A DIY lawn care program is a custom-made plan for your property, where you follow specific instructions to maintain a healthy lawn. While DIY lawn care programs can be beneficial because of convenience and budget, they can also be challenging, as the program sometimes produces mediocre results.
That said, on the other side, you have professional lawn care services with lengthy contracts, hidden fees, and higher costs.
As a lawn care expert, I understand you may want to avoid extra costs and fine print. A DIY lawn care plan is your best bet. These plans are simple, effective, and affordable.
Best DIY Lawn Care Plans and Subscriptions
Here are my four picks for the best lawn care plans and subscriptions in 2023 and what makes these providers stand out:
| Factor | Sunday Lawn Care | Lawnbright | Lawn Serv | Turf Box |
| Customized Plan | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Natural Ingredients | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mobile App | X | X | X | X |
| Soil Testing Kit | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Weed Control Included | X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fertilizer Included | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X |
| Kid- and Pet-Friendly | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Individual Purchases | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Annual Cost | $120–$330 | $140–$1,000 | $183–$309 | $230–$325 |
Sunday Lawn Care
4.1
Our Rating
Sunday is the best DIY lawn care service for various reasons. It’s eco-friendly and ships directly to your doorstep, making it convenient. Some other perks include giving homeowners the ability to create their own custom lawn care plans and the company providing tailor-made tree and plant suggestions based on their location. Its treatments almost always result in healthy and vibrant lawns.
I chose Sunday Lawn Care as the best DIY lawn care service for many reasons, primarily because of how convenient it is and how true the results are. Sunday checks almost all my boxes:
- Customized plan
- Natural ingredients
- À la carte options
- Soil testing
- Easy-to-follow instructions
Sunday is a DIY lawn care subscription service available in all 50 states, including Washington, D.C. One of the best aspects of its services is that its plan is easy for anyone to follow.
Creating my custom lawn care plan was super easy with Sunday. All I needed to do was fill out a quick form and answer a few questions. Then, Sunday put together a uniquely catered package based on where I lived, the size of my yard, and how much work it needed. I also had to send in a soil sample for it to finalize its plan. The final program I received included specific and straightforward instructions on how to apply its products to my lawn.
Here is a list of all the features and benefits of using Sunday that persuaded me to use it as my DIY lawn care plan:
- Comprehensive custom lawn care plans: Sunday offers custom lawn care plans, personalized plant recommendations, and recommended lawn care products specifically for your lawn.
- Uses natural ingredients: Most of Sunday’s products use all-natural micronutrients, macronutrients, soil amendments, biostimulants, and naturally derived pesticides to care for your lawn.
- Safe around kids and pets: All of Sunday’s lawn care products are safe to be used around your children and furry friends.
- Mailed directly to your door: For your convenience, Sunday ensures your lawn care plan is delivered directly to your home as soon as possible and before the spring season starts.
- Fertilizers are in liquid form: All of Sunday’s fertilizers come in liquid form for easy fertilizer applications.
- Weed control available: For an additional fee, you can purchase specific weed control products to help manage and rid your lawn of weeds.
- Pest control products: Sunday’s all-natural pest control products help free your lawn of ants, mosquitos, ticks, mites, and other insects.
The average annual cost of Sunday’s DIY lawn care subscription program ranges from about $120 to $330. The price of your Sunday subscription will also vary depending on the size of your lawn, soil conditions, location, and services you choose.
If you want to use Sunday to help with lawn care but are worried about payment, Sunday offers flexible payment options and subscription plans.
While the company is similar in price to other lawn care subscription services such as LawnServ and Turf Box, Sunday’s lawn care service is affordable for long-term lawn care and effectively produces a lush and healthy lawn.
LawnBright
3.5
Our Rating
Lawnbright is the best DIY natural lawn care service. Lawnbright’s products are made using all-natural and organic products, such as North Atlantic sea kelp, cornmeal, cedar oil, and blackstrap molasses. Lawnbright is relatively straightforward about how a natural approach to lawn maintaince and fertilization is best for your lawn and the environment.
I chose Lawnbright because it provides only all-natural ingredients in its lawn care products. All products are safe for pets and kids, and the company’s products will help you achieve a healthy lawn.
Is your lawn unhealthy, and you’re battling with fixing it? We recommend you check out our guide to lawn repair to see all that it entails.
Lawnbright is a lawn treatment service that is based in Massachusetts. It uses the information provided by you to create a lawn care treatment plan specifically for your lawn. Lawnbright’s lawn care treatment is simple to apply. All you need is a garden hose and the dual nozzle sprayer attachment.
Like Sunday, Lawnbright develops a lawn care treatment plan based on the free soil testing kit it sends out. After filling out its online form, it sent out a soil kit so I could gather a small soil sample and mail it back. I then had to wait a few weeks for the company to mail an individual lawn care treatment directly to my door. Ultimately, while Lawnbright is mostly similar to other DIY lawn care services, it differs because Lawnbright offers organic weed control, and Sunday does not.
