rashes, neurological problems, headaches, respiratory problems, and even cancer.

Feldman notes that the environmental impact of petrochemicals is also a concern, as they can enter water sources and affect an entire ecosystem. He suggests you look for a company that practices organic land management and understands the natural cycle of important plant nutrients (produced by bacteria and fungi) in healthy soils.

Finding an environmentally friendly lawn care treatment—and a company that provides said treatment—can be an arduous task. If you’re not sure where to start, check out Beyond Pesticides’ guides to 40 Common Lawn and Landscape Chemicals; there are fact sheets that explain the hazards associated with each. Beyond Pesticides also has a guide to Products Compatible with Organic Landscape Management.

Best Overall: Lawn Doctor

Get a Quote

Key Specs

Nationwide Availability: 40 states
Featured Services: Fertilization, power seeding, mosquitos, and more
Free Estimate? Yes

Pros & Cons

Pros

Satisfaction guarantee that includes a full refund
Natural and organic options
Custom treatments

Cons

Can’t schedule online
Limited details about treatments online

Why It Made the List

Lawn Doctor tops our selection of lawn care service companies for its comprehensive list of treatment types, services, customer-first philosophy, and wide national availability.

The company specializes in treatment options and payment plans customized for you and your lawn—including organic treatment options—and even offers a satisfaction guarantee. So if you’re unhappy with your service, either your lawn will be re-treated for free or you’ll be refunded the total cost of the treatment. There is also a wide variety of services available, from weed control to pest control to tree and shrub care. If you’re unsure what your lawn requires, a lawn care professional will work with you to determine which of these services are applicable to your property.

One small downside to the company is that information about specific treatments is a bit difficult to come by when researching online; the company uses vague terms, particularly when it comes to its natural and organic treatments. Given the company’s devotion to custom treatment options, we suspect that the lack of details published online probably has more to do with specialization than lack of transparency. But if you’d like to get a direct answer, it may be necessary to contact Lawn Doctor directly to discuss your options and ask any questions you might have.

Best Eco-Friendly Service: Weed Man

Get a Quote

Key Specs

Nationwide Availability: 48 states
Featured Services: Fertilization, weed control, overseeding, and more
Free Estimate? Yes

Pros & Cons

Pros

Eco-friendly and organic treatments
Wide service area
Many services beyond weed control

Cons

No prices on website
Franchise business means results could vary

Why It Made the List

Weed Man specializes in eliminating weeds across lawns nationwide, with quite a good reputation for doing so effectively. But the reason it made our list is its eco-friendly, natural treatment options. The company has a special organic lawn dressing program that provides important nutrients to your lawn. It only uses EPA-registered pesticides and also uses the Integrative Pest Management approach that aims to utilize natural solutions such as mowing, watering, and fertilizing.

Weed Man is widely available in nearly every state, offers customized services designed to suit your specific needs, and has a long list of services offered, including fire ant management, mole control services, and mechanical core aeration. We also love the company’s online lawn care library, which is a great educational resource for topics like diseases, dog spots, and mushrooms. One possible con is that Weed Man is a franchise company, meaning its list of services and quality of services performed may vary from location to location.

Best on a Budget: Lawn Love

Lawn Love

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Key Specs

Nationwide Availability: 40 states
Featured Services: Gardening, fertilization, weed control, and more
Free Estimate? Yes

Pros & Cons

Pros

Discounts available
Clear pricing options
Many services offered

Cons

Complaints need to be made within 24 hours
Uses contractors

Why It Made the List

Lawn care services can get expensive fast, especially when you start adding a variety of treatments to your order. Thankfully, Lawn Love offers substantial discounts (up to 30%off) on bundled services. Its website also lays out pricing options in a clear and concise fashion so that you know what things will cost before getting in touch with a customer service representative. Quick and easy quotes are available on the Lawn Love website 24/7.

The only downside to clear and inexpensive prices is that Lawn Love is not quite a lawn services company in the traditional sense, meaning that it’s really an online platform that connects you to lawn service contractors. So treatment results are likely to vary based on who exactly you end up being connected with. Thankfully, the company does offer a satisfaction guarantee to help put you at ease when dealing with your specific lawn care service provider.

