How Much Does Landscaping Cost in 2025?

Landscaping Cost Factors

Several factors influence your landscaping costs, including the required materials, yard size, location, and the project type and scope.

Materials

The cost of materials often accounts for around 65% of the total price of a landscaping project. Materials for a simple softscaping project include a few shrubs, plants, or trees. Hardscaping projects can drive up material costs significantly, with projects like a deck, outdoor kitchen, pond installation, or pool requiring higher-end materials like stone, concrete, and wood.

Yard Size

Landscaping costs often increase with the size of your yard. Depending on the project, expect to pay between $4.50 and $12 per square foot. For significant projects, like remodeling or building an outdoor kitchen, prices may increase to $40 per square foot.

Location

In general, backyard landscaping costs are higher than front yard costs. Backyard renovations can cost up to $50,000 or more, while front yard landscaping typically ranges from $1,500 to $5,000. 

Backyard Landscaping Cost

Basic backyard landscaping costs may include something as little as planting a shrub, which ranges from $25 to $50 per shrub. However, if you plan to install a deck, pool, patio, or outdoor kitchen in your backyard, you might spend $50,000 to $100,000 or more.

Front Yard Landscaping Cost

Front yard landscaping costs are generally lower than backyard landscaping costs because the work focuses more on softscaping than hardscaping.

Front yard landscaping costs may include a front porch or deck design, but homeowners often focus more on adding flowers, trees, and shrubs. Expect to pay up to $3,000 for a flower bed, while planting multiple trees could cost upwards of $700.

Project Type

Individual flowers, trees, and shrubs each come with their own landscaping costs, which vary based on the plant's size and the installation's complexity. The table below offers average prices for various planting services.

Planting Trees

Planting a tree​​ costs between $100 and $300, with most homeowners spending an average of $200 per tree. However, it’s often cheaper to plant multiple trees at once, with five small trees ranging from $300 to $700 or $60 to $140 per tree. 

Landscaping budgets go much further than the initial tree-planting cost. Over the years, you’ll also need to budget for:

• Tree pruning: $400–$800

• Tree trimming: $200–$760

• Tree removal: $200–$2,000 

Planting a mature tree—one past the sapling stage and usually more than 15 feet tall—costs $1,500 to $3,000 per tree. The process requires large machinery to dig, transport, and lift the tree into place, as well as more space, time, and crew members.

Planting Shrubs

Landscapers charge $25 to $50 per shrub to purchase and install. They calculate the price based on two to three times the cost of the shrub plus $50 to $100 per hour. Shrubs are priced per three- or five-gallon container and tend to be small bushes and trees.

A privacy hedge costs between $1,700 and $2,400, depending on the length and local labor rates. They are generally cheaper than the cost of a fence, but they may require more maintenance over the years, including pruning. Alternatively, you can hire a local lawn care company to manage the annual maintenance for a low cost.

Flower Bed Installation

Installing a flower garden costs $1,000 to $3,000, depending on the size and whether you already have the bed installed. Installing just the flowers runs on the lower end, or $300 to $1,500. Putting in a new bed with borders pushes that price upwards to $1,000 to $3,000 for each garden.

Many people want a local landscaper to design their lawns and gardens but enjoy tending to their flowers and planting new ones each year.

Sod and Artificial Turf Installation

Installing sod costs an average of $2,000, with a price range of $1,050 to $2,925. Artificial turf installation costs around $5,100, but you could pay anywhere from $3,000 to $7,500. Real grass is less expensive up front, but you need to consider the ongoing maintenance costs (like hiring a local lawn care service) if you’re unwilling or able to do the upkeep yourself.

Landscaping Type

There are three main types of landscaping: softscaping, hardscaping, and xeriscaping. Softscaping work is generally more affordable than hardscaping and xeriscaping, but much of the price depends on the scope of each project. 

Softscaping Cost

Softscaping refers to the soil, lawn, and plants of your outdoor space. It could be as simple as reseeding the lawn or as complex as installing a brand-new flower bed to add color throughout the summer. 

Softscaping costs between $25 and $10,000, depending on what your installation involves. Adding a single bush to your softscaping can cost as little as $25. However, installing sod and planting flower beds can cost $10,000 or more.

Hardscaping Costs

Hardscaping, which involves adding inanimate features like patios, walkways, and gazebos, costs anywhere from $300 to $100,000 or more. The only limits on price are the size of your yard, design, and budget. Pea gravel installation costs as little as $300, while retaining wall walls cost up to $9,000. For significant projects, like a kitchen or patio building, you may pay over $25,000.

For many of these projects, you may also need to budget for the cost of a building permit.

Xeriscaping Cost

Xeriscaping costs $3,000 to $24,000 and covers your entire outdoor area, from the front yard to the back. Xeriscaping utilizes plants, shrubs, ground covers, and rocks that need very little water to thrive. Common xeriscaping expenses include the cost of rock installation and the cost of landscape edging. While far more expensive than simple sod, the maintenance and water costs are low by design.

