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. Many new homeowners are surprised by how difficult maintaining a healthy lawn can be and turn to a professional lawn care service like TruGreen when they realize their lawn is taking up too much of their free time. Unless you are an avid do-it-yourselfer and enjoy working on your lawn, TruGreen is probably the better option if all you want is a vibrant, green lawn.
This guide is for people who currently care for their lawns themselves but are considering hiring TruGreen. We pit TruGreen vs. DIY lawn care to help you decide which one is the better option for you, covering everything from cost and availability to how much effort is required and answering some of the most commonly asked questions.
TruGreen vs. DIY Lawn Care Overview
If the only factor that matters to you is how easy it is to have a lush, verdant lawn, stop reading and go sign up with TruGreen. However, many people want a nice lawn but are concerned about cost and upkeep, which somewhat muddies the water. 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 analysis 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 more expensive plans cover everything from seeding and core aeration for your lawn to tree and bush landscaping, as well as 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 and empty if you turn the reigns over to a lawn care service. However, practical considerations make DIY lawn care a poor option for most people.
A common misconception is that DIY lawn care is more affordable than a professional service like TruGreen, but that’s not 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. 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 becomes the more efficient choice.
TruGreen vs. DIY Lawn Care Services and Plans
Tending to your lawn yourself undoubtedly offers more flexibility than a service like TruGreen. 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.
Read a full cost breakdown of Trugreen.
DIY lawn care requires you to devise your own plan. Some homeowners are happy with a simple fertilization scheme and forgo aerating and overseeding, although their lawns are usually noticeably lacking. 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 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 ensure your lawn gets what it needs and are more cost-effective than picking and choosing individual services.
| 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 commensurate with 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.
How much TruGreen services cost depends on your lawn size. You can get a free quote from TruGreen’s website for their plans or services. Just be prepared with your lawn’s area in square feet before starting.
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, which often set exorbitant prices for such products.
Standalone Services
Alongside its array of preset plans, TruGreen also offers a la carte services for customers who want to give their lawns a little extra TLC. 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 gushing over its fast action and effectiveness.
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 to help it reach its full potential. 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, and aerate 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 cheap or expensive 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 have 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.
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
This is my first year with TruGreen and they have been delight to work with thus far. I don’t need to call, followup on the services being performed and all the billing hassles like Lawn Dr. in the past. They keep me updated with their notification and updates at all times about service day. Lawn is great condition and keep looking green even through tough summer months. – Ejaz Awan
Great service and communication. Lawn never looked so good, neighbors have complemented. Also had insect spray and mosquito spraying. I have not enjoyed the outdoors in years. I have not been bitten, also I prewashed my entire house no bites at all. I also saw dead mosquitoes at dusk on my black car…Happy, Happy. Money well spent.
Anthony Bello
Great Price for the service and my lawn never looked this good. They always call the day before arriving so we can unlock our gate. Lawn looks great and is the envy of our block. Recommended to some friends and they have signed up also and are having the same great experience I am. I used to do the 4 step treatment myself and between buying the chemicals and doing the labor myself I still never had a great looking lawn. Now True Green handles it all for me with 7 treatments a year for almost the same price and if any areas of concern pop up they return immediately to resolve the problem. I would not consider using any other service.
Jim T
Final Thoughts
Overall, TruGreen is the better option for most homeowners and the easier way to have a lawn that earns the admiration of your neighbors. The company has decades of experience and is staffed by intelligent, hard-working lawn care experts. TruGreen’s plans come in enough varieties to satisfy most people’s needs, and the company offers a variety of a la carte options that give its customers even more ways to invest in their lawn’s health.
If you have the right tools and experience, DIY lawn care is a good option, but most people don’t have the time or knowledge necessary to grow a lawn as nice as a professional company like TruGreen. If your shed is already stocked with a professional-grade mower, spreader, and aerator, by all means, give DIY lawn care a shot. For everyone else, you’ll get better results and have more time to enjoy your yard if you go with TruGreen.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
Today's Homeowner’s Rating Methodology
At Today's Homeowner, transparency and trust are our most important values for the reader. That’s why we took the time to create an objective rating system and score each lawn company/service according to our methodology.
Our research team dug deep into the fine print of contracts, combed through more than one hundred customer reviews, and thoroughly investigated all of each lawn care service’s services, costs, and products. We’ve done the homework for you by researching nearly all of the lawn care companies on the market so you can have the information you need to make the best choice for your home.
We developed a formula to objectively determine the best lawn care companies and give each a score out of 100 based on the following criteria:
- Plan Options (30): Do they provide a variety of plan options? We looked at the number of plans each company offered and the flexibility of adjusting the plan.
- Services offered (20): How many services are offered in each plan? We looked at the number of lawn care coverages, including weed control, seeding, irrigation, aeration, dethatching, and more.
- Trust (10): What do customers say after their lawn has been serviced? Does this company offer a guarantee? We considered how satisfied customers are post-service if the company does what it says it will, BBB accreditation, and service guarantees.
- Prices (10): How reasonable are the costs of the plan or service in comparison to the industry average? We compared the costs of each company to competitors that offer the same lawn services.
- Unique perks (10): Does the company offer discounts or special services such as organic treatments, pest control, or a mobile app? We looked for perks each company offers that set them apart from the competition.
- Customer Service (10): How is the customer experience when contacting the company? We considered the speed of response, weekend/holiday availability, and ease of communication through phone calls, email, and online chat functions.
- Nationwide availability (10): How many states does the company offer its services? Companies that operate nationally and in all zip codes are favored over those with limited availability.
