Landscape estimating software for installs and maintenance bids
Landscape estimating software turns measured areas, lengths and plant counts into materials, labor hours and a price that recovers overhead and profit, for both design-build installs and recurring maintenance. Landscape-specific platforms like LMN, Aspire and SynkedUP combine estimating with budgeting, job costing and scheduling132; STACK covers commercial landscape takeoff from plans5. Published prices start at $199 a month for SynkedUP Starter2 and $297 a month for LMN Starter1, while Aspire does not publish prices3.
What a landscape takeoff measures
| Item | Unit | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Turf, sod and seed | SF or SY | Measure net of beds and hardscape. Seed and sod areas often differ on the same plan. |
| Planting beds and mulch | SF, converted to CY | Mulch and soil volume follow bed area times depth. Edging follows bed perimeter in LF. |
| Plants and trees | EA by species and size | Count from the plant schedule and check against the symbols on the plan; container size and caliper set price and labor. |
| Irrigation | Zones, heads EA, pipe LF | Design-build irrigation is priced by zone and head count; on plans, pipe runs and controllers come off the irrigation sheet. |
| Hardscape | SF, LF | Pavers, walls and edging by area or length, with base depth from the detail. |
| Maintenance services | Visits, hours per visit | Mowing, pruning, cleanups and applications priced by frequency times measured area and production rate. |
How a landscape estimate is built
- Measure the property or plan: turf, beds, hardscape and edges by area and length, either from plans or from aerial imagery for existing sites.
- Count plants and trees by species and size from the plant schedule, and irrigation zones and heads from the irrigation plan.
- Convert measurements to materials (CY of mulch and soil, pallets of sod, units of pavers) with your own depths and waste.
- Estimate labor hours with production rates by task, then crew costs and equipment.
- Recover overhead and profit through your pricing method, whether that is markup on labor hours, overhead per hour or a target margin.
- Present the proposal, and after the sale, use the same budget for job costing and to update production rates.
What to look for in landscape software
Labor-hour based estimating
Landscape pricing starts with hours. Look for templates and production rates by task so estimates are built from crew time and update as you learn real rates.
Overhead recovery built in
The software should apply overhead and profit consistently, whether through budgeted overhead per hour or markup, so every estimate covers the business.
Property measurement
For maintenance and enhancement work, measuring from aerial imagery saves site visits. For commercial installs, plan takeoff matters more.
Estimate to job costing
The real value is comparing estimated hours to actual hours by job. Platforms that carry the estimate into scheduling and job costing close that loop.
Software landscape estimators use
| Tool | What it does for landscape | Price |
|---|---|---|
| LMN Granum | Landscaping business software covering budgeting, estimating, scheduling, the LMN Crew app, and invoicing and payments. Starter includes one office or crew lead license and five crew member licenses.1 | Starter from $297/mo; Professional from $648/mo; Enterprise by quote |
| SynkedUP SynkedUP | Landscape estimating with an AI estimating agent, budgeting, job costing, proposals with automated follow-up, scheduling and GPS time tracking.2 | Starter $199/mo ($179 billed annually); Standard $399/mo ($359 annually); a one-time activation fee may apply |
| Aspire Aspire | Business management for larger landscape companies, with estimating templates and production-rate kits tied to property takeoffs, and PropertyIntel for aerial measurement and takeoff.34 | Not published |
| STACK STACK Construction Technologies | Landscape takeoff from plans with area, linear and surface measurements, an arc tool for curved beds and an auto count tool for repeated symbols.56 | Free plan; Premium $299 and Pro $349 per user per month, billed annually |
As described on each vendor's own pages, checked November 3, 2026. Prices change; check with the vendor.
For tools that cover every trade on one plan set, see the construction takeoff software and construction estimating software guides.
Plan takeoff vs property measurement
Commercial landscape subcontractors bidding new construction work from a landscape plan need plan takeoff: counting plant symbols, measuring beds and turf, and checking the plant schedule. General takeoff tools such as STACK fit that work5.
