Free, and nothing to sign up for
Hedge Trimming Cost Calculator
Length, height, and how long since the last cut. That is all it takes to get a costed range, built the way a contractor builds a quote.
How this works
Measure the hedge
Add up every run you want cut, and measure the height from wherever someone has to stand to reach the top.
Answer five questions
Condition, foliage, access and your local market. Each one changes what a contractor would charge, so each one changes your number.
Take it to a quote
Use the range to judge what you are offered. Get two written quotes before anyone starts work.
What hedge trimming actually costs
Ask three contractors what they charge and you will get three different answers, because almost nobody prices hedges by the foot. They price the time it will take, add the cost of getting rid of what they cut off, then add more if they need a ladder or a tower to reach the top.
That is why a flat "$4 per linear foot" figure is close to useless. A 40-foot privet hedge at chest height and a 40-foot leylandii at fifteen feet are the same length and nowhere near the same job. One is an afternoon. The other is two people, a tower hire, and a trailer full of clippings.
Typical prices for a maintained hedge
These are for hedges cut within the last year, at easy access, in an average suburban market. Anything neglected costs considerably more.
| Hedge | United States | United Kingdom | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 ft / 8 m, waist height | $150 – $220 | £110 – £160 | A$190 – A$270 |
| 50 ft / 15 m, head height | $260 – $380 | £190 – £270 | A$330 – A$470 |
| 100 ft / 30 m, head height | $430 – $620 | £300 – £430 | A$540 – A$780 |
| 100 ft / 30 m, ladder height | $640 – $920 | £440 – £630 | A$790 – A$1,140 |
| 100 ft / 30 m, needs a tower | $1,100 – $1,600 | £750 – £1,080 | A$1,350 – A$1,950 |
These come straight from the calculator above at its default settings. Change any input and the numbers move with it.
What moves the price
Time since the last cut
This is the one that catches people out. A hedge trimmed every year just needs the season's growth taken off, which is light work and not much volume. A hedge left for four years needs cutting back into wood that has hardened, and it produces roughly three times the waste. The same hedge can cost twice as much purely because it was left.
Height, and where the ladder line falls
Below about six feet a crew works from the ground and moves quickly. Between six and nine they are on steps or using a long-reach trimmer, which is slower and more tiring. Above nine feet you are into platforms and towers, and the equipment starts showing up as its own line on the invoice. If your hedge sits just over one of those thresholds, dropping it below the line during one cut will save you money on every cut after that.
What the hedge is made of
Leylandii, thuja and arborvitae are dense and fast growing, so there is more resistance to the blade, more clippings, and more visits needed. Privet and boxwood are quicker. Beech and hornbeam sit somewhere in between. On its own species is a small multiplier, but combined with height it adds up.
Getting to it, and getting the waste out
A hedge fronting the driveway is cheap to service. The same hedge at the bottom of a sloping back garden behind a narrow side gate means every tool and every bag of clippings gets carried by hand. Contractors price that in, and they are right to.
The single easiest saving
Ask whether green waste removal is included, and whether there is a discount for handling it yourself. Clippings are bulky and disposal is charged by volume, so on a big overgrown job the haulage can be a fifth of the total. If you have a green bin or somewhere to compost, that is money back for no real inconvenience.
Getting a quote you can trust
Use the range above as your reference point, then get at least two written quotes. A quote should spell out what is included: the cut itself, whether waste removal is in or out, whether access equipment is charged separately, and what happens if the job runs long.
Be wary of a price given over the phone by someone who has not seen the hedge. Nobody can judge height, density and access from a description, and a cheap phone quote that grows on the day is a very old story.
Other calculators
Shrub & bush trimming
Priced per shrub rather than per foot, for gardens with individual bushes to shape rather than one continuous run.
Open the calculator →Hedge & shrub removal
Taking one out costs far more than cutting it back. This prices the felling, the root work and the haulage separately.
Open the calculator →The full cost guide
Prices by species, by height reduction and by job type, plus what a fair quote should look like in writing.
Read the guide →Where these rates apply
Each market is priced on its own wage and disposal data rather than converted from US dollars. Pick a country to see the areas the figures cover.
Hedge trimming costs: your questions answered
How much does hedge trimming cost?
Most people pay $200 to $600 for a normal residential hedge, and the national average sits around $430. A short run of well-kept privet can come in under $200. A neglected leylandii boundary that needs a tower will pass $1,500 without much trouble. The calculator prices your hedge rather than handing you an average.
What makes one hedge cost more than another?
Mostly four things, in rough order of impact: how long since the last cut, how tall it is, how dense the foliage is, and how hard it is to get equipment to it. Height catches people out. Once a crew can no longer work from the ground, ladders or a tower go on the bill and the whole job slows down.
Is it cheaper to trim more often?
Per visit yes, and often per year too. A hedge cut twice a year never gets away from you, so each visit is quick and there is not much waste. Leave the same hedge three years and the crew is cutting into thick wood and hauling several times the clippings. Two visits at $280 often works out cheaper than one at $650.
Does the price include taking the clippings away?
Not always, and it is the most common reason a quote comes in higher than expected. Green waste is bulky, and tips charge by volume. Ask whether haulage is included before you agree a price. If you have a compost heap or a green bin, offering to deal with the waste yourself is an easy saving. Untick that box in the calculator to see how much.
How accurate is this calculator?
It gives you a planning range, not a quote. It prices the job the way a contractor does, on crew hours, waste volume, access equipment and local labour rates, rather than multiplying a flat rate by length. Treat the range as roughly what a fair quote should look like, then get it in writing. If every quote you get lands well outside it, that is worth asking about.
Do I need a professional, or can I do it myself?
If the hedge is below head height, you own a trimmer and you can reach all of it from the ground, do it yourself. The only real cost is your afternoon. Above that the sums change quickly. Working off a ladder with a powered blade is how people get badly hurt, and a day's tower hire often costs more than a crew would have charged for the whole job.