TruGreen is one of the best lawn care companies available today, helping millions of people around the country grow beautiful lawns without having to lift a finger. That said, many homeowners elect to handle their lawn care themselves, only to find out it’s a lot more complex than they thought.
This is where professional companies like TruGreen come in. They can get the same job done faster and more affordably, preventing frequent trips back and forth to the garden center. I’ve worked with a lot of homeowners in this situation, and if you’re considering DIYing your lawn care, it’s worth looking into TruGreen. I’ll stack TruGreen vs. DIY lawn care today to help you determine which is the better option for you.
TruGreen Vs. DIY Lawn Care Overview
If a lush and vibrant lawn is your number one goal, TruGreen solves this. However, many homeowners are concerned about the costs and contract requirements of TruGreen. Let’s take a closer look at what each option has to offer.
TruGreen Overview
TruGreen is a professional lawn care company through and through. The company’s technicians are lawn care experts with years of experience who know how to get the most out of your lawn and how to deal with your lawn’s quirks and nuances. All of TruGreen’s services come with a personalized soil test to ensure your lawn gets the specific care and treatment it needs.
The company has five plans that differ in comprehensiveness and cost. The basic plans only include bare-bones treatments like fertilization and weed control, while the higher-end plans cover everything from seeding and core aeration for your lawn to tree and bush landscaping. They also offer more involved services like insect control and pre-emergent weed treatments.
DIY Lawn Care Overview
DIY lawn care is the way to go if you love spending time caring for your lawn. If you’re an avid gardener with a green thumb and take pride in maintaining your lawn yourself, you’ll probably feel unsatisfied turning the reigns over to a lawn care service. However, practical considerations make DIY lawn care a difficult option for most people.
Maintaining a healthy lawn yourself requires you to devise your own plan. Some homeowners are happy with a simple fertilization scheme and forgo aerating and overseeding. Other people prefer to go all out and purchase top-of-the-line products from their local lawn care supply store. The freedom to customize your lawn care regimen is nice but can be daunting for people without much horticultural experience.
TruGreen Vs. DIY Lawn Care Services and Plans
Tending to your lawn yourself undoubtedly offers more flexibility than a professional lawn care service. Still, TruGreen’s tiered service plans make it fairly easy to find a level that matches your lawn care goals. TruGreen offers five main plans, from the low-cost TruMaintenance plan to their flagship TruSignature plan. They also have a TruNatural package for people who want to use all-natural products on their lawn instead of chemical pesticides and herbicides.
A common misconception is that DIY lawn care is more affordable than a professional service, but that’s not necessarily true. DIY lawn care can be as expensive or more expensive than TruGreen if you buy similar high-quality products like fertilizers and grass seeds.
Read a full cost breakdown of Trugreen.
When you factor in the amount of time you have to spend fertilizing, aerating, applying weedkillers, and everything else that goes into cultivating a beautiful yard. TruGreen has become the more efficient choice.
The work is the main reason some people think it’s worth just getting it off their plate. By hiring a company like TruGreen, you don’t have to worry about the finer details and whether your lack of experience is going to hurt your chances of getting the lawn you want.
TruGreen Plans and Services
Most people who use TruGreen select one of the company’s pre-made lawn care plans. These plans are the easiest way to make sure your lawn gets what it needs and are more cost-effective than picking individual services.
Best of all, you can tack on optional services and additional products depending on your needs. You don’t need to simply follow the plans “as-is.”
| Plan | TruMaintence Lawn Care Plan | TruHealth Lawn Care Plan | TruComplete Lawn Care Plan | TruSignature Lawn Care Plan | TruNatural Lawn Care Plan |
| Soil Test | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fertilization | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Seeding | X | X | ✓ | ✓ | X |
| Aeration | X | X | ✓ | ✓ | X |
| Pre-emergent Weed Control | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X |
| Targeted Herbicide Application | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X |
| Grub Control | X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X |
| Tree Care | X | X | X | ✓ | X |
| Shrub Care | X | X | X | ✓ | X |
| All Natural Products | X | X | X | X | ✓ |
| OVERALL COST | $ | $$ | $$$ | $$$$ | $$ |
TruGreen Lawn Care Plan Pricing
All of TruGreen’s services are reasonably priced based on the service level they provide. Customers report that TruGreen’s prices are competitive with local lawn care programs and only slightly more expensive than doing it themselves.
