Compare what each estimate covers before you compare the totals. Two prices only mean something side by side when they cover the same areas, the same visits through the season, the same seasonal work and materials, and the same debris handling.
A low number for mowing alone is not cheaper than a higher one that also covers edging, bed care and two cleanups. Lining the estimates up line by line is usually where the real difference shows.
Choate writes every estimate after a walk around the property, and most of our work is priced as a year-round care plan. This guide is for comparing any two estimates, ours included.
What to line up before the price.
| Compare | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Areas | Which lawn sections, planting beds and hedges are included, and which are not. An estimate that does not name the areas leaves room for different expectations. |
| Visits | How often the crew comes and for how much of the year. Mowing that follows the lawn’s growth covers a different season from a fixed number of visits. |
| Each visit | Whether a mowing visit is the mowing alone, or also edging along beds and walks, trimming around obstacles and clearing clippings from paved areas. |
| Seasonal work | Spring and fall cleanups: how many visits, which areas, and how the remaining leaf drop is handled after a visit. |
| Beds and shrubs | Weeding, mulch (which beds and what material), pruning and hedge trimming, and how often each happens. |
| Debris | Whether leaves, clippings and branches are hauled away, left on site, or yours to handle. |
| Price structure | Per visit, per season or a monthly plan; what the price covers; and how work outside the estimate is priced. |
Questions worth asking.
- What happens on a typical visit? Ask for the steps, not just the service name. “Lawn maintenance” means different things to different companies.
- What is not included? The gaps matter as much as the list: beds you assumed were covered, a second fall cleanup, or debris you would have to deal with.
- How is extra work handled? Find out how a request outside the estimate is quoted before it happens, not after.
- When does the season start and end? Mowing that follows the grass runs on a different calendar from a set number of weeks. Our guide on when to stop mowing explains why.
- Who do you call with a question? Knowing who answers, and how, matters more over a full year than on the first visit.
A monthly plan or paying per visit?
Paying per visit is simple for one job, such as a single cleanup. Over a year, it means a busy spring and fall cost more than a quiet winter, and each piece of work is priced on its own.
A yearly plan agrees the work for the whole year up front and spreads its cost across consistent monthly payments. When comparing the two, total each option over the same twelve months and the same list of work.
Choate’s care plans work this way: you choose the services, from weekly mowing and bed care to spring and fall cleanups, and your written estimate lists the work and when it is due, with one monthly price.
Before you ask for estimates.
A few notes make every estimate easier to compare, because each company prices the same job.
- The areas: which parts of the lawn, which beds and which hedges you want looked after.
- The work: regular mowing, bed care, cleanups, or all three.
- Problem spots: steep banks, tight gates, heavy leaf cover or anything the crew should see.
- Debris: whether you want material hauled away or handled on site.
- Your questions: the five above, asked of every company the same way.
How a Choate estimate works.
We start with a free walk around the property and talk through the work you want handled. Your written estimate lists those services and when they are needed. You do not have to include every service, and you can ask for an estimate at any time of year.
See also the fall leaf cleanup guide, which has a checklist for cleanup estimates.