Best Variety of Services: TruGreen

Get a Quote

Key Specs

Nationwide Availability: 48 states
Featured Services: Weeds, fertilization, pests, and more
Free Estimate? Yes

Pros & Cons

Pros

Offers five annual programs
Has a convenient app
Wide variety of treatment plans

Cons

No lawn mowing service
Pricey application fee

Why It Made the List

TruGreen is an impressive lawn care service company that also doubles as a reliable pest control company. But its greatest asset is the variety of services it offers, which can be ordered à la carte or in five different types of annual programs. The only lawn care service it doesn’t offer, interestingly, is the most basic—lawn mowing.

In addition to lawn care for residences, TruGreen offers commercial services for businesses as well. Although it bills itself as a generally affordable company, its first application fee is a little pricey at $89. Estimates, however, are free. We like that the company’s services are widely available in most states and that there’s a handy mobile app and online chat feature for convenience. In fact, TruGreen prides itself on getting you in touch with a customer service representative at whatever time best suits your schedule.

Best Subscription Service: Lawnbright

Key Specs

Nationwide Availability: 50 states
Featured Services: Fertilizers, soil conditioners, tick control, and more
Free Estimate? Yes

Pros & Cons

Pros

DIY subscription-based service
Available everywhere in the U.S.
Natural lawn care treatments

Cons

Not as many services offered as most companies
Subscription service means you are doing your own lawn care

Why It Made the List

Lawnbright offers an interesting and unique do-it-yourself subscription-based service. It’s a bit like a lawn care version of meal subscription services. You are sent everything you need, but you still need to do the work yourself. We’d recommend this to those who prefer a hands-on approach to maintaining their lawns, perfect for those who also need things done at a specific time or schedule. Based on your individual needs, Lawnbright will prepare a box filled with natural-ingredient lawn care products and ship it to your house. Then, it’s up to you to spray or otherwise apply the products to your lawn.

One of the biggest benefits of this DIY style is that packages can be shipped everywhere, so you don’t have to worry about being outside of a coverage zone. Of course, the biggest downside with Lawnbright is also its most unique feature: You have to do your own lawn care. Lawnbright saves you the hassle of figuring out the most effective, organic products for your lawn, but it doesn’t spray those products on your lawn for you. For people who prefer or don’t mind doing a bit of yard work, Lawnbright may be the unconventional option for you.

Best for Trees: SavATree

SavATree Lawn Care

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Key Specs

Nationwide Availability: 25 states
Featured Services: Fertilizing, pruning, weed control, and more
Free Estimate? No

Pros & Cons

Pros

Specializes in trees and shrubs
Holistic approach that considers soil conditions
Has a mobile app

Cons

No free estimate
Only services homes quarterly

Why It Made the List

It might not be a huge surprise that a lawn care service company with the word “tree” in its name specializes in dealing with trees, but that is indeed the case with SavATree. The company offers extensive tree and shrub services, including pruning, removal, disease treatment, fertilizing, cabling and bracing, and insect and mite control. It’s especially good at identifying tree decay and dealing with it before it becomes a bigger problem.

But SavATree does offer comprehensive lawn care treatments, too, including organic treatment programs. The company focuses on the overall health of your soil and turf rather than just applying fertilizer or killing weeds (though it does provide those services, too).

In terms of its service offerings, SavATree is only available in 25 states, which is relatively limited compared to the other companies on this list. It also only services residences on a quarterly basis, and you’ll have to pay for an estimate. That said, it does have a mobile app that can quickly connect you to an arborist for help. But if you’re dedicated to the health of your trees and shrubs, SavATree is your best bet.

Best with Pest Control: Spring Green

Get a Quote

Key Specs

Nationwide Availability: 26 states
Featured Services: Fertilization, insect control, weed control, and more
Free Estimate? No

Pros & Cons

Pros

Extensive range of pest control treatments
Offers tree care services
Budget-friendly lawn care program

Cons

Only available in about half of U.S. states
No free estimates

Why It Made the List

Rather than find both a lawn care and pest control company, it can certainly be more convenient (and also more affordable) to hire one company to do it all. If that’s the case for you, we recommend Spring Green to deal with ants, fleas, ticks, rodents, mosquitos, and other common pests. In addition to its robust pest control treatment options, Spring Green can also handle tree care, fertilization, lawn diseases, and weed control. While the company does use pesticides to spot-treat difficult areas, it is committed to pesticide reduction.