Using Lawnbright to treat your lawn offers many benefits and features, such as:
- All-natural lawn care: Lawnbright’s products are organic and don’t contain any chemicals, making them safe for your children and pets.
- Preemptive weed treatment included: Lawnbright includes a preemptive weed treatment in its product line to help stop weeds before they sprout.
- Text alerts: Unlike many other lawn care services, Lawnbright provides responsive text alerts to remind you about applications and helpful watering information.
- Add-ons available: There are many great add-ons available, like spot remover and mosquito treatment.
- Pest control products available: Pest control products, which are considered an add-on, help eliminate mosquitos, ticks, and other insects from your lawn.
The average annual cost of Lawnbright can range significantly depending on your lawn size, lawn type, and the climate of the area in which you live. But I found that Lawnbright generally ranges between $140-$1,000 per year.
Your Lawnbright DIY lawn care service will be on the lower end of the spectrum if your lawn doesn’t have many weeds, is small, or is already in good shape. You may pay closer to $1,000 annually if your lawn’s condition is rough or it’s large.
Lawn Serv is my pick for the most budget-friendly DIY lawn care service. Lawn Serv costs less than the competitors in this article. Even if you have a large lawn, Lawn Serv will likely not cost you more than $309 annually.
The top reason I chose Lawn Serv is because its DIY lawn care service is one of the most affordable on the market. Similar to Lawbright and Sunday, your Lawn Serv plan includes a soil test kit and product for the first month and a custom mix of products for the second month for an affordable price. Lawn Serv will determine how many months of products you need based on the results it sees from your soil sample. Besides being affordable, I’ve found that Lawn Serv also has excellent customer service.
As I’ve mentioned, Lawn Serv sends out a lawn care subscription box with custom care lawn products directly to your door based on a soil kit test. Each month is a subscription-style box tailored to your lawn based on your climate, lawn size, and lawn condition.
As the months go on, your boxes may include custom pro-grade fertilizer, bug control, weed control, and pH control. Depending on the time of year, a specific product will be included in the box to help control weeds or condition your soil if necessary.
Lawn Serv has many features that are beneficial to helping you achieve a healthy and green lawn:
- Affordable: Lawn Serv is an affordable option for anyone, whether you live in the North or South or have a small or large lawn.
- Responsive customer service: Lawn Serv is easy to contact at any time through email, phone, or instant messaging.
- Video library: Lawn Serv offers an extensive video library to help guide you in your lawn care subscription service.
- Weed, pH, and bug control options: Lawn Serv offers many options because the company understands that fertilizing doesn’t always help you get the results you need
- All-natural options: Lawn Serv offers many all-natural options that are safe for people, pets, and the environment.
The price you pay for Lawn Serve will depend on your location, lawn needs, and how many boxes you need, though I’ve found that the price ranges from $183–$309 a year. Most Northern states require about seven months of Lawn Serv services, while the Southern states require about 10. The Midwest and Central portions of the United States typically require about eight to nine months of services. Lastly, you only pay for the months you have delivered, which is why Lawn Serv is so budget-friendly.
DoMyOwn Turf Box
3.8
Our Rating
Turf Box, or DoMyOwn Turf Box, is the best DIY lawn care service for lawn disease. Turf Box can resolve many lawn issues, such as weeds and pests. Like the other companies in my review, this lawn care service allows you to receive a custom program for your lawn.
There are a few reasons why I chose Turf Box as the best DIY lawn care service for lawn disease. Turf Box creates a customized plan depending on your lawn size, type of grass, and location.
It provides multiple solutions to help treat a lawn disease, such as using various types of fungicides and herbicides. The fungicides work by killing the fungus that is spreading throughout your lawn, and the herbicides help treat any weeds along the way.
To begin using Turf Box for your lawn needs, you need to provide it with your location, lawn size, and grass type. This will aid its team in providing you with the best lawn disease and weed prevention program to help your lawn regain life and thrive again.
Whether your lawn is 2,000 square feet or 20,000 square feet, Turf Box can help. When it’s time to apply Turf Box’s products, they’re delivered to your home for you to begin the treatment. If you become a member of DoMyOwn Turf Box, you can save 20% on each lawn care box and 10% off professional-grade products. DoMyOwn Turf Box is relatively affordable, costing between $230 to $325 annually.
Here is a rundown of Turf Box’s many features and benefits:
- Comprehensive lawn disease and weed solutions: Turf Box has complete solutions to treat weeds and various types of lawn disease, such as multiple fungi and brown patches.
- Various garden and lawn products available: Turf Box offers many garden and lawn care products, such as herbicides, insect control, fertilizers, bird repellent, sulfur, fungicides, and lawn care equipment like spreaders.
- Offers discounts: If you become a member of DoMyOwn Turf Box, you can save 20% on every lawn care box and 10% off pro-grade products.
- Maximum lawn coverage is high: Turf Box’s maximum lawn coverage is 20,000 square feet, which is high compared to other lawn care companies.
