The short answer:
- Our pick for a 3-person lawn care crew: GorillaDesk Basic, about $4,548 a year with card fees, at 160 visits a month of $50 on 2 routes. It lists recurring jobs on that plan and prices by route, not by person.
- Card fees are the bigger cost at 3 of the 4 apps with a full price below: 160 small payments a month each carry a fixed fee. 2.9% + 30¢ on a $50 mow is $1.75.
- Route planning sits on different plans. It’s on every ServiceM8, Yardbook and LMN plan, but Jobber™ puts it on Connect, not Core, and Housecall Pro on Essentials, not Basic.
- Free is possible: Yardbook Starter costs nothing, but adds 1% to online card payments until you pay $34.99 a month for Business.
Our pick for a small lawn care crew
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For a 3-person lawn care crew · must have Recurring jobs
Our pick
GorillaDesk $4,548 a year
Basic plan
Lowest cost, and it has recurring jobs.
Why not the others?
Left out: Connecteam (no quotes, invoices or customer payments).
Can't confirm here (a must-have or the full price isn't published): Jobber, Housecall Pro, ServiceTitan, Workiz, FieldEdge, Fergus, Kickserv, FieldPulse, Joist, Zuper, Simpro, Service Autopilot, QuoteIQ, Yardbook, LMN, Aspire, RealGreen.
How we picked
Software plus card fees on this page's example jobs (160 invoices of $50 a month, paid by card online), cheapest plan that covers the crew and every must-have. Our pick is the lowest cost option that has every must-have; within 10% of it, no contract, faster payouts and longer support hours win. Payment from a provider never changes it. How we pick
Our example: 40 weekly mowing customers, so 160 visits a month at $50, all paid by card online, with 2 routes. It’s our assumption, not a published average; put your own numbers in the calculator.
A 3-person mowing crew: every app, per year
We may earn a fee if you sign up with some providers in this table. It never changes the prices we show or what we recommend.
3 people, 160 jobs a month at $50, with recurring jobs: cost per year
| App and plan | Software | Card fees | Total a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| GorillaDeskBasicVisit GorillaDesk | $1,188 | $3,360 | $4,548 |
| ServiceM8PremiumVisit ServiceM8 | $1,788 | $3,552 | $5,340 |
| TradifyProVisit Tradify | $1,836 | $3,552 | $5,388 |
| Service FusionProVisit Service Fusion | $6,900 | $3,360 | $10,260 |
Priced, but something isn't published
- Yardbook Business: $3,780 a year. Users per plan not published; Recurring jobs: not listed by plan. Visit Yardbook
- Fergus Essentials: $4,524 a year. "From" price. Visit Fergus
- Housecall Pro Essentials: $5,138 a year. Recurring jobs: not listed by plan. Visit Housecall Pro
- Kickserv Start: $5,220 a year. Recurring jobs: not listed by plan. Visit Kickserv
- Joist Run: $5,491 a year. Users per plan not published; Recurring jobs: not listed by plan; Scheduling is on Run only. Visit Joist
- Jobber Connect (5 users): $5,748 a year. Recurring jobs: not listed by plan. Visit Jobber
- QuoteIQ Essentials: $960 before card fees a year. Online card rate not published. Visit QuoteIQ
- Service Autopilot Pro: $2,388 before card fees a year. Recurring jobs: not listed by plan; Online card rate not published; 12-month contract; Setup fee not published; Startup does not include scheduling. Visit Service Autopilot
- LMN LMN Starter: $3,564 before card fees a year. Recurring jobs: not listed by plan; Online card rate not published; Setup fee not published; From price. Visit LMN
Quote only, no published price: Aspire, FieldEdge, FieldPulse, RealGreen, ServiceTitan, Simpro, Workiz, Zuper.
We may earn a fee if you sign up with some providers in this table. It never changes the prices we show or what we recommend.
