If you are currently reading this, it is likely that you are struggling with the decision of whether to buy a lawnmower and use it to maintain your lawn, or to hire a lawn service or someone to do the job for you, due to cost considerations.
You should buy a Lawnmower if you have more money than time. You should pay someone if you have more time than money. To purchase a lawnmower (push), a weedeater, and a blower you will spend $729 upfront, then $26 per month to maintain. You will pay between $55 and $235 per mow for a pro service depending on the size of your lawn.
If you decide to buy a mower, you’ll have to consider such factors as your day-to-day schedule, time to invest in mowing your lawn, maintenance practices, storage, cost, etc.
Here is a quick look at the price difference
| Product or service | Upfront cost | Service cost (Monthly) |
|---|---|---|
| Lawnmower | $280 | $12 |
| Blower | $185 | $6 |
| Weedeater | $262 | $8 |
| $729 | $26 | |
| Professional service | ||
| National average | $132 | |
| Per square foot | $0.25 | |
| Hourly Rate | $45 | |
Service cost: This includes all running costs of equipment such as gas, 2-stroke, weed-eater cable, and eventual service costs for fixing and tuning equipment over the years.
Note: Average life span of the above equipment is 5 years.
If you choose to mow your lawn by yourself, then it means you’ll have to purchase a lawnmower first. Then the cost of DIY will be from $20 and upwards depending on the size of your lawn and what you need to do.
The main cost when it comes to DIY once you already have your machines is gas and maintenance.
The cost of the Mower is also a major factor. There are a variety of choices, from the many brands and models in the market today. The cost varies from push lawnmowers to ride-on mowers.
You will also need to consider the time invested in doing it yourself.
Let’s analyze these costs into four categories; equipment cost, average maintenance cost, replacement time needed, and fuel costs.
Cost of Equipment
Attending to your lawn does not only mean cutting the grass. The core purpose is to keep the property beautiful, attractive, and presentable. Therefore you’ll need to have these three machines; lawnmowers, blowers, and weed eaters which are of excellent caliber. These machines are designed to cut faster, better, and more consistently. But how much are they going to cost you?
- Lawn Mower
The average price of purchasing a self-propelled lawnmower range from $250 to $500. This is about the double price as much as that of a push or electric mower. This means that a regular push lawn mower will cost you around $80 to $300, where else larger riding mowers range from $1,000 to $3,000.
- Leaf Blower
Once you mow your lawn, you’ll need to clean the grass and those leaflets lying in your backyard. Leaf blowers come in three different styles, that is petrol, cordless, and corded electric blowers. Choosing among these styles will depend on the kind of terrain, your budget, and the yard size.
The average cost of purchasing a corded electric leaf blower is $30 to $ 110. Cordless electric blowers are a little expensive compared to corded ones, and they cost $150 to $300. Gas-powered leaf blowers come in three categories; handheld leaf blowers, backpack leaf blowers, and wheeled leaf blowers, and their prices are $90 to $220, $160 to $480, and $280 to $800, respectively.
- Weed Eater
This equipment is mainly used to cut weeds, grass, and other vegetation under challenging areas to reach other tools such as Lawnmowers. There are 3 types of weed eaters; battery, gas, and electric. These machines avail at different prices in the market.
Gas weed eaters cost higher than the electric type. Electric weed eaters cost around $40 to $100 while gas types range from $80 to $200. In the long run, you’ll have to pay more since other costs are incurred, such as fuel.
Below is a table summary of these costs.
| Machine | Category | Average cost |
|---|---|---|
| Lawnmowers | -Self-propelled | $250 to $500. |
| -Push lawn mowers | $80 to $300 | |
| -Riding mowers* | $1,000 to $3,000* | |
| $280 | ||
| Leaf Blowers | -Electric leaf blower | $30 to $ 110 |
| -Cordless electric blowers | $150 to $300 | |
| -Gas-powered handheld leaf blower | $90 to $220 | |
| -Gas-powered backpack leaf blowers | $160 to $480 | |
| -Gas Powered wheeled leaf blowers | $280 to $800 | |
| $262 | ||
| Weed Eater | -Electric weed eater | $40 to $100 |
| -Gas weed eater | $80 to $200 | |
| $105 |
Average Machine Maintenance Cost for DIY
All machines need regular maintenance such as bolt tightening, sharpening, and oil changes, to mention a few. Now that you’re doing lawn clearing by yourself, you’ll need to maintain regular checkups and do repairs and maintenance to keep them running smoothly.
