New Zealand has the one table in this trade that varies the schedule while holding the lawn size constant, and that made it the reference for how frequency works everywhere. What it does not have is a second source: almost everything on this page comes from two Auckland operators.
How the calculator works
- Lawn size picks the bracket. Four brackets of mown area in square metres. Square feet are not used here.
- Schedule raises the price. Weekly is the base, fortnightly 1.16 times it, monthly 1.42. Read from one operator’s four-schedule table.
- Overgrown adds about 40% on top, as its own line.
- Your region. We found no reliable data on price differences between New Zealand regions, so every region uses the national figures.
- Your economics. “Your costs and margin” works in person-hours, the unit the hourly rates are in.
Typical New Zealand mowing prices in 2026
| Lawn size | Weekly | Fortnightly | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 100 m² | NZ$30–NZ$45 | NZ$35–NZ$52 | NZ$43–NZ$64 |
| 100–300 m² | NZ$45–NZ$75 | NZ$52–NZ$87 | NZ$64–NZ$107 |
| 300–600 m² | NZ$75–NZ$120 | NZ$87–NZ$139 | NZ$107–NZ$170 |
| Over 600 m² | NZ$120–NZ$300 | NZ$139–NZ$348 | NZ$170–NZ$426 |
Crews bill NZ$40–NZ$70 per person-hour, about NZ$50 typical. Minimum around NZ$30. All figures exclude GST.
Why New Zealand margins are the thinnest of the five
Because the wage is the highest share of the billing. The careers service puts a groundskeeper at NZ$24–NZ$34 an hour against a typical billing of NZ$50 — around 58% of the ticket before fuel, machinery or travel. In Canada the same ratio is 36% and in the United States 38%.
That is not a modelling artefact, it is what the two read numbers say. If your own numbers are better than this, they are better because your route is tighter or your rate is above NZ$50, not because the arithmetic here is wrong.
Where the New Zealand numbers are thin, said plainly
Two operators, one city. The brackets and the schedule table are both Auckland. A second operator confirms the middle brackets — 200–500 m² at NZ$40–NZ$70 against our NZ$45–NZ$75 — and nothing else.
The wage has no date. The government page giving NZ$50,000–NZ$71,000 does not say when the figures are from. That is a defect in the source and it is recorded.
The order-of-magnitude check sits below the usual band. Typical billing over the wage midpoint is 1.72, where this project’s method wants 2 to 3. It passes the error threshold but not the norm, and the reason is the same one that shows up in New Zealand cleaning: a high legal wage floor compresses the ratio. A second market-rate source would settle it and none was found.
Worked example
A large lawn on a fortnightly round, first cut of the season. The typical quote lands at NZ$150 (range NZ$130–NZ$175) for about 3.2 person-hours. At the NZ$23.95 adult minimum wage, the cost is near NZ$94. That leaves NZ$56 a visit, a 37% margin before GST. The “Fill with sample data” button loads this exact job.
What this calculator does not price
Section clearing, planting and turf laying, which are a different trade with a different rate. Hedge trimming and garden tidy-ups, sold as their own lines. Annual contracts — one operator prints NZ$2,000–NZ$2,800 a year for a weekly mow, which is the visit price times a week count you should set yourself.
The calculator gives you the number. For typical rates and how to build a quote, read our US lawn care pricing guide. Its rates are in US dollars.