TruGreen is a company that offers lawn and garden services as an annual subscription package. They send one of their own specialists to wherever you are in the United States (excluding Alaska) and they can solve a host of problems for you. While TruGreen advertises far and wide, there’s one thing its marketing campaigns never reveal: how much does TruGreen actually cost?
Do you strive to have a perfect lawn, but struggle to find the time or energy to take care of all the small things that need taking care of?
From fertilizing your lawn and getting rid of weeds, to re-seeding or overseeding your lawn and banishing insects?
I mean, we all love a spotless green lawn and immaculately trimmed trees, but who has time to take care of all that in this day and age?
So why not hire TruGreen or one of their alternatives?
Well first you need to be able to understand what TruGreen offers, and what the cost is … something that is often challenging to find out.
I’ll give you the facts and some concrete numbers in this article, so you can compare the price to a subscription service like Sunday or Lawnbright, and also compare TruGreen other local lawn care companies in your area and make an informed choice.
So …
What Does TruGreen Offer?
When signing up with TruGreen, you can choose one of the company’s five pre-determined package deals for general lawn and garden care.
Each package caters to a different budget and needs. There’s even an option that caters to environmentally-conscious consumers who want an eco-friendly garden.
You can also choose add-on services that help you to solve particular problems relating to pest control, lawn aeration, overseeding, balancing the pH of the soil, and trimming trees and bushes.
All plans come with the TruGreen Healthy Lawn Guarantee, which is a promise from the company to make adjustments and do what is necessary to keep your lawn looking great.
The Packages
Let’s take a closer look at what you get with each of the five packages:
- TruMaintenance,
- TruHealth,
- TruComplete,
- TruSignature, and
- TruNatural.
| TruGreen packages | What you get |
| TruMaintenance | This no-frills basic plan includes fertilization, weed treatment, and soil lime amendment. |
| TruHealth | This solid, standard plan offers fertilization, weed treatment, insect control, and soil lime amendment. It grants 8 annual visits from the company’s TruExperts. |
| TruComplete | This comprehensive option includes fertilization, weed treatment, insect control, and soil lime amendment. This plan grants 8 annual visits from TruExperts, plus soil aeration and overseeding. |
| TruSignature | This is the Rolls Royce of garden care plans. It includes fertilization, weed treatment, insect control, and soil lime amendment. This plan grants up to 12 annual visits from TruExperts in addition to soil aeration, overseeding, as well as tree and shrub maintenance |
| TruNatural | This plan offers lawn care that uses organic fertilizer for environmentally-conscious garden enthusiasts. Free weed-care solutions can be added upon request. |
Additional Services
Besides its five primary packages, TruGreen customers can also request additional services such as:
● Pest prevention and control for lawn insects like mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, ants, grubs, and more.
● Core aeration to improve lawns that suffer from discolored patches caused by tightly compacted soil. This encourages better flow of water, oxygen, and nutrients to the roots.
● Analysis and amendment of lime content in the soil.
You can easily select whichever option you want on the company’s website, or via phone. You can also get a quote for your lawn and/or garden via these channels.
So, How Much Does TruGreen Actually Cost?
Ah, now here’s the part that you won’t find on any TruGreen marketing materials.
Anyone who has been interested in the company’s services will know that it’s almost impossible to find price lists for its plans and services.
Before giving you an example of what TruGreen charges (which I will later in this article), keep in mind that costs will differ according to various factors.
Factors That Influence Prices
- Location – which part of the country and how close you are to an urban center will play a part in how much you have to pay for TruGreen’s services.
- Lawn size – because a bigger patch of grass will take more time, work, and products to treat.
- Initial health of the lawn – if your turf is already green and thick, then it won’t need a lot of treatments. If your lawn is damaged by dogs, imbalanced soil nutrients, or chemicals, then it will require more work to bring it back to health.
- Treatment plan – the more bells and whistles you want when it comes to servicing your garden, the more you’ll have to fork out.
How Much Does TruGreen Actually Cost for a Half-Acre Yard?
It is estimated that to have TruGreen service an area of roughly half an acre could cost you between $640 and $1,500 per year – depending on the above-mentioned factors.
But let’s break this down a bit more and get into specific prices for each TruGreen plan for different lot sizes.
TruGreen Price Estimate For 5,000 Square Feet
In August 2020, the Consumer Affairs blog was given a quote for a 5,000 square foot lawn in an Oklahoman city.
The chart below breaks down what TruGreen actually cost for each plan.
| TruGreen Lawn Plan / Additional Service | Annual fee |
| TruMaintenance | $485.65 |
| TruHealth | $568.6 |
| TruComplete | $777.6 |
| TruShield Tick & Flea Control | $404.75 |
| TruCare Mosquito Defense | $464.70 |
| Tree & Shrub Care | $709.65 |
TruGreen Price Estimate For 22,000 Square Feet
Also in 2020, the This Old House blog published some cost estimates for a half-acre (approximately 22,000 square feet) lawn.
The quote, this time for a lawn in an unnamed Southern State, was as follows:
| TruGreen Lawn Plan / Additional Service | Annual fee |
| TruMaintenance | $640 |
| TruHealth | $730 |
| TruComplete | $1,000 |
| TruComplete Plan + overseeding | $1,200 |
| TruSignature | $1,300 |
| TruSignature Plan + overseeding | $1,500 |
| TruNatural | $1,300 |
What Do Customers Have to Say About TruGreen?
In theory, the all-encompassing collection of services that the company offers sounds excellent.
In reality, however, it might not all run as smoothly as described on the company website. It seems that many present and past customers of TruGreen gave mixed reviews about their experiences.
After taking a look at reputable business review websites like Yelp, TrustPilot, and Consumer Affairs, you’ll see that not all customers walked away happy. However, others only had good things to say about TruGreen.
Most of the complaints TruGreen clients made related to a lack of communication when they were experiencing problems with the service.
Problems also arose from the fact that the service is automatically renewed each year. This means that you have to keep paying for it (even if you don’t want to continue) unless you confirm in advance that you’re no longer interested in the service.
Some customers also had difficulties when they found additional services had been added to their bills incorrectly. This is understandable given what TruGreen actually cost them.
Positive reviews usually highlighted the efforts of outstanding employees. Those TruExperts who went the extra mile and took the time to offer extra advice and insights to customers.
Some customers were also very pleased with the effectiveness of certain pest control services, like the TruCare Mosquito Defense offering.
DIY vs TruGreen: What Will You Choose?
At the end of the day, whether or not TruGreen is right for you greatly depends on how much money you’re willing to spend on keeping your lawn in good shape.
If researching potential lawn care solutions and comparing TruGreen to DIY, going to the store to get all the necessary materials and equipment may sound like a drag. So why not let someone else handle all that?
There’s nothing wrong with hiring a pro for lawn care, and lots of people do just that.
But in my experience, most professionals won’t take the same pride in caring for your lawn that you would.
After all — it’s your lawn, not theirs.
That’s why I suggest looking into a subscription lawn-care service like Sunday or Lawnbright, which makes lawn care easy for those who want a great lawn, but don’t want to sweat the details.
If you aren’t sure about what the quality of the service in your area is like, why not take a look at online consumer reviews? That’s a good way to guide your decision about whether the cost of TruGreen is worth it in your area.
If you’re not satisfied with TruGreen or change your mind about employing TruGreen as your lawn care service provider, you can cancel the subscription at any time via email or phone.
14 thoughts on “How Much Does TruGreen Actually Cost?”