Turf vs. sod: ten-year cost calculator
Enter your lawn's size and what you pay now for mowing, water and treatments. The calculator totals ten years of natural grass, including one re-sod, against ten years of artificial turf at the installed price you choose, and tells you the year turf catches up. With typical Central Florida bills that's between year five and eight.
Reviewed by Luis Austin, owner · Last reviewed September 21, 2026
Compare ten years of turf and grass with your own numbers
The math is deliberately simple. Turf: area times your installed price, plus yearly upkeep of 30 cents a square foot with a $150 floor for brushing, infill and deodorizer. Grass: sod at $1.50 a square foot, your monthly mowing and water bills, your yearly treatment cost, and one re-sod in year six, which is about how long St. Augustine lasts in a yard with chinch bugs or shade. No inflation, no financing, no resale value.
How to read the result
If you mow your own lawn and water from a well, enter zeros and grass will win for decades; that's the honest answer. If you pay a service and irrigate from Toho or OUC water, the lines usually cross between year five and year eight, which matches published ten-year models. The cost guide has the table version, and this article walks through it year by year.