Route optimization: which plan has it
Weekly mowing is a route business: the order of stops decides how many lawns a crew finishes in a day. The lowest plan with route planning at each app, and its monthly price:
| App | Route optimization: lowest plan | That plan costs |
|---|---|---|
| ServiceM8 | Every plan | $0/mo |
| Yardbook | Every plan | $0/mo |
| LMN | Every plan | $297/mo |
| GorillaDesk | Basic (up to 25 stops); Pro (Drive Matrix) | $49/mo |
| Jobber | Connect | $139/mo |
| Housecall Pro | Essentials (routes); Max (route optimization) | $189/mo |
| Service Autopilot | Pro | $199/mo |
GorillaDesk charges by route: each technician schedule after the first adds to the bill, and office users are free. ServiceM8 charges by jobs a month; most of the others charge per login or by team size.
Free lawn care software: Yardbook
| Plan | Monthly | Paid yearly | Users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $0 | Not offered | Not published |
| Business | $34.99 | Not offered | Not published |
| Enterprise | $49.99 | Not offered | Not published |
Yardbook is built only for lawn care and landscaping. Starter is free and includes scheduling, estimates, invoices, routing and snow removal jobs, but Yardbook adds 1% to every online card payment on the free plan, on top of Stripe’s fee. Business at $34.99 a month waives it, so Business costs less once you take more than about $3,499 a month in online card payments. Yardbook doesn’t publish how many users each plan allows, and a prepaid package isn’t refunded if you cancel early.
Lawn care vs landscaping software
The apps above are built for crews that run repeat visits and send invoices. Larger landscaping companies that estimate and job-cost big installs look at a different group, which costs more and is sold after a demo:
- LMN (Granum): Starter from $297 a month with 6 licenses (1 office or crew lead, 5 crew members); Professional from $648 with 18. Extra licenses cost more, at a price it doesn’t publish, and a one-time onboarding fee applies first. Route optimization is on every plan.
- Aspire: quote only. One monthly license fee with unlimited users, under a contract; payments, payroll and GPS tracking are quoted separately.
- RealGreen: quote only, priced by usage or by user.
Contracts and the off season
Lawn care is seasonal, so the contract matters as much as the price:
- Month to month: ServiceM8, Housecall Pro, Tradify and Fergus bill monthly with no term, so you can stop paying over winter (export your customer list first).
- Paid yearly, no refund: Jobber, GorillaDesk and Yardbook also sell yearly plans paid up front, which aren’t refunded if you leave mid-year.
- 12-month terms: Service Autopilot’s plans renew for the same term unless you cancel 30 days before the end.
Running the business around the software
Most lawn crews take card payments on site or online, so check the card rate as closely as the plan: compare apps on card fees by app or read the rules before you pass card fees on to customers. Paying 1 to 5 employees? See what payroll software costs.
Your own numbers
Every app at other crew sizes: field service software by crew size. Running a cleaning or HVAC business? See cleaning business software or HVAC software.
Get told when these prices change
Providers change fees with little notice. Alerts start soon, and we'll send nothing else.
Common questions
What is the best lawn care routing software?
Several job apps optimize routes, but on different plans. ServiceM8, Yardbook and LMN list routing on every plan, GorillaDesk from Basic (up to 25 stops), Jobber from Connect, Housecall Pro from Essentials and Service Autopilot from Pro. The table on this page shows the price of each of those plans.
Is there free lawn care software?
Yes. Yardbook's Starter plan is free for lawn care and landscaping businesses and includes scheduling, invoices and routing, but it adds a 1% fee on online card payments, on top of Stripe's fee. Its Business plan, at $34.99 a month, waives that fee.
How much does lawn care software cost?
For a small crew, Yardbook Starter is free, ServiceM8 Starter is $29 a month and GorillaDesk Basic is $49 a month for one route. Landscaping software built for larger companies costs more: LMN Starter is from $297 a month, and Aspire and RealGreen quote a price after a demo. Card fees usually cost more than the software.
Can I pause lawn care software in winter?
On a month-to-month plan you can cancel in the off season and sign up again in spring; export your customer list before you cancel. Annual plans paid up front at Jobber, GorillaDesk and Yardbook aren't refunded, and Service Autopilot renews for the same term unless you cancel 30 days before the end.