To do this, you’ll incur some costs. The average price to do so includes:
For lawnmowers, some repairs, such as oil changes, spark plug changes, and air filters, can be done in the comfort of your garage. To do this, you need around $20 to $30. However, a professional tune-up will cost you about $50 to $100 for a push mower and around $225 for lawn tractors.
Some maintenance costs for leaf blowers include wiping them down, regular filter checks, and hose inspection. This may cost you, on average, $ 45 to $80. However, since you can handle some of these practices yourself, this will reduce the cost you’re likely to incur.
Weedeater as well needs to be maintained since there are not as complicated as loan mowers themselves. The servicing fee ranges from $65 to $85 and $ 75 to $125 for commercials for homeowners.
Fuel Cost
This equipment will use fuel to operate. However, some models use electricity to work. Therefore on average, you’ll need around $2.30 per gallon of gas or spend 11 cents per kilowatt if you’re using a corded electric mower.
For leaf blowers, there is a very minimal cost attributed to it. You can spend at most 1 gallon per session. However, the bigger your loan, the higher the fuel cost. The bigger the engine displacement and the string trimmers, the more gallons of fuel it is likely to consume when it comes to the weed eater. This means the cost will go higher.
What Does a Professional Lawn Service Cost?
You may know your yard more than anyone else, but a professional lawn mower can do a better job than moving around. The prices will vary between companies; that is why it is vital to get a free estimate or bidding before you hire a lawn service.
Some companies also offer discounts to their clients, which is an added advantage. On a typical average, it will cost you around $49 to $219 per mow. Most companies tend to vary their rates based on the hours taken or even the size of your yard. However, this cost may hike if you add other services like edging, seasonal cleanup, and leaf blowing. The national average is around $131 currently.
Most of these services charge hourly or per acre of land; however, some do charge per X feet squared for smaller properties. If this is the case, expect to pay between $0.01 and $0.04 per square foot.
Pros and Cons of DIY
Some of the advantages and disadvantages of DIY include:
Pros
- Mowing the lawn can be relaxing: Maybe you usually have a busy schedule and spend all day handling things up; you can always take a break to clean your yard as you relax.
- Keeps you fit: This positively contributes to meditation, fitness, and health benefits. As you work on your lawn, you exercise and stay fit, which is an added advantage to your health.
- Gets your outdoor: This comes in handy for people who spend most of their time indoors. When you do the mowing yourself, you get to engage personally with your lawn.
Cons
- Time to cut your lawn on weekends: Since you have to attend to your yard, you have to come up with a routine. Maybe due to your job schedule, you have to fix it on weekends.
- You’ll need more storage space: This is when you tend to clear out some things in your garage to find a space to store this equipment, and this might be such a hassle.
- Cost: The cost of acquiring and maintaining these tools might be higher than you expect.
Professional Lawn Service
Here are a few pros and cons of professional lawn service:
Pros
- Time and resource-saving: You can always choose to hire someone to work on your lawn while you attend to other essential things.
- Skills and experience: Most companies tend to have qualified employees who have the talent to do better things than you can do by yourself.
- Convenient and fast: Since you’ll be hiring the best expert of your choice, you eliminate chances of error and a consistent maintenance schedule.
Cons
- Increased cost: If you’re not doing it by yourself, then it means you’ll keep paying someone to do it for you.
- May subject your lawn to damages: Some service providers use heavy and technical machines and equipment, which may leave your loan damaged in the long run.
- Inflexibility: The lawn service schedule may be inconsistent with your lawn.
Conclusion
Deciding whether to buy your mower or pay someone to do the job for you may seem like an ordinary decision to any other person; however, there is more to just mare calculations.
If you consider all the above factors, for instance, the total average cost of attending to your lawn and hiring someone to do it for you, you can easily weigh the options and get to choose the most appropriate option for you.