On the downside, Spring Green will charge you for an estimate, and it only offers its services in about half of U.S. states. But it makes up for those limitations with a budget-friendly lawn treatment program, a guarantee that covers either retreatment or a refund, and no charge for service visits.

Best App: LawnStarter

Get a Quote

Key Specs

Nationwide Availability: 26 states
Featured Services: Mowing, leaf removal, fertilization, brush trimming, and more
Free Estimate? Yes

Pros & Cons

Pros

Can schedule services via the app
Wide variety of services offered
Free estimates

Cons

Details only viewable when booking
Uses contractors so quality may vary

Why It Made the List

While some lawn service companies have adapted to the age of ubiquitous apps, none have done so as thoroughly or successfully as LawnStarter. The app connects you with local contractors, creating a fairly quick and easy process in which you won’t get bogged down with long phone calls or confusing information during your initial research phase. Simply download the app, see prices, pick the treatments you need, and schedule your service.

The drawback with LawnStarter is that because it is a marketplace for lawn services, your experience will likely vary once you’re in business with the specific contractor. Contractors will be local, which can be great for a specialized understanding of your lawn care needs. But it also means that you are dealing with a company that you won’t know quite as much about as you would a national organization with clear policies. And on that front, you may end up having to spend some time on the phone with your local contractor to iron out the details of your lawn treatment.

Final Verdict

Despite there being so many different ways of doing business in the lawn care industry, we considered all options and decided that Lawn Doctor is the best all-around choice. As a more traditional company, it exemplifies what most people expect when they want a lawn services company, offering all the standard treatments—plus some eco-friendly options—and exceptional nationwide coverage. Because it’s a centralized company, you won’t get the mixed results you might find with companies that connect you with local contractors. While the Lawn Doctor may lack some modern digital conveniences like an app, we think it’s worth spending a few extra minutes on the phone to treat your lawn with the attention it deserves.

Compare the Best Lawn Care Services

Company	Nationwide Availability	Featured Services	Free Estimate?	Years in the Business
Lawn Doctor Best Overall	40 states	Fertilization, power seeding, mosquitos, and more	Yes	Since 1967
Weed Man Best Eco-Friendly Service	48 states	Fertilization, weed control, overseeding, and more	Yes	Since 1970
Lawn Love Best on a Budget	40 states	Gardening, fertilization, weed control, and more	Yes	Since 2014
TruGreen Best Variety of Services	48 states	Weeds, fertilization, pests, and more	Yes	Since 1973
Lawnbright Best Subscription Service	50 states	Fertilizers, soil conditioners, tick control, and more	Yes	Since 2021
SavATree Best for Trees	25 states	Fertilizing, pruning, weed control, and more	No	Since 1978
Spring Green Best with Pest Control	26 states	Fertilization, insect control, weed control, and more	No	Since 1976
LawnStarter Best App	26 states	Mowing, leaf removal, fertilization, brush trimming, and more	Yes	Since 2013

Guide to Choosing the Best Lawn Care Service

Choosing the best lawn care service really means choosing the best company for your specific needs, given that these companies vary in terms of what services they provide, where they provide those services, and even whether or not they actually do the physical work of treating your lawn (many use contractors). So when it comes to selecting a lawn care company, you do need to pay attention to the details. Below are the top five factors to consider when selecting the right lawn care company for you.

Is your town in the company's service area?

This is a simple but important thing to consider. Does the company you’re considering provide services in your area? Although all the companies on this list provide services nationwide, some have greater coverage areas than others. Always check the company’s website or call the company directly to ensure your property is within its operational zone.

How much are you willing to spend?

