8 min read

What Does Artificial Grass Actually Cost?

Almost every artificial grass enquiry starts with the same question, phrased slightly differently: how much does artificial grass cost, what is the installation cost, or simply what does fake grass cost these days. This guide answers all of it with real ranges rather than a single headline number, because a lawn is priced by area, access and ground condition, not by a sticker price.

Everything below reflects the way we build lawns across Essex: full excavation, a compacted stone sub-base, a laser-levelled sharp sand or granite dust blinding, weed membrane, treated timber or composite edging and a properly seamed grass. Cheaper quotes usually differ in the groundwork rather than the grass.

Supply-only grass costs

If you are laying it yourself, the grass itself is the main line item. Budget rolls with a short pile and a thin latex backing sit at the bottom of the market. Mid-range grasses with a 30mm to 37mm pile, a mix of green tones and a brown thatch layer cost noticeably more per square metre and look far more convincing. Premium grasses with high stitch counts, soft yarn and full polyurethane backing sit above that again.

Add the consumables people forget: jointing tape and adhesive, membrane, edging timber, galvanised or U-pins, aggregate for the sub-base and skip hire for the spoil. On a small garden those extras often total more than the grass.

Fully fitted prices per square metre

A fitted price bundles the grass with the groundwork, and the groundwork is where the labour sits. As a rough working range across most UK gardens, a straightforward fitted lawn on good ground lands in the middle of the market, a small awkward garden costs more per square metre because fixed costs spread across fewer metres, and a large open lawn with good access is the cheapest per square metre you will get.

Small gardens surprise people. A 20 square metre courtyard still needs the same skip, the same delivery, the same setting up and the same finishing detail as a 60 square metre lawn, so the rate per square metre is always higher.

What pushes the price up

Access is the single biggest variable. Where every barrow of spoil and every tonne of stone travels through a house or a narrow side gate, the labour roughly doubles compared with a garden with rear or side vehicle access.

Ground condition matters next. Heavy clay that holds water needs deeper excavation and more stone. Old concrete, tree roots, buried rubble or a redundant pond all add removal time. Slopes need levelling or terracing before anything is laid.

Shape is the quiet one. A rectangle uses full roll widths efficiently. Curved borders, island beds and mature trees create offcuts, and offcuts are paid for whether they are used or not.

Where the money is well spent

Spend on the sub-base before you spend on the grass. A 50mm to 75mm compacted MOT type 1 base with a levelling layer is what keeps a lawn flat for a decade; the best grass in the world will ripple over soft ground.

After that, spend on backing rather than pile height. A fully permeable polyurethane backing drains faster, holds seams better and copes with pets. Very long piles look luxurious in a showroom and flatten under footfall at home.

Getting a figure you can rely on

Measure the widest points of the lawn rather than the average, since grass is sold in fixed roll widths. Send a couple of photographs of the access route with your enquiry, because that tells an installer more about cost than the square metres do.

Our quotes are fixed and written, arrived at after a free site visit, and the work carries our 10 year guarantee.

Want a real number for your garden?

Send us the rough dimensions and a photo of the access, or book a free measure up, and you will have a fixed written price with no pressure attached.

Request your free quote View Artificial Grass 07535 661664

Frequently asked questions

Why do artificial grass quotes vary so much for the same garden?

Usually because of the groundwork specification. A quote that excavates properly, compacts a stone base and uses a full polyurethane backed grass will always sit above one that lays grass onto sand over the old lawn.

Is it cheaper per square metre on a bigger lawn?

Yes. Delivery, skips, plant hire and setting up are fixed costs, so they spread further across a larger area and the rate per square metre falls.

Does fake grass cost less than a new turf lawn?

No, turf is far cheaper to lay. Artificial grass wins on running cost instead, since there is no mowing, feeding, watering, scarifying or seasonal repair spend.

Should I budget anything for waste removal?

Yes. Excavating a lawn produces a surprising volume of spoil, roughly one skip for every 25 to 35 square metres at typical dig depths, and that should be itemised in your quote.

Do you charge for a quotation visit?

No. Site visits and written quotes are free and there is no obligation to proceed.