Drought-Tolerant Landscaping Cost

You’ll spend anywhere from $3,000 to $30,000 for drought-tolerant landscapes. If you live in a drought-prone area, landscape and garden designers are likely well-versed in creating water conservation projects. Both synthetic turf and xeriscaping can save you money over time by saving water and labor.

• Indigenous planting: Instead of xeriscaping, which uses drought-resistant plants, you can also consider mixing hardscaping with native (also called indigenous) plants in your area. These plants thrived before modern irrigation and do well in your climate without help.

• Synthetic turf: Synthetic grass costs between $2,950 and $7,475 and can provide the swaths of green you want without watering. Synthetic grasses have grown much softer and more natural-looking in the past decade.

Water Features and Decor

For a more inviting backyard space, you​​​​ can add unique water features to your landscape project. Prices vary significantly depending on the project. Water fountain costs can be as low as $850, while a new pool can cost upwards of $50,000.

New Home Landscaping Installation Costs

Landscaping for a new home costs significantly more than improving an existing space. Starting from scratch, you can expect to pay around 10% of the property's value on landscaping. For example, if you have a $300,000 home, you'll pay around $30,000 for landscaping, including hardscaping, softscaping, and water features. 

You’ll likely need help from several professionals, including local lawn seeding services, local gardeners, local tree services, or even a paving company. 

Other Landscaping Cost Factors

In addition to the above factors, it’s also important to budget for the cost of labor and ongoing maintenance.

Labor

While it’s possible to DIY small landscaping projects—such as planting shrubs, pruning trees, or mowing your lawn—you’ll want to hire a local landscaper for larger projects. Architectural designers can help you imagine major projects. More involved hardscaping, such as decks, pools, and outdoor kitchens, may involve several pros, including carpenters, plumbers, and electricians.

Generally, landscapers charge $50 to $100 per hour for labor and the use of their tools and equipment. If you hire a landscape designer, you'll pay them $200 per hour for the initial design and planning work.

You'll pay extra for materials, ranging from $0.14 per square foot for new grass seed to $50 per square foot for a high-end patio and $125 per square foot to install a pool.

Landscaping Maintenance Costs

After the initial landscaping installation, you’ll need to consider ongoing maintenance costs. This could mean hiring local lawn fertilization services and lawn mowing teams or paying gardeners to care for your flowers. Patios and pools require special maintenance each year.

Depending on the type of work, you could spend as little as $25 a week to $1,000 per tree in need of trimming. Lawn mowing costs range from $50 to $200, while lawn fertilization costs run between $75 and $400.

Additional Landscaping Costs

Landscaping costs vary significantly based on the scope of work, from simple planting or mulch installation to more complex design work and land grading and excavation costs.

Landscape Design

When hiring landscape designers, expect to spend roughly $200 per hour. A complete design plan costs from $2,000 to $7,000, with most paying approximately $4,500. Sometimes called landscape architects, these professionals plan cohesive outdoor spaces encompassing soft and hardscapes. They work within your budget to create a space you love. 

Land Grading

Regrading a yard costs between $1,000 and $3,200, with most homeowners spending about $2,100. You might need to budget for the cost to level your yard to direct water away from a foundation or to retain moisture in a garden. With grading, you may also need to budget for the cost of land clearing.

Mulch Installation

Mulching a garden costs between $100 and $300, including the mulch and labor to add a three-inch layer. For a 500-square-foot garden, expect to pay around $175.

Sprinklers and Irrigation

The cost to install a sprinkler or irrigation system in your yard ranges from $1,675 to $3,550. If you own several acres of land you intend to plant, you might spend up to $10,000 per acre. These systems require upkeep over time. If the system fails, you’ll spend between $125 and $400 in sprinkler repair costs.

Other Landscaping Project Costs

Depending on the scope of your landscaping project, you may need to budget for some of these other costs:

Does Landscaping Increase Home Value?

Landscaping can significantly increase your home value, depending on your location, the project, and current market conditions. Homeowners see an average home value increase of 15% to 20% when they invest in high-quality landscaping projects.

The most beneficial projects increase living space and improve aesthetics, such as adding an outdoor kitchen or pool. Opting for low-maintenance landscaping projects is best, as prospective buyers won’t have to worry about ongoing upkeep or maintenance fees.

Budgeting for Landscape Installation

Landscaping costs vary greatly depending on the size and scope of the project. To keep costs down, consider the following money-saving tips:

• Ask your local garden center if they offer discounts for buying plants, trees, and other materials in bulk.

• Compare quotes from multiple landscaping companies in your area to find the most competitive offer.

• Hire a landscape designer to create a plan that makes the most of your budget.

How HomeAdvisor Gets Its Cost Data

No place is more important than your home, which is why HomeAdvisor connects homeowners with local pros to transform their houses into homes they love. To help homeowners prepare for their next project, HomeAdvisor provides readers with accurate cost data and follows strict editorial guidelines. We surveyed over 30,000 real customers about their project costs to develop the pricing data you see, so you can make the best decisions for you and your home. We pair this data with research from reputable sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, academic journals, market studies, and interviews with industry experts—all to ensure our prices reflect real-world projects.