SALT LAKE CITY - A new lawn care app is just making its way to Utah, but it's entering into a crowded field.
GreenPal is the latest to join the pack. The other available lawn care apps include TaskEasy, TruGreen, and LawnStarter.
Gene Caballero, the Co-Founder of GreenPal says, "It’s an $8 billion industry, landscaping is, so I think the need is more than it’s ever been for somebody else to do it."
The increase in lawn care apps could arguably be a sign of the times as more people take to apps to get things done whether it's renting a ride, ordering food, or getting a handyman for the afternoon.
Karl Sowa, the Chief Operating Officer & Chief Marketing Officer at TaskEasy says, “It’s just the convenience of being able to enter an address and press a button.”
Caballero says, “People are busier and you know it’s just kind of one of those things that you can outsource as a homeowner and not have to worry about it.”
Here's how the apps work and differ from one another.
TaskEasy starts by having you enter your address and then it pulls up a picture of your house and has you scribble which areas you would like to have mowed. It then shows you how much it will cost for that area.
The average cost for a standard home yard is about $40 weekly and $46 for every other week. You can also choose between a budget and a premium plan. The budget plan includes mowing, trimming, and blowing while premium includes edging and flowerbed maintenance.
Like TaskEasy, GreenPal has you start by putting in your address and the kind of service you want. Then things get a little different. You get bids from independent contractors that you can choose from.
Once you pick someone, they come and mow your lawn and send you pictures when the work is done. This lets you look over the final product even when you're away from home.
Bids for a standard home yard range from $28 for a one time mow all the way up to $72 for a weekly service, so it helps to shop around.
Unlike the previous two apps, LawnStarter uses your address alone to generate three prices automatically. You can choose between weekly, bi-weekly and a custom one-time mowing quote. For a standard home yard, the weekly service costs $38 on average and about $41 for the bi-weekly service.
Finally, there's TruGreen. Their app starts by asking you to click a bunch of boxes about what needs to be addressed. Examples include weeds, brown or bare spots, lawn pests, and sprinklers.
Prices vary a lot on this app due to its bigger focus on improving lawn health over a longer period of time. It gives you quotes for six treatments spread over several weeks, meaning more money out of pocket at once.
Some of these apps aren't just for summer either. GreenPal and Task Easy both offer a snow removal service in the winter.