- Pest control available: The company offers various types of pest control and can aid you in getting rid of carpenter bees, carpet beetles, roaches, grubs, mosquitos, fleas, ticks, scorpions, termites, and more.
- Pre-emergent and post-emergent weed control: Turf Box provides post-emergent and pre-emergent herbicide and weed control specific to your lawn size, grass type, and location.
- All-natural options: Turf Box offers some all-natural options for lawn and pest control, but not every product is all-natural.
The only thing that can be challenging when choosing Turf Box is knowing what grass you have so the company can effectively treat your lawn. If you live in the South, you may have warm-season grasses like Bermuda grass or crabgrass, and if you live in the Northeast, you may have a cool-season grass like Kentucky bluegrass.
Turf Box is similar to other lawn care programs, like Sunday, but has fewer organic options. However, Turf Box has many more pest control products available than its competitors.
What Factors Should You Consider Before Choosing DIY Lawn Care?
When choosing a do-it-yourself lawn care program, many factors must be considered to ensure you select the best program.
Your Lawn’s Condition and Needs
Before choosing a lawn care plan, assessing your lawn’s health, grass type, soil type, and if you have any pest issues is essential. Different lawn conditions might require distinct solutions for lawn maintenance.
For example, if you have an abundance of weeds in your lawn, you’ll need a lawn care program that addresses weed control. If your lawn doesn’t necessarily have weeds but is primarily brown, you might need a lawn care program that addresses lawn disease.
Your Lawn Care Goals and Preferences
Understanding your lawn care goals before choosing a DIY lawn care service is essential. Consider whether you want to improve your lawn’s appearance, increase resilience, reduce environmental impact, or take care of weeds. You should know your goals before settling on a DIY lawn care program.
Your Budget and Time Availability
This is one of the most important aspects of choosing a lawn care service. You should know how much the program costs monthly or annually to ensure you can afford the service.
While some lawn care services are more affordable than others, it’s a good idea to ask about discounts or payment plans so you can achieve the lawn you envision without feeling a financial strain. In addition, time availability is essential, as time constraints may affect your options for DIY lawn care services and programs.
When looking for the best DIY lawn care service, ensure that the program is convenient for you and your availability. You can often choose what day you want to begin receiving the program in the mail, and you can follow through on days that work best for you and your schedule.
Is a DIY Lawn Care Service Worth It?
A DIY lawn care service is worth it for various reasons. Choosing the best-suited lawn care service for your lawn can not only help boost the appearance of your property and take care of bare spots, but it can help prevent broadleaf weeds and other weeds, lawn disease, and pests from taking over in the future.
A DIY lawn care service also allows you to care for your lawn without hiring a professional lawn care service to come to your home. Furthermore, DIY lawn care services are more affordable than hiring a professional service, and they’re convenient, as you can do it on your own time.
Ever since I’ve been using DIY lawn care services, I’ve noticed a considerable difference in the appearance of my lawn. As a lawn care expert, I especially appreciate the convenience of caring for my lawn on my own time.
FAQs About DIY Lawn Care Providers
What equipment do I need for DIY lawn care?
If you’re handling your own lawn care and garden needs, there are some pieces of equipment you’ll need to have available.
- Lawn mower
- Spreader
- Rakes
- Trimmer
- Weed eater
- Blower
- Aerator (depending on turf type and location)
- Storage for chemicals, seeding, and equipment
You can start with a mower and a trimmer and make the rest work from there. If you have a small property, you’ll likely not need to worry about the size of the spreader you purchase. You should be able to use a small handheld option if that works for your needs.
Can homeowners apply fertilizer and weed killer to their grass?
When you choose a lawn company or even a DIY lawn care company, you must ensure its team or landscaping specialists are certified and licensed. You need to undergo a lot of training to go over to a person’s property and put chemicals and pesticides on their turf. There are health and environmental impacts that require education.
However, if you’re a homeowner trying to fertilize your lawn, you can do so because of the products offered to you. These are not commercial-grade products; they’re only used for home use. This allows you to apply them yourself.
How do I know which lawn care products are best?
Determining which lawn care products are best can take some trial and error. Unfortunately, this also means you’ll spend more money than you would like. This is why I love Sunday. It will send you the options with the correct composition for your turf needs. This solution is much better than something chosen from a shelf without soil testing.
When should I test my soil?
The best time to test your soil is after harvest in the fall or early spring before fertilization. You shouldn’t do a soil sample after fertilizing your lawn or when your soil is very wet. To accurately test your soil, you should do so once every two to three years.
Should I fertilize my lawn before or after using the lawn mower?
The best time to fertilize your lawn is after mowing and raking it because it makes it easier for the fertilizer to get to the soil. If you fertilize before mowing, the fertilizer may not reach the soil if you mow over it.
Why is lawn care critical?
Proper lawn care is essential for a few reasons. It ensures that your lawn can withstand threats from insects and weeds and that your grass doesn’t become diseased. A DIY lawn care service can also help your lawn maintain nutrients and survive unpredictable weather.
Methodology: How We Evaluated DIY Lawn Care Services
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.
