How Much Does Grass Seed Cost? 2024 Price Guide

Grass seed is a great way to start a new lawn or fill in worn or patchy areas of an existing lawn. You might be wondering how much it costs for these common projects.

2024 Grass Seed Costs

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National Average Price $1,000
Typical Price Range $500 - $2,000
Typical Price Range (per pound seed) $2 - $6

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Cost to Seed a Yard

It’s relatively common for homes to have areas in the yard that look patchy or worn after years of wear and tear. If this is the case, add value and aesthetic appeal to your property by making the grass look vital and evenly covered.

In other instances, you may have done extensive yard clearing or built on a new lot. In any of these cases, grass needs to be added before weeds can take root.

One of your options with regard to lawn renovation of either of these kinds is to seed or reseed it using grass seed. Seeding a lawn can be very cost-effective compared to new sod.[1] Having a pro seed your lawn can cost from $0.10 to $0.20 per square foot, or $500 to $2,000 for the average 1/4-acre yard.

new grass planted from seed

Here are some considerations that affect the cost of your reseeding project, including the different types of seed available and measurements that will determine the overall cost:

Types of Grass Seed

The type of grass seed you intend to use on your lawn will significantly impact the amount you spend. Not only are some grass seeds more expensive than others, but they also have different coverage capabilities.

For example, a new lawn that uses Bermuda will require two pounds of seed for every 1,000 square feet, while Bahia requires five times that much. Thus, it is inaccurate to assume that just because a type of seed is the cheapest per unit that it is the most economical.

The key to finding the most economical grass seed is to compare the coverage to the unit price.

Choose the Right Seed for the Climate and Sun Exposure

It is critical to ensure that the seed you choose is suitable for the climate and region you live in. This is important to optimize the amount of growth.

Also consider the site when selecting a seed species. Some species thrive in sunshine, while others do better in the shade.[2]

Selecting the proper seed for the climate and the site is important to maximize seed growth and will set you up for success in growing a healthy lawn. Choosing the wrong seed will also cost more in the long run, with more overseeding and fertilizer required down the road.

Size of Lawn

The size of your lawn is a crucial factor when calculating the cost of a grass reseeding project. To find out the size of your yard, you multiply the length by the width in feet. This multiplication result will let you know how many square feet your garden has.

If your property is not a perfect square or rectangle, use our acreage calculator to find the square footage of your property using a map.

New Lawn or Overseeding

The extent of work that needs to be done will inevitably add or subtract from the overall cost calculation.

Covering a new lawn in grass seed will require twice the amount of seed to cover the same area when compared to reseeding or overseeding a patchy lawn.

Refer to the coverage for each type of seed to find how much seed is needed to cover the square footage of your lawn for a new or overseeding application, or use our grass seed calculator to estimate how much seed is needed.

Cost of Different Types of Grass Seed

Now that we have considered the factors that impact the cost of reseeding a lawn, here are the average costs of many different types of grass seed commonly used in landscaping projects:

Cost and coverage rates for different types of grass seed.
Type of Seed Average Cost Per Lb Coverage Per Lb Cost for an Average Yard
Bahia $7 – $9 135 sq ft $518 – $666
Bermuda $4 – $10 350 sq ft $120 – $285
Buffalo $40 – $50 500 sq ft $800 – $1,000
Centipede $6 – $10 2,000 sq ft $30 – $50
Fescue $3 – $8 200 sq ft $600 – $1,600
Kentucky Bluegrass $7 – $9 550 sq ft $117 – $180
Kentucky 31 $2 – $4 50 sq ft $276 – $515
Ryegrass $3 – $4 200 sq ft $364 – $550
Generic Sun & Shade Mix $2 – $2.70 200 sq ft $100 – $200

Note: Calculations use the lowest coverage estimate so that there will always be enough material to complete the project. For example, the coverage of one pound of Bahia is between 135 and 300 square feet.

The calculation above assumes the lower-end coverage of 135 square feet and not the higher end or somewhere in the middle.

Grass seed is available in several bag sizes, which allow you to purchase exactly the amount you need. Always ensure to buy a little more than you need to account for waste or areas that need more seed.

All pricing information on this page is based on average industry costs, and is subject to variance for project-specific materials, labor rates, and requirements.

References

  1. The Grounds Guys, Seed vs. Sod: Which One to Choose?, https://www.groundsguys.com/blog/2015/june/seed-vs-sod-which-one-to-choose-/
  2. Dr. Eric Watkins, Finding the right grass seed, https://turf.umn.edu/news/finding-right-grass-seed