Most lawn care companies will provide free estimates, so you can get an idea of roughly how much your treatments will cost you. Keep in mind that an estimate is just an estimate, and the final cost could be higher or lower. Depending on your budget, you may want to spend more to hire experts with particular specialties—this is especially important if you’re dealing with complex issues that may be hard to handle yourself. But if you’re just looking at relatively run-of-the-mill treatments, such as mowing the lawn, you might want to consider a budget-friendly or even DIY option to save some money.

Does the company cover all the services you need?

Not all companies provide all treatments. Pest control, in particular, is not provided by every lawn service company. So if you’re looking to bundle lawn mowing with pest control, be sure to select a company that can do both.

Are you willing to use a local contractor?

Some of the companies on this list utilize a network of local contractors to provide their services. This can be a good thing in that local lawn care companies may know more about issues and treatments specific to your climate and conditions. But it can also mean that services are less consistent. If you’d rather not take the risk with a contractor, be sure to only consider companies that do the work themselves.

Are eco-friendly products offered?

Lawn care companies can be a little vague about the ingredients of some of the products they use to treat your lawn. Many companies also promise environmentally friendly practices, but they don't explain exactly what those practices are. To get precise details, be sure to speak with someone at the company who can answer your questions. You can ask the following: Does the company use natural products? If so, what are the ingredients? What precisely does the company do to ensure it’s eco-friendly?

What Services Do Lawn Care Companies Provide?

Lawn care companies offer a variety of services, ranging from basic tasks like mowing a lawn or trimming bushes to more complex tasks like fertilization and pest control. Services offered can vary from company to company, but the treatments listed below are the most common.

Lawn mowing
Fertilization
Tree care
Pest control
Weed control
Gardening
Pruning
Shrub care
Power seeding

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Lawn Care Service?

Costs will differ greatly depending on exactly what type of company you select, but there are some ballpark figures to help you estimate what you might pay. Basic lawn mowing should cost somewhere in the range of $50 to $190 per session. The national average for general lawn care is around $120, although the price will vary depending on the specific treatments you select, as well as the size of your property. It’s a good idea to get quotes from several different companies to ensure you’re getting a fair rate, and it could also help you negotiate those quotes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should you use a lawn care service?

The typical lawn care services usually need to occur on a weekly or biweekly basis. Some services, such as pest and weed control, occur less frequently and are based on individual needs. Consult with your lawn care company to determine the best frequency for your specific treatment plan,
Can you negotiate prices for lawn care services?

While some companies offer discounts for bundled services, prices are usually set pretty firmly by most companies. Negotiating down costs is something that can happen, but it should not be expected. If you want to negotiate down prices, you will have to speak with a company’s customer service representative to see what kinds of deals it might offer. You might also want to share competitors’ prices if they are lower.
How much should you tip for lawn care services?

Tipping someone who services your lawn is generally considered a good idea and a common practice. Depending on how satisfied you are with the work being done, you should tip between 10% and 20%of the treatment fee. If you sign up for an annual treatment plan, you don’t necessarily have to tip the technicians each time they visit—it’s acceptable to tip annually if the same technicians visit your property throughout the year. And beyond monetary tips, it wouldn’t hurt to offer your lawn care technicians a cold beverage on a hot day!
Are lawn treatments worth it?

If you want to have a green lawn without weeds, lawn treatments can be effective. But most use toxic chemicals that can harm humans, pets, and the ecosystem. It’s important to consider the products being used to treat your lawn, and where possible, it’s best to opt for organic land management. Or perhaps you should just get rid of your lawn altogether.

“People should really assess whether they need a lawn or whether there are other landscapes that might be more appropriate,” says Feldman. “More and more people are putting in habitats in which they’re planting perennial flowers, and people are even putting in mini forests. There are other things we can do with our property beyond planting grass.”

Methodology

This list of the best lawn care companies was compiled using an extensive set of criteria, some of which is highlighted below. Our team reviewed more than a dozen companies, looking at services provided, customer support channels, quote processes, online tools, and more.

In order to receive a high rating, companies had to perform well in a handful of categories, including but not limited to:

Types of services offered
Nationwide availability
Customer service
Company reputation
Online quote and scheduling system
Additional costs and fees
Treatment guarantees

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Sources

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