Landscaping Cost Calculator

Planning to give a new look to the landscaping area around your house? A landscaping area plays a significant role in transforming the outdoors from ordinary to beautiful — nature-friendly spaces with elegant walkways. So the first question that must pop up in your mind is:

"How much landscaping is going to cost me?"

Don’t worry — we have built a Landscaping Cost Calculator. This tool helps you estimate the cost of your landscape project based on area, project level, hardscaping or irrigation choices, and location.

In this guide we cover:

• What is a Landscaping Cost Calculator?
• How Landscaping Cost is Calculated
• Real-World Examples
• Why You Should Use a Landscaping Cost Calculator?
• And FAQs

What is a Landscaping Cost Calculator?

The Landscaping Cost Calculator is a small but handy online tool that helps homeowners, farmhouse owners, and contractors estimate how much a landscaping project is going to cost.

Remember, instead of calling for multiple contractors or guessing, our calculator uses major factors to ensure an accurate estimate. To calculate, just follow these steps:

1. Enter your project area (in square feet or meters).
2. Choose your project level (Basic, Standard, or Premium).
3. Decide whether you want to include hardscaping (like pavers/walkways).
4. Choose whether to add irrigation (sprinklers).
5. Select your location type (rural, suburban, urban, or metro).

As you fill in the values, the calculator displays the total cost, along with the cost per square foot or meter.

How Landscaping Cost is Calculated

The logic behind the calculator is very clear. We use simple but accurate and realistic landscape average cost, based on the latest U.S. and global market standards. Here is the typical average standard pricing:

• Base Softscape Cost (grass, plants, soil prep)
  • Basic: ~$6.50 per ft²
  • Standard: ~$12.00 per ft²
  • Premium: ~$22.00 per ft²
• Hardscaping (optional)
  • Pavers/walkways cost about $18 per ft².
  • Calculator assumes ~15% of your area goes into hardscaping if selected.
• Irrigation (optional)
  • Sprinkler systems average $0.60 per ft².
  • Calculator assumes ~60% of your area would need irrigation coverage.
• Location Adjustment
  • Rural: costs about 10% lower.
  • Suburban: baseline cost.
  • Urban: ~15% higher.
  • Metropolitan: ~25% higher.

A Real-World Example with Steps

To clearly understand how the calculator works, let’s walk through a step-by-step real-world example:

Assume:

• Inputs:
  Area = 2,000 ft²
  Level = Basic ($6.50/ft²)
  Hardscaping = No
  Irrigation = No
  Location = Suburban (×1.0 factor)

Calculation Steps:

1. Softscape = 2,000 ft² × $6.50 = $13,000
2. No hardscaping or irrigation.
3. Location factor = 1.0 → cost unchanged.

👉 Total Cost = $13,000
👉 Cost per ft² = $13,000 ÷ 2,000 = $6.50/ft²

Steps to include Hardscaping or Irrigation:

If you want to add up the Hardscaping area or irrigation area, you can do that — for example, you want to include hardscape area:

• Hardscape area = 15% × 2,000 ft² = 300 ft²
  • Hardscaping = 300 × $18 = $5,400
• Add all cost = Total Cost + Hardscaping Cost = $5,400 + $13,000 = $18,400

👉 New Total Cost = $18,400
👉 New Cost per ft² = $18,400 ÷ 2,000 = $9.20/ft²

Thus, we have estimated the total cost as $18,400, and the cost per square foot is $9.2.

Why You Should Use a Landscaping Cost Calculator?

The Landscaping Cost Calculator is super helpful as it gives you many benefits such as:

• Saves time: You do not need to call multiple landscapers for ballpark figures.
• Budget planning: It helps you know if your dream design is a $10k project or a $50k project.
• Decision-making: Allows you to compare “basic vs. premium” before finalizing a decision.
• Confidence: Walk into contractor meetings knowing what’s realistic.