Large-lot mowing is usually priced per acre with a per-visit minimum, per cut, or by the hour. Whichever way you quote, check it against the real cost of the job.
Start with acres per hour, not a per-acre rate
A rate per acre is only a shortcut. Under it sits a time estimate. If you know how long an acre takes on your mower, you can price any size of lot.
Here is the simple formula. Acres per hour = cutting speed in mph x cutting width in inches x efficiency, divided by 99. The 99 just turns miles and inches into acres. Efficiency is the share of the time the deck (the housing under the mower that holds the blades) is actually cutting new grass. It drops for turns, overlap, backing up and slowing down around trees.
| Mower (illustrative) | Cutting speed | Efficiency | Acres per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21-inch push mower | 3 mph | 75% | about 0.5 |
| 48-inch zero-turn | 5 mph | 75% | about 1.8 |
| 60-inch zero-turn | 6 mph | 75% | about 2.7 |
| 60-inch zero-turn, lots of trees and beds | 6 mph | 55% | about 2.0 |
| 72-inch zero-turn | 7 mph | 75% | about 3.8 |
Illustrative numbers. Use the speed you actually cut at, not the top speed on the spec sheet. A good cut on thick grass is slower than driving across the yard.
A zero-turn is a ride-on mower that steers with its back wheels and can turn in place. It is the usual machine for acreage.
The most accurate number is your own. Time a few properties you already mow, divide the acres by the hours on the mower, and use that. It already includes your turns, your obstacles and your operator.
Per acre, per cut, or by the hour
There are three common ways to charge for acreage. Each one fits a different job.
- Per acre. Good for big open lots, fields and commercial grounds. Easy to explain and easy to scale. It breaks down on small lots, because the fixed time does not shrink with the acres.
- Per cut (one price per visit). Fits most homes on half an acre to a few acres. You walk it once, work out the time, and quote one number for each mowing. The customer sees a clear price and you keep the math to yourself.
- By the hour. Fits rough ground, first cuts on overgrown lots, and anything you cannot judge from a walk-through. It is fair, but customers cannot plan around it, so many will not book it.
Whichever you show the customer, build it the same way: hours on site plus drive time, times your full cost of one person-hour, plus fuel, equipment wear and trimmer line. Then divide by one minus your margin. This is not the same as adding a markup. A 50% margin means the price is double the cost, which is a 100% markup. See profit margin vs markup if those two words still get mixed up in your quotes.
A price table from half an acre to five acres
This table uses one set of illustrative numbers so you can see the shape of acreage pricing. One operator on a 60-inch zero-turn cuts about 2 acres an hour on a lot with a house and a few trees. Each visit also has a fixed half hour to unload, check for debris, trim, blow off the drive and load up, plus half an hour of driving. A person-hour costs $40 all-in. The mower costs $15 per mowing hour in fuel and wear. The truck and trailer cost $15 per visit, and trimmer line about $5. The margin is 50%.
| Lot size | Total hours | Job costs | Price per visit | Works out per acre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 acre | 1.25 | $73.75 | $147.50 | $295 |
| 1 acre | 1.5 | $87.50 | $175 | $175 |
| 2 acres | 2.0 | $115 | $230 | $115 |
| 3 acres | 2.5 | $142.50 | $285 | $95 |
| 4 acres | 3.0 | $170 | $340 | $85 |
| 5 acres | 3.5 | $197.50 | $395 | $79 |
Illustrative numbers, not a market price. Your own hourly cost, mower speed and drive time will give different answers.
So a per-acre rate needs two parts: a base charge per visit that covers the drive and setup, plus a rate for each acre. In this example that is $120 per visit plus $55 per acre.
What pushes the price per acre up or down
Two lots of the same size can take very different times. Walk the property before you quote and look for these.
- Obstacles. Trees, beds, play sets, fence lines and parked equipment all slow the mower and add trimming. Open ground is cheap to cut. A lot full of trees is not.
- Slope. Hills force a slower speed and sometimes a different machine. Steep banks may need a walk-behind mower or a string trimmer, which is far slower per acre.
- Trimming length. Trimming (cutting the grass the mower cannot reach, with a string trimmer) depends on the length of the edges, not the acres. A long fence line can add more time than a whole extra acre of mowing.
- Grass height and growth. Fast spring growth, wet grass and long gaps between cuts slow the mower and may need a double cut.
- Frequency. Weekly cuts are quicker than every-other-week cuts on the same lot. Price each schedule on its own.
- Ground condition. Ruts, holes, rocks and soft spots slow you down and wear out blades and tires.
- Access. A narrow gate, no place to park the trailer, or a long walk to the grass all add minutes to every visit.
Minimums, the trailer and the drive
Acreage work almost always means a truck, a trailer and a ride-on mower. That rig costs money every time it leaves the yard, whether the lot is half an acre or five.
- Set a per-visit minimum. It should cover the drive both ways, loading and unloading, and at least some mowing time. Any quote that comes out below it gets the minimum instead.
- Count drive time as paid time. Your operator is on the clock in the truck. Use the round trip, not just the drive there.
- Price far jobs on their own. A lot 45 minutes away needs a higher base charge or a separate travel fee. Our guide to setting a trip charge shows how to work one out.
- Group your route. Rural lots near each other on the same day cut the drive per job. Your price can stay the same while your margin goes up.
Add-ons and seasonal contracts
Mowing is the base. These extras should be priced on their own line, so the customer sees what they get and you get paid for the time.
- First cut on an overgrown lot. Tall grass may need a high deck setting first, then a second pass. Quote it by the hour or as a one-time price, never at your regular rate.