I’ve worked for quite a few companies in my local area and I find TruGreen to be pretty on-par with the mom and pop businesses.
TruGreen service costs depend on your lawn size. You can get a free quote from their website for their plans or services.
TruGreen also offers considerable discounts for new users, giving 50% off the first application when signing up for an annual plan.
TruSignature Lawn Care Plan
The TruSignature Plan is the right choice for people who want to spare no expense on lawn care. It covers everything, including fertilization, pest control, herbicide application, tree and shrub maintenance, and overseeding should your lawn need an extra boost.
The only downsides to the TruSignature are its elevated cost and the fact that it doesn’t use all-natural products. However, the price is extremely affordable for what you get, and it’s the plan that will have your lawn looking the best.
TruMaintenance Lawn Care Plan
If the TruSignature plan is too expensive to fit your budget, don’t worry, you can still take advantage of TruGreen’s expertise with the TruMaintenance plan. It’s a much more affordable option than the comprehensive TruSignature plan and still gets you a soil analysis, weed and pest control, and fertilization.
TruNatural Lawn Care Plan
The TruNatural plan is one of TruGreen’s newer options, giving customers who prefer to use all-natural products access to its top-notch services. Most customers find that the TruNatural plan is more affordable than purchasing natural or organic plant and lawn fertilizer from retail stores.
Standalone Services
Alongside its array of preset plans, TruGreen also offers a la carte lawn maintenance services. The most popular standalone options TruGreen offers are:
- TruShield Tick and Flea Control
- Mosquito Defense
- Soil Amendment Services
The Mosquito Defense service is one of TruGreen’s most popular offerings, with many customer reviews praising its fast action and efficacy.
TruShield Tick and Flea Control is also popular, especially among pet owners who live in wooded areas where fleas and ticks can be a real problem. It isn’t a substitute for treating your pets with flea and tick-preventative medicine, but it can help keep them safe and pest-free while they explore the yard.
If you’re really serious about your lawn, TruGreen has standalone Soil Amendment Services that correct and tune your lawn’s pH and nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium (NPK) levels. Soil amendments can be the difference between a good lawn and a great lawn.
DIY Lawn Care Plans and Services
One of the biggest challenges of caring for your own lawn is planning. It takes a lot of time and effort to develop a fertilization schedule, perform routine soil analyses, aerate (explore essential insights on lawn aerators), and overseed your lawn when needed. Of course, the tradeoff is ultimate flexibility and customization, although you need to be well-versed in lawn care to reap the full benefit of such freedom.
DIY lawn care can be as inexpensive or as costly as you want, and, unfortunately, your lawn’s aesthetic is tightly coupled to how much you spend. Your lawn care service absorbs the cost of lawn care supplies like grass seed, fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides when you hire professionals. These companies buy products in bulk, and they have access to much lower prices per sq ft than you’ll find in your local gardening supply store.
Many people experience sticker shock when they realize how expensive it is to buy the necessary supplies at retail prices. For people with a large lawn, fertilizer costs alone can be enough to discourage them from maintaining their lawn themselves.
If you want to get the same high-level care that you get from TruGreen, you’ll also have to purchase specialized equipment like an aerator and slit seeder if you don’t already have them. Professional-grade machines are not strictly necessary but make a big difference to your lawn’s health, and off-the-shelf versions often don’t perform as well despite their high prices.
Benefits of DIY Lawn Care
Despite the potential cost of handling your own lawn care, many people prefer the DIY option. Here are some of the main benefits:
Potential Cost Savings: DIY lawn care can be cheaper if you know what you’re doing. Without paying for labor and overhead, you can save by wholesaling the materials you need. This only makes sense for larger lawns.
Flexibility: When you hire out for lawn care, you’ll have to schedule around your appointments and wait for their availability. When you DIY it, you can do it whenever you want.
Learning Experience: Taking care of your lawn can be a rewarding learning experience. You’ll gain valuable knowledge about different types of grass, soil, and plant care.
