Search "artificial turf installation cost" and the homeowner gets a wide answer: Thumbtack puts the typical job between about $2,700 and $7,700, cost guides quote anywhere from $6 to $20 a square foot, and a forum thread will tell you someone in Southern California just paid $18. Search the installer's version of the question, how much to charge for artificial turf installation, and there is very little: a few labor-only figures of $2 to $3.30 a square foot and a lot of "it depends."
This guide does the installer's version properly. It builds an artificial turf quote from the cost side: the turf itself and the waste on the roll, the dig and the haul, the base, the edging, seams and nails, infill, machine time, crew hours, overhead and margin. Then it runs that model across job sizes, turf grades, base depths, pet installs and hand-carry access, so you can see which part of a square-foot price is cost and which part is profit.
One rule up front. Every number in the model is an input you should replace. Your turf supplier, your aggregate yard, your dump fees, your wage and your market set the real figures. The structure of the quote is what carries over.
The short answer
On the inputs below, a three-person crew installing 600 square feet of mid-grade turf in a backyard with machine access (sod cut and removed, 3.5 inches excavated and hauled, 3 inches of compacted base, weed barrier, edging on 70% of the perimeter, one seam, silica sand infill) comes to $8,654, or $14.42 per square foot. That breaks down as:
- $5,644 of direct cost, or $9.41 a square foot
- $1,881 of turf (660 square feet bought to cover 600, at $2.85)
- $1,734 of crew time (51 crew-hours over three days, $2.89 a square foot)
- $975 of base and other materials, $284 of haul-off, $635 of equipment and $135 of trip cost
- $847 of overhead at 15% of direct cost, and $2,164 of margin, set at 25% of the price
Two things fall out of that straight away. The labor line, $2.89 a square foot, sits right inside the $2.04 to $3.30 a square foot that installers commonly quote as the labor rate, so the crew-hour assumptions are in the right neighborhood. And labor is only about a fifth of the price. Most of the gap between a $6 ad and a $14 quote is turf, base, haul-off, overhead and margin, not crew time.
The model, line by line
Here is every input, so you can see exactly what the $8,654 assumes and swap your own numbers in.
| Line | Assumption | Cost on 600 sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| Turf | Mid-grade polyethylene, about 80 oz face weight, $2.85/sq ft delivered, 10% waste on 15 ft rolls | $1,881 |
| Excavation haul-off | 3.5 in dig = 6.5 bank yd, 8.1 loose yd after 25% swell, $35/yd incl. dump | $284 |
| Base | 3 in compacted crushed aggregate, 25% compaction allowance, 1.4 t/yd, 9.7 t at $38 + $95 delivery | $464 |
| Weed barrier + fasteners | $0.12 + $0.15 per sq ft | $162 |
| Seam | One 30 ft seam (a 20 ft wide yard needs two 15 ft widths), tape + adhesive at $2.50/LF | $75 |
| Edging | 70% of a 100 ft perimeter (the rest is house, patio or fence), $1.60/LF | $112 |
| Infill | Silica sand, 1.5 lb/sq ft, 18 bags at $9 | $162 |
| Crew | 3 people, 6 fixed hours + 0.075 crew-hr per sq ft (dig 0.030, base 0.025, lay/seam/nail/infill 0.020), $34/hr loaded | $1,734 |
| Equipment | Mini track loader $375/day incl. delivery and sod cutter $110 for the dig day; owned compactor, power broom and turf cart charged at $50 a crew-day | $635 |
| Trip | $45 per crew-day, 3 days | $135 |
| Direct cost | $5,644 | |
| Overhead | 15% of direct | $847 |
| Margin | 25% of the final price | $2,164 |
| Price | $8,654 ($14.42/sq ft) |
The crew-hour rate is the assumption to check first. A three-person crew at 0.075 crew-hours a square foot covers the 600 square feet in about 17 hours of crew time each, which is two long days or three normal ones. Track your own next three installs by phase (dig, base, lay) and replace the three rates. If you don't track hours by job yet, our labor cost calculator guide walks through getting a loaded hourly rate you can trust.