- Ditches and banks. Road ditches and steep banks are slow, careful work. Price them separately.
- Bagging or clearing clippings. Collecting grass on acreage takes much longer than mulching it back into the lawn. It also adds dump fees.
- Edging and blowing. Driveways and walks need edging and a blow-off. Include a set amount in the base, and charge extra for long gravel drives.
- Field or brush mowing. Cutting a rough field with a brush cutter is a different job with a different machine. Do not use your lawn rate for it.
For a season contract, price one visit properly first. Then multiply by the number of visits you expect, and spread it into equal monthly payments if the customer wants that. Write down how many cuts are included, what happens in a dry month when you skip a cut, and what happens in a wet spring when you need extra ones.
Mistakes that lose money on acreage
- One rate per acre with no base charge. Small lots lose money and big lots look overpriced.
- Using the mower's top speed. Spec-sheet speed is not cutting speed. Time your real jobs.
- Pricing from the wage. The full cost of a person-hour includes payroll taxes, insurance and workers' comp. Work yours out with the labor burden calculator.
- Forgetting the mower is wearing out. Blades, belts, tires and engine hours cost money. Put a cost per mowing hour on it.
- Ignoring trimming. On many lots the trimmer, not the mower, decides how long the job takes.
- Quoting from a satellite map alone. A map shows the acres. It does not show the slope, the ruts or the 40 trees.
When to walk away, and how to present the price
Some acreage is not worth cutting at your price. Pass, or quote high, when:
- The slope is unsafe for a ride-on mower and the customer will not pay for slower hand work.
- The ground is full of hidden rocks, stumps or junk that will break blades.
- The lot is far from your other work and the customer will not pay a travel charge.
- The customer wants weekly service at an every-other-week price.
When you send the quote, show one price per visit and list what it includes: mowing, trimming and a blow-off of hard surfaces. List what costs extra, such as the overgrown first cut, bagging and ditch work. A clear scope stops arguments later. The landscaping pricing guide covers the rest of the yard, and for town-sized lots see how much to charge for lawn mowing.
Then check your numbers after the first few cuts. CrewBrain tracks crew hours by job, so you can compare the hours you planned for a property with the hours it really took, and fix the price before the season gets away from you.
A worked example: a 3-acre rural lot with a house, a fence line and a few trees, cut with a 60-inch zero-turn
| Item | How it is worked out | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Labor | 1 people × 2.5 hours (including drive time) × $40 per hour | $100 |
| Materials | Supplies used on the job | $5 |
| Vehicle and fuel | Truck time and fuel for this job | $38 |
| Job costs | $142 | |
| Price at a 50% margin | $142 ÷ 0.50 | $285 |
| Left after job costs | $285 − $142 | $142 |
Where the price goes in this example
Every dollar of the price, split into the costs it covers and what is left over.
- Labor $100 (35%)
- Materials $5 (2%)
- Vehicle and fuel $38 (13%)
- Left after job costs $143 (50%)
The whole bar is the price the customer pays: $286. Illustrative numbers, built from the table above.
Hourly cost per person is the full cost of one hour, including payroll taxes, insurance and workers' comp, not just the wage. Drive time is the round trip and is counted as paid time; vehicle and fuel covers the truck, the trailer, and mower fuel and wear. These numbers are an illustrative example of the method. They are not a price list, and not a promise of what your jobs will earn.
Try it with your own numbers
Job costs means crew time (with drive time), materials, vehicle and fuel. Hourly cost per person is the full cost of an hour, including payroll taxes and insurance, not just the wage. This is a simple calculator, not a quote.
Built for lawn mowing: the lawn mowing price calculator works from lawn area, edging and trimming, with example speeds you can change to your crew’s.
Keep going
- CrewBrain for landscaping and lawn care companies: how the software handles quoting, scheduling and crew time for this trade.
- How much to charge for lawn mowing so every cut pays
- How to price landscaping jobs so each one makes money
- How to price a fence job so every post and gate is paid for
- How to price a service job: the five-step method behind every page in this series.
- Job price calculator: the same calculator as above, on its own page.
- What is a good profit margin for a service business?
- How to estimate labor hours for a job
- All pricing guides by trade
Questions owners ask
How much should I charge to mow an acre?
Work it out from your time. Add the mowing, setup, trimming and drive time, multiply by your full cost per person-hour, add fuel and equipment wear, then divide by one minus your margin. A single acre usually costs more per acre than a big lot, because the drive and setup are paid once per visit.
How much should I charge to mow 2 acres?
Price it as one visit, not as two times your one-acre price. In our illustrative example, 2 acres took about 2 hours including setup and driving and came to $230 a visit, or $115 per acre, while one acre came to $175.
How long does it take to mow an acre with a zero-turn?
Use the formula: cutting speed in mph times cutting width in inches times efficiency, divided by 99. A 60-inch deck at 6 mph and 75% efficiency cuts about 2.7 acres an hour on open ground, or a little over 20 minutes an acre. Trees, beds and slopes can bring that down to about 2 acres an hour, or 30 minutes an acre (illustrative numbers). Time your own jobs for the real number.
Should I charge per acre or by the hour for mowing?
Most owners quote a set price per visit, built from an hourly estimate. Use an hourly rate for overgrown first cuts and rough ground you cannot judge in advance.
How much should I charge to mow half an acre?
A half acre still needs the trailer, the drive and the setup, so its price per acre is high. Set a per-visit minimum that covers that fixed time, and charge at least that much.
Should I charge more for overgrown grass?
Yes. Tall or wet grass often needs a raised deck and a second pass, which can double the mowing time. Quote the first cut as its own job, then go back to your regular price.