Personal Pride: Many homeowners enjoy looking out over a lush, green lawn and feeling a sense of accomplishment. As I’ve said, this takes hard work. The reward can make all that work worth it.
TruGreen Vs. DIY Lawn Care Availability & Locations
TruGreen is a national company with locations in every state except Alaska. DIY lawn care availability depends on where you live, with easier access to supplies and equipment in rural or suburban environments.
TruGreen Availability
TruGreen is available in 49 states except for Alaska. The company has more than 2.3 million happy customers across the contiguous United States and Hawaii. TruGreen’s widespread availability makes it a better option than a local company since you can stay with the same package even if you decide to move.
TruGreen Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are a window into how current customers feel about a business and are a vital part of the research you need to do before deciding to give a company your hard-earned money. Luckily, there is no shortage of TruGreen reviews on the internet, most of which are extremely positive.
Don’t forget to read reviews of your local TruGreen branch since TruGreen is a national company. Different TruGreen branches are likely to have slightly different levels of customer satisfaction.
TruGreen Customer Reviews
Final Thoughts
Overall, TruGreen is the better option for most homeowners and the easier path to a lawn that earns the admiration of your neighbors. The company has decades of experience and a staff of hard-working lawn care experts. TruGreen offers various plans and a la carte options to improve your lawn’s health.
That said, I don’t want you to think of this as me pushing TruGreen on you. Only you can decide which makes the most sense. If you love taking care of your lawn like I do, then give it a run. Just keep in mind that TruGreen can scalp, dethatch, aerate, and spread seed on your lawn using all the needed tools. If you don’t have the right equipment, you might struggle a bit.
For everyone else, you’ll get better results and have more time to enjoy your yard if you go with TruGreen.
FAQs About TruGreen Vs. DIY Lawn Care
How much is TruGreen vs. DIY Lawn Care?
Most people incorrectly assume that TruGreen is much more expensive than DIY lawn care, but actually, the two cost about the same amount. DIYers quickly discover that purchasing all the supplies and equipment needed to care for your lawn quickly gets expensive, making it cost almost as much as hiring a professional company like TruGreen.
Does TruGreen use natural products?
Yes, although only the TruNatural Lawn Care Plan uses natural fertilizers and herbicides/pesticides.
Is TruGreen safe for pets?
Yes. TruGreen will work with you to make sure your furry friends can enjoy your beautiful lawn safely.
Does TruGreen’s service kill weeds?
Yes. All TruGreen services provide weed control services except for the TruNatural plan.
Does TruGreen guarantee their work?
TruGreen does have a “healthy lawn guarantee” that states that they’ll continue to provide services and retreatment as often as necessary until you’re satisfied.
Methodology: How We Rank Lawn Care Companies
At Today’s Homeowner, we strive to bring you the most accurate information for your home improvement projects. Our lawn company ratings emphasize what matters most to you — a wide range of useful products with reliable service and impressive results.
Our ratings are based on publicly available information about each company, secret shopping via phone and internet, customer-review analysis, and discussions with lawn and landscaping specialists.
Each company can earn up to 100 points divided across five categories. We assess those point scores, then convert them to a five-star scale to determine rankings. We researched popular lawn care companies across the country to develop the following category breakdown:
- Plan Options (36 points): Lawn care companies earn the most points in this category if they offer a wide range of plans to fit various homeowner needs. Companies providing services like fertilization, aeration, seeding, and tree/shrub care will earn more points than providers with base-level plans.
- Additional Offerings (11 points): We score this category by evaluating additional offerings that enhance a company’s overall service selection. Companies that provide pest control services, organic lawn care products, and a la carte options score the highest in this category.
- Customer Service (25 points): We considered how far each company goes to ensure customers have convenient, intuitive access to products and services with contact forms, online chat features, and additional learning resources.
- State Availability (8 points): We factored each company’s state availability into its overall score. Companies with more locations and wider service areas score higher than those with limited availability.
- Trustworthiness (20 points): We score each company’s trustworthiness based on its Better Business Bureau accreditation and score, number of years in business, and Google Star ratings.
We monitor company data on an ongoing basis to keep rankings and information up to date.