Why turf is quoted per square foot, and where that breaks
Per-square-foot pricing works for turf better than it does for most landscape jobs, because most of the cost really does scale with area: turf, base, barrier, infill, haul-off and most of the crew time. A customer can measure their own yard and check the quote, and every competitor quotes the same way, so you are comparing like with like.
It breaks in three places.
- Small jobs. The fixed costs (mobilizing, the first trip, the sod cutter, a minimum aggregate delivery, layout) don't shrink with the yard. On a 150 sq ft dog run the model's direct cost alone is $13.58 a square foot.
- Shape. A clean rectangle that is a multiple of 15 ft wide wastes almost nothing. A curved bed line, a yard that is 17 ft wide, or a lot of cutouts around trees and pavers can push roll waste from 10% toward 20% and add seams. The model assumes 10%.
- What's under it. Clay that won't drain, a slope, roots, buried irrigation or an old patio slab change the dig, not the square footage.
The fix isn't to abandon per-square-foot pricing. It's to quote the square-foot rate for the area and price the fixed and site-specific work separately, so a small or awkward job carries its own costs.
Price per square foot by job size
Same turf, same base, same crew, just a bigger or smaller yard (each assumed to be a 2:3 rectangle):
| Area | Crew days | Direct cost / sq ft | Price | Price / sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 150 sq ft | 1 | $13.58 | $3,123 | $20.82 |
| 300 sq ft | 2 | $10.82 | $4,979 | $16.60 |
| 600 sq ft | 3 | $9.41 | $8,654 | $14.42 |
| 1,000 sq ft | 4 | $9.20 | $14,112 | $14.11 |
| 1,500 sq ft | 5 | $8.75 | $20,130 | $13.42 |
| 2,500 sq ft | 9 | $8.76 | $33,599 | $13.44 |
The curve flattens fast. Past about 1,000 square feet, the fixed costs are spread thin and the price settles near $13.40 a square foot on these inputs; below 300 it climbs steeply. That is the honest reason installers set a job minimum. On this model, a minimum around $2,500 to $3,000 covers a one-day job with a margin; anything smaller is better quoted as a flat package (a dog run, a side yard strip) than as a square-foot rate.
The 600 sq ft price, $8,654, is well above Thumbtack's typical-job range of about $2,700 to $7,700. That isn't a contradiction: a typical consumer job is smaller, and many published averages include front-yard strips, DIY-assisted installs and budget turf. The size table is the useful part. It tells you what your own small and large jobs cost.
Turf grade: the biggest single lever
Turf is the largest material line, so the grade you quote moves the price more than anything else on the sheet. The model holds everything else constant and changes only the turf cost per square foot:
| Turf grade (assumed delivered cost) | Price on 600 sq ft | Price / sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| Budget, about $1.90/sq ft | $7,693 | $12.82 |
| Mid-grade, about $2.85/sq ft | $8,654 | $14.42 |
| Premium, about $3.90/sq ft | $9,717 | $16.19 |
Every dollar a square foot of turf cost adds about $1.69 a square foot to the price once waste, overhead and margin ride on it. That multiplier is worth knowing when a customer asks why the premium sample costs so much more: it isn't only the turf.
Two practical points. Offer two or three grades on the same quote rather than one number, because it moves the conversation from "is this too much" to "which one." And name the grade by what it does (face weight, pile height, thatch, backing, warranty), not just a product name, so a cheaper competitor's quote can be compared line for line. Published retail guides put polyethylene turf alone at roughly $2 to $4 a square foot, with nylon higher; your supplier's trade price is the number that belongs in your model.
