If you’re looking to launch a business with a low barrier to entry and unlimited growth potential, you may want to explore the lawn care and landscaping industry. 

Or maybe you’ve decided the green industry is the right fit for your skills, experience, and entrepreneurial goals, so you’re researching, weighing your options, and figuring out what it takes to succeed. 

Starting a landscaping company isn’t just about skill or passion; it also means budgeting for essentials. 

This guide breaks down the typical costs involved, from equipment to insurance, so you can get started confidently.

Disclaimer: The information below is accurate as of August 2025.

Typical startup costs for a landscaping business

A new landscaping company will need different items—equipment, vehicles, insurance, a storage area, and more to start.

Below is an overview of the estimated initial investment for each item you’ll need.

Up next is a closer look at each category, starting with equipment and tools.

Equipment and tools

A bulk of your landscaping startup budget will go toward equipment, materials, and tools. These form the foundation of your landscaping business. Without them, you simply can’t deliver quality service. Here’s an overview of all the essential landscaping tools the company will need:

• Hand tools like shovels, rakes, pruners, edgers, clippers, and spades for detailed lawn maintenance.

• Sprayers and spreaders to help apply fertilizers, pesticides, and insecticides.

• Power tools like lawn mowers, leaf blowers, trimmers, or tillers. 

• Safety gear such as gloves, eye and ear protection, and sturdy footwear. 

• Materials like seeds, fertilizers, plants, pesticides, soil, and mulch.

See the estimated equipment cost for each category and material below

As your business grows, you may want to upgrade the landscaping equipment in your stack with high-end tools such as:

• Power aerators

• Stump grinders

• Mini excavators

• Grading equipment

Transportation & vehicles

You will need a reliable truck or van to move crews, materials, and equipment around. Since you’re just starting, using your personal vehicle can help you save money until you break even.

If that’s not possible, you need to get a vehicle for easy transportation. The cost of purchasing one might vary depending on the type, size, year, location, and condition. But here’s an estimate of what you can expect to spend on a vehicle. 

To save on the cost, consider: 

• Buying a used truck. 

• Choosing lease-to-own options so you can pay monthly instead of an outright payment.

Storage and workspace 

Like most new businesses, you’ll need a workspace and storage for your equipment. While having a dedicated office space looks professional and can help you attract high-quality clients, it may be too expensive when you’re just starting. 

A more affordable option is to work from home and repurpose your personal garage for equipment storage. Since your tools are a major investment, they need to be stored properly to prevent theft and remain in good working condition. 

As such, you should consider: 

• Using your van or truck to store and transport tools

• Renting a storage unit

• Building a shed on your property

• Leasing a shared office space or yard space   

If you decide to rent an office space or storage unit, here’s what it might cost you: 

Licensing, permits, and insurance

Before launching your lawn care service, you’ll need licenses and specific permits as required by your state or local government.

These licenses vary from state to state, so you’ll need to find the regulations for your locale. But in general, here’s what is typically required:

• A business license certification that allows you to operate in a city, state, or county.

• Business structure, e.g., sole proprietorship, LLC, or corporation.

• Employee Identification number if you plan to hire workers. 

• Contractor license, permit to carry out certain landscaping projects like hardscaping, irrigation, or tree removal.  

• Pesticide applicator license for applying insecticides, herbicides, or fertilizers.

• Zoning permit if you run the business from home. 

• Sales tax permit for selling taxable items like plants or mulch. 

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification.

• Insurance to cover general liability, workers’ injury, commercial property, and your business income.

All that can cost you between $300 and $3,500, including legal help when needed and business insurance.

Marketing and branding

While getting licensing and permits is essential for compliance, your landscaping business only truly begins once marketing kicks off. 

Marketing helps people in your community know there’s a new landscaping company in their area. Your marketing strategy can include: 

• Building a website

• Setting up a social media page and a Google Business Profile 

• Running paid ads to attract potential customers

Advertising should be launched in the early stages of your business to build a local presence. 

Branding, on the other hand, is refining your business’s identity to shape how it’s perceived. Think logos, brand colors, business cards, messaging style, customer service approach, work-client relationship, etc. 

You can handle the business’s marketing and branding to save costs, especially in the early stages. But you will need experts as your business grows, to make a bigger impact. 

DIY marketing might cost around $500 to $1,000, covering basics like a simple website, logo, and some online ads. Outsourcing to freelancers or agencies will likely run between $1,000 and $5,000, depending on the scope, like branding packages, ad management, or website development. 

Business software and tools

Leverage digital tools to streamline your workflow and reduce administrative overhead. Instead of scheduling and manually monitoring projects on paper, you can use management software to stay on top of your responsibilities. 

These tools can help you with:

• Scheduling by making it easy to assign tasks to crews, manage tasks, and plan your calendar. 

• Estimation by simplifying how you create bids and send proposals.

• Invoicing to share bills and get paid seamlessly.

• Customer relationship management (CRM) to centralize all client information, identify upsell opportunities, and deliver quality service.

• Inventory management to keep track of all your equipment and materials and ensure they’re in good working order.

• Reporting to give you granular insights into landscaping operations so you can monitor the business performance.

Examples of software offering such features include Jobber, Zuper, and LMN, and they cost between $25 and $1,000+.

Aspire also provides all these services and more, but it caters specifically to landscaping businesses that want to scale up. 

Labor (if applicable)

While you can start this new venture solo, you’ll need extra hands as your landscaping business grows. So even though this might be optional, it’s best to plan for it early. 

Will you need to hire employees full- or part-time? Landscape professionals or administrative employees? Here’s what that could cost you…  

Depending on your state of operation, you will need to budget between ten and 25% of the salary for employee tax.

Ongoing operational costs

Beyond your initial startup costs, running a landscaping business comes with recurring business expenses that keep daily operations smooth. These include:

• Office supplies

• Utility bills (electricity, water, internet)

• Fuel for vehicles

• Equipment and vehicle maintenance

• Rent (if you lease a space)

• Employee training and development

• Software subscriptions for scheduling, CRM, or accounting

The level of some of these expenses was mentioned earlier, but here’s an overview of what to expect:

Over to You!

Starting a landscaping business takes time, money, and careful planning. It’s a lot of effort, especially if you’re a new entrepreneur. 

But with the right information (like this guide) and the right system, you’ll be better equipped to manage the challenges ahead.

And as the business grows, Aspire helps streamline landscaping operations to improve efficiency and scale effectively. It provides tools for scheduling, job costing, equipment management, customer interactions, estimation, and invoicing in a single platform, giving you centralized control over your business. 

It’s everything you need to run, scale, and ensure a successful landscaping business. 

Book a demo to see everything Aspire offers.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is it worth it to start a landscaping business?

Yes, starting a landscaping business is definitely worth it. 

Aspire data shows that new landscaping businesses have an average profit margin of 15%. That’s five percent more than what’s generally considered a fine profit margin for small to medium businesses. 

How profitable is a small landscaping business?

A small landscaping company can be quite profitable, with the profit margin starting at 15% and a chance to average around 45% as the business grows. 

This is mostly possible because landscaping businesses can offer multiple services (general landscaping, lawn mowing, gardening, and even huge projects like patio installations), increasing their earning potential.  

Do you need an LLC to start a landscaping business?

No, you don’t need an LLC to start things up. However, the business needs to be registered and obtain necessary licenses before it can begin operations.