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Free landscaping cost calculator

Landscaping Cost Calculator

Enter what a project actually costs your business. This calculator adds overhead into your true cost, then solves for the selling price required to hit your target margin — not just a markup guess.

Calculation methods, rounding, and example data

  • No account required
  • Data stays on your device
  • Pro: $79 lifetime (launch price) — no subscription

Project costs

Enter what this project actually costs your business.

$
$

Crew wages, taxes, and benefits — total for this job

$
$
$

Permits, disposal, subcontractors, etc.

%

Trucks, insurance, admin — as % of direct cost

%

The profit share of your selling price — not markup on cost

Your results

Direct cost$2,478
Overhead allocation$371.70
True project cost$2,849.70

Required selling price

$4,384.15

Display price: $4,385

Gross profit

$1,535.30

Achieved margin

35.0%

Margin = profit ÷ price. That's different from markup (profit ÷ cost) — see the markup vs. margin guide.

What affects a landscaping project's true cost?

Materials

Mulch, soil, gravel, plants, pavers, edging — priced at what your supplier actually charges you, not a list price.

Labor

Loaded crew cost per person-hour, including wages, payroll tax, and benefits — not just take-home pay.

Equipment

Owned or rented equipment time: skid steers, dump trailers, compactors, billed by the hour, day, or job.

Delivery

Hauling materials to the site and debris away from it — easy to forget, and it adds up fast on bulky jobs.

Overhead

Insurance, vehicles, admin time, and other costs that exist whether or not this specific job runs.

Target margin

The profit share of your selling price you're protecting — set deliberately, not left to chance.

Pricing one project? Our landscaping estimate calculatorbuilds up service quantities and direct unit costs before applying shared project expenses.

Build the inputs before solving the selling price

For bulk materials, calculate quantities and supplier costs with the mulch cost calculator or topsoil cost calculator. Add the material amount here and put delivery in its separate field. Do not transfer an installed selling price into a material-cost field.

The landscape labor cost calculator converts wages, paid time, and payroll burden into a direct labor total. Bring that direct cost here, then apply overhead once at project level. For a check on a price you already charge, use the margin versus markup calculator.

Check the estimate after the work is finished

Save the original numbers with your project records. Once supplier bills and crew time are available, compare them in the landscape job cost calculator. Repeated differences are a reason to revisit your assumptions before quoting the next similar job.

Keep the costs behind your quote

Pro saves material and equipment catalogs, labor assumptions, and project estimates. Enter the next job's quantities and check that your saved rates are current.

This tool is free. See Pro pricing and license details.

Explore Pro — $79 lifetime

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Landscaping Estimate Calculator

Turn one project's numbers into a true cost and a required selling price.

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Landscape Job Cost Calculator

Compare budget with actual job costs and see where profit changed.

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Landscape Labor Cost Calculator

Calculate loaded wages, paid person-hours, and crew cost including travel.

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Frequently asked questions

What counts as "overhead" in this calculator?

Overhead is the cost of running your business that isn't tied to one specific job — insurance, vehicle payments, office/admin time, and similar fixed costs. Most contractors express it as a percentage of direct job cost (materials + labor + equipment + delivery + other) and apply it to every estimate.

Why is the required price higher than cost plus a markup would suggest?

Because this calculator solves for margin (profit ÷ selling price), not markup (profit ÷ cost). A 35% markup on a $2,850 true cost only produces a 25.9% margin. Solving for a true 35% margin requires a higher price: cost ÷ (1 − margin).

Does this calculator save my numbers?

No — this free calculator recalculates fresh each time and doesn't save anything between visits. Landscape Estimate Pro ($79 launch price, regular $99) saves your materials, labor, equipment, and every estimate to your device.

Is this the same as a landscaping estimate calculator?

This calculator starts with category totals for a quick cost check. The estimate calculator lets you build quantities and unit costs across multiple services before applying project overhead and margin.