Base depth, the place cheap quotes save money
The base is where turf installs succeed or fail, and it's where a low quote usually finds its savings. On this model:
| Compacted base | Price on 600 sq ft | Price / sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| 2 in | $8,059 | $13.43 |
| 3 in | $8,654 | $14.42 |
| 4 in | $9,104 | $15.17 |
The difference between 2 and 3 inches is about $1 a square foot, mostly crew time spreading and compacting the extra aggregate plus a few more tons. That dollar is the cheapest insurance in the job: a thin or poorly compacted base shows up later as dips, ripples at the seams and puddles, and the callback costs far more than the saving.
Drainage needs are site-specific. Turf over heavy clay or in a low spot may need a deeper, more open base or a drain line out of the area; the base table above doesn't include that. If water already sits in the yard after rain, price drainage as its own line. Our French drain pricing guide builds that quote the same way this one does.
Pet turf, hand-carry access and haul-off
Three common variations, each run against the same 600 sq ft job:
| Variation | What changes in the model | Price | Price / sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base job | - | $8,654 | $14.42 |
| Pet install | Zeolite odor-control infill, 1 lb/sq ft at $28 per 50 lb bag, on top of the sand; extra time to grade and flush-test | $9,294 | $15.49 |
| Hand-carry access | No loader (gate too narrow); dig and base labor x1.6; no machine rental | $9,280 | $15.47 |
| Haul-off at $25/yd | Cheap local dump | $8,530 | $14.22 |
| Haul-off at $55/yd | Expensive dump or long drive | $8,903 | $14.84 |
The hand-carry line is the one installers most often underprice. Dropping the $375 loader looks like a saving, but moving 8 yards of soil out and 10 tons of base in by wheelbarrow adds about 20 crew-hours, and the price goes up about $1 a square foot. Look at the gate, the side yard and any steps on the site visit, and price access as a line, not as a surprise.
Pet installs are worth a separate package because the customer is buying a result (no smell, drains fast) rather than a product. Zeolite or another antimicrobial infill, a more open base, and a quick flush test at handover justify about $1 a square foot more on these inputs, which is in line with the $0.50 to $1 per square foot upcharge consumer guides quote for pet-grade systems.
Why the $6 to $8 a square foot ads exist
Every market has an installer advertising turf at $6 to $8 a square foot installed. On this model, $8 a square foot on the 600 sq ft job is $4,800, about $840 below direct cost. It's worth understanding how a lean quote gets there, because you will be compared against it.
Strip the job down: budget turf at $1.90, a 2 in base, $25 a yard haul-off, no edging. The model's direct cost drops to $7.39 a square foot, and the price at the usual 15% overhead and 25% margin is $11.34. To reach $8.87 you have to cut overhead to 8% and margin to 10%. To reach $6 you need cheaper turf than that, the customer removing their own sod, or a base thin enough that it becomes a callback.
None of that means the low-price installer is dishonest. Some run high volume with their own trucks and dump access, buy turf by the container, and genuinely have lower costs. But if your costs look like this model's, matching their number means working for free. The better response is to show your line items, name the base depth and turf grade, and let the customer compare the build, not just the total. Our guide to bidding landscaping jobs covers presenting a line-item bid without inviting a line-by-line haggle.
Rebates and rules to check before you quote
Many customers come to turf from a water-saving angle and assume their water district's lawn-removal rebate will pay part of the bill. In many places it won't. Several programs that pay homeowners to remove grass explicitly exclude artificial turf as the replacement, including the Municipal Water District of Orange County, San Diego County's Waterscape program, the City of Chandler in Arizona, the City of Bend in Oregon and Pinery Water in Colorado. Chandler's policy notes that turf may save water but has potential negative environmental impacts.
That matters for your quote in two ways. Don't let a customer budget around a rebate they won't get; ask which program they have in mind and check its current guidelines. And if they do want the rebate, the conversation becomes a water-wise planting quote instead, which is still a job. Check HOA rules too: some associations restrict or regulate synthetic turf in front yards, and the customer should confirm before you order material.
Call 811 before you dig, even at 3.5 inches. Shallow irrigation lines are the usual casualty, and the customer will want them capped or rerouted before the base goes in, which is another line on the quote.