Maintenance and enhancement contractors usually bid existing properties with no plans, so they measure from aerial imagery. Aspire's PropertyIntel, where the old Go iLawn site now redirects, is built for that4. Many landscape companies end up with both: aerial measurement for maintenance and plan takeoff for installs, feeding the same estimating platform.
Landscape lighting, irrigation controllers and the electrical site plan
Commercial landscape plans touch the electrical scope in three places, and each one needs an owner in writing. Line voltage pole lights, bollards and tree uplights shown on the electrical site plan belong to the electrical contractor. Low voltage accent lighting is often carried by the landscape contractor, but its transformers need a circuit and a weatherproof receptacle or junction box from the electrician. Irrigation controllers are the same: the irrigation sub mounts the controller and runs valve wire, while the 120 volt circuit to it is electrical work that is easy to leave out of both bids.
Low voltage lighting has its own NEC article. IAEI's review of Article 411 explains that it covers lighting systems at 30 volts or less fed by a listed low voltage power unit or a Class 2 source, that the system has to be listed and installed by its instructions, and that buried low voltage landscape cable typically needs 6 inches of cover under Table 300.5(A)7. The same article warns that long 12 or 24 volt runs lose voltage fast and points to heavier cable, shorter runs or more power units7, so check layouts with a voltage drop calculator before committing to one transformer per bed.
Site cameras and gate intercoms on landscaped islands belong to the low voltage and security scope, and their conduit should share the landscape trench where it can. Fountains and water features are their own electrical case, priced with pool-style rules by the electrical estimator, not as accent lighting. AmpCount counts the site fixtures on the electrical sheets as part of an electrical estimate; plants, beds and irrigation stay in landscape software.
Where landscape takeoffs go wrong
- Pricing materials carefully but guessing labor hours, which is where most landscape margin is won or lost.
- Not recovering overhead through the labor rate or markup, so busy seasons still lose money.
- Mulch and soil quantities taken from area without the specified depth, or depth applied to the gross area including plants and edging.
- Plant counts from the plant schedule that do not match the symbols on the plan. Check both and ask before bid day.
- Maintenance bids with one production rate for every property regardless of obstacles, slopes and access.
Trades that bid the same job
A landscape bid rarely stands alone. The trades next to it on the schedule read the same drawings and often share scope lines, so it pays to know how they take off too: fence estimating software, pool estimating software, sitework estimating software and earthwork takeoff software.
Where AmpCount fits
AmpCount only counts electrical devices and fixtures on electrical sheets, so it does not take off turf, beds, plants or irrigation. Landscape lighting on commercial sites is often shown on the electrical site plan and carried by the electrical contractor, who can count those fixtures with AmpCount.
Questions
What is the best landscape estimating software?
For small to mid-size landscape companies, LMN and SynkedUP are common choices with published prices12. Larger companies that want a full business system often look at Aspire. Commercial install subs bidding from plans may also want a takeoff tool like STACK5.
How much does landscape estimating software cost?
From vendor pages checked November 2026: SynkedUP Starter is $199 a month or $179 billed annually2, LMN Starter starts at $297 a month1, STACK has a free plan and paid plans at $299 and $349 per user per month billed annually6, and Aspire does not publish prices3.
Can landscape software measure from satellite images?
Yes. Aspire PropertyIntel provides high-resolution aerial imagery and AI-assisted measurement for property takeoffs4.
How should landscapers price labor in an estimate?
Estimate hours per task from production rates, multiply by a crew rate that includes burden, and make sure overhead and profit are recovered in the rate or markup. Then compare estimated to actual hours on finished jobs and adjust.
Guides and tools for any trade
Sources
- LMN by Granum plans and pricing
- SynkedUP plans and pricing
- Aspire estimating features
- Aspire PropertyIntel landscape measurement and takeoff
- STACK landscaping estimating and takeoff software
- STACK takeoff and estimate pricing
- IAEI Magazine, Residential lighting under the NEC: low-voltage lighting and Article 411
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