Turf vs sod: the quote next to it
Many turf customers are also pricing new sod. On our sod installation pricing model, sod comes in at roughly $1.85 to $2.80 a square foot with tear-out, against $13.50 and up for turf here, because there is no base and the material is cheaper. Turf wins on water, mowing and wear over years, not on day one. If you install both, quote both on the same visit and let the customer choose; the site visit, measurements and access notes are the same.
How to build your own turf quote
- Measure and sketch. Overall dimensions, the width against 15 ft rolls, every cutout and curve. Work out the seam count and the real waste, not a flat 10%.
- Look at the site. Gate width and machine access, existing grass or rock, soil type, slope, standing water, irrigation heads, trees and roots, where the spoil goes.
- Price materials from your suppliers. Turf by grade with waste, base by the ton plus delivery, barrier, edging, nails, seam tape and adhesive, infill.
- Price the dig and haul. Excavated volume x swell x your haul or dump rate.
- Estimate crew hours by phase. Dig, base, lay. Use your own tracked rates, with a multiplier for hand-carry access.
- Add equipment and trips for the days the job takes.
- Add overhead and margin. Overhead as a share of direct cost, then margin as a share of price. If you aren't sure what yours should be, start with our landscaping profit margin guide.
- Check the minimum. If the job is under a day, compare it to your minimum and quote a package instead.
- Present good, better, best on turf grade, with pet and drainage options as clear add-ons.
If you'd rather not redo that arithmetic for every yard, Landscapey's estimate builder saves your line items and rates, so a turf quote becomes measure, pick a grade, adjust the site lines and send. The customer gets a link they can approve, and an approved quote turns into a scheduled job. It's part of the one Landscapey plan, and you can start free.
FAQ
How much should I charge per square foot for artificial turf installation?
On this model's inputs, about $13.50 to $16.50 a square foot for mid-grade turf on a normal 600 to 1,500 sq ft job with machine access, more for small jobs and premium turf. Your own number comes from your turf price, base, haul-off, crew rate, overhead and margin; run them through the line items above.
What is the labor cost per square foot for turf installation?
On the model, crew labor is $2.89 a square foot at 600 sq ft, $3.91 on a 150 sq ft job and lower on big jobs. That is consistent with the $2 to $3.30 a square foot labor figures commonly quoted. Remember that labor is only about a fifth of the full price.
What minimum should I set for turf jobs?
Price a one-day job with your real fixed costs: mobilization, sod cutter, minimum aggregate delivery, a dump run. On this model that is about $2,500 to $3,000. Small areas are better sold as flat packages.
How deep should the base be under artificial turf?
The model uses 3 inches of compacted crushed aggregate, a common residential spec. Poor-draining soil, heavy use or pets can justify more. Going from 2 to 3 inches costs about $1 a square foot on these inputs and is the cheapest callback insurance on the job.
Does a water rebate cover artificial turf?
Often not. Many lawn-removal rebate programs exclude synthetic turf as the replacement, including programs in Orange County and San Diego County in California, Chandler in Arizona, Bend in Oregon and Pinery Water in Colorado. Check the customer's program before they budget around it.
Should I charge more for pet turf?
Yes, as a package. Odor-control infill, a more open base and a flush test add real cost; on this model about $1 a square foot. Sell it on the result (fast drainage, no smell) rather than as an upgrade.
Sources and limits
The quote model is illustrative: every input (turf, aggregate and dump prices, crew rates, equipment rates, overhead and margin) is an assumption chosen to be plausible for a small residential installer, not a measured market price. The calculation script is the source of every number in the tables. Consumer price ranges are from Thumbtack's artificial turf cost page and published cost guides; the $2.04 to $3.30 labor range is a widely quoted industry figure. Rebate exclusions are from each program's current published guidelines as of October 2026, and programs change, so check before quoting. Prices vary a great deal by region; Sun Belt and West Coast markets often run higher than this model.
