Lawn care: start-from-scratch ~$22,000 in 3 months vs buy existing at 2.2× SDE (~$193,600). 5-yr survival rate: 60%.
~$22,000 · 3 mo build
2.2× SDE · ~$193,600
Fee $30,000 + 5% royalty
S&P 500 instead
Here's what the math looks like for Lawn care as of 2026-05-25. The cheapest of the 4 options we compared is Stay employed, invest the $ at roughly $0/mo all-in, and the priciest is Buy existing at $3,227/mo. That's a monthly spread of $3,227 — money that compounds fast when you're talking five-year and ten-year horizons.
Where it gets interesting is the wealth side. Over five years, Start from scratch builds the most net worth ($242,000) thanks to a mix of equity, appreciation, and avoided sunk cost. The worst-performing path leaves you about $231,675 behind it. That gap is why "which is cheaper this month" is the wrong question. The right one is "which path puts me ahead five years out, given my actual industry and my own risk tolerance?"
Below we walk through each option with the local numbers we pulled for Lawn care, then three plug-and-play scenarios you can run before you commit to anything.
Every industry we publish gets its own data sheet because the answer genuinely changes by location. For Lawn care, the specifics that move the needle are: Startup cost $22,000, Median revenue $285,000/yr, Median SDE $88,000/yr, Acquisition multiple 2.2× SDE, 5-yr survival rate 60%. A national-average calculator that ignores those inputs will lie to you about Lawn care specifically — sometimes by tens of thousands of dollars over a five-year window.
That's why this page isn't a wrapper around a generic spreadsheet. The four (or five) option columns above are running on Lawn care's actual property tax rate, transit fare, median rent — whatever applies to this hub. If something looks off versus what you're seeing on the ground, that's useful signal: scroll to the methodology section, check our sources, and tell us what we missed. We update these numbers on a published cadence and credit the contributors who spot drift.
Start from scratch — ~$22,000 · 3 mo build. Roughly $1,833/mo all-in with $22,000 upfront. After five years our model projects a net-worth delta of $242,000 versus a do-nothing baseline. Where it wins: 100% equity, no debt; Build exactly what you want; Lower upfront cash than acquisition. Where it bites: 3-month ramp before revenue; Only ~60% of new lawn cares survive 5 yrs; Brand-zero from day 1.
Buy existing — 2.2× SDE · ~$193,600. Roughly $3,227/mo all-in with $48,400 upfront. After five years our model projects a net-worth delta of $202,400 versus a do-nothing baseline. Where it wins: Day-1 revenue + customers; ~$88,000/yr cash flow from month 1; SBA 7(a) loan eligible (10% down). Where it bites: Need ~$48,400 down; Inherit owner's bad habits; Hidden liabilities surface post-close.
Buy a franchise — Fee $30,000 + 5% royalty. Roughly $757/mo all-in with $45,400 upfront. After five years our model projects a net-worth delta of $216,400 versus a do-nothing baseline. Where it wins: Proven playbook; Brand + marketing included; Higher survival rate than scratch. Where it bites: 5% royalty forever; Strict operational rules; Hard to sell at premium later.
Stay employed, invest the $ — S&P 500 instead. Roughly $0/mo all-in with $0 upfront. After five years our model projects a net-worth delta of $10,325 versus a do-nothing baseline. Where it wins: Zero operating risk; Liquid + diversified; Free evenings + weekends. Where it bites: No equity upside in own business; Cap on income at salary; No tax shelter from depreciation.
Conservative — assume things go sideways. Use the lower end of every input. Income flat for five years, no appreciation, maintenance comes in 30% over your initial estimate, and you stay put the full term. In this scenario the option with the lowest *combined* monthly + opportunity cost usually wins, even if it's not the headline-cheapest one. For Lawn care, that's typically Stay employed, invest the $ — but only if the five-year net-worth delta is within $57,919 of the leader; otherwise the equity gap closes the case.
Typical — assume the base rate. Plug in the median figures shown on this page. This is what a representative household in Lawn care actually experiences, not a best-case projection. We bias these inputs slightly conservative on appreciation and slightly aggressive on maintenance because that's where most calculators fail people in practice.
Ambitious — assume things break your way. Raise your income trajectory, drop your move-out horizon to three years, and let appreciation run at the upper end of Lawn care's historical band. In this case the equity-building options (typically Start from scratch) pull ahead hard — often by enough that the higher monthly carry pays for itself before year four. The watch-out: ambitious scenarios assume you actually execute. If you're not sure you'll stay, the conservative path is the honest pick.
- Lawn care survival rates are sobering: only ~60% of new entrants make it 5 years. Buying an existing one with 3+ years of clean books survives at 80%+ — survivorship bias works in your favor.
- 2.2× SDE is the BizBuySell 2024 median for lawn care; deals below that multiple usually have hidden problems (lease expiring, key employee leaving, owner-customer dependency).
- SBA 7(a) financing for an acquisition lets you put down ~10% on up to $5M. Without it, you'd need ~25–30% down — the financing structure often determines whether buy-vs-start makes sense.
- Franchise royalties (5% of revenue) are an ongoing tax on growth. A $1M lawn care pays $50,000/yr in royalties forever. Bake that into your 10-yr comparison.
None of these are unique to Lawn care alone, but they hit harder here than the national average because of the specific cost structure we documented above. The save-scenario feature on this page is built precisely so you can capture a "before I forget" snapshot of your numbers and compare against your real bank-statement reality six months later.
Acquisition multiples = BizBuySell Q4 2024 + IBBA Market Pulse 2024 medians by industry. Startup costs = Guidant 2024 + ProfitableVenture composite. SDE (Seller's Discretionary Earnings) = the cash a single owner-operator pulls. 5-yr survival rates = SBA Office of Advocacy data by industry. Net worth math = (SDE × 5 × survival rate) − total cost; the invest-instead option uses 8%/yr S&P 500 historical real return.
Specifically for Lawn care, the inputs above come from: BizBuySell Insight Report, Q4 2024; International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) Market Pulse 2024; SBA Office of Advocacy, Small Business Profile 2024; Guidant Financial 2024 Small Business Trends Report; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics. Where two reputable sources disagreed we used the more recent figure and noted the prior value in our changelog. We don't accept paid placements on these pages — affiliate disclosure lives on the editorial-policy page in the footer.
Last reviewed 2026-05-25. If you spot a number that's drifted, the "Email me this result" button on each option sends us a copy along with whatever you flagged.
Save these inputs as a named scenario, or copy a prefilled link to share the exact setup.
Starting from scratch costs ~$22,000 upfront but you wait 3 months for revenue. Buying an existing lawn care averages ~$193,600 (2.2× SDE) but produces ~$88,000/yr from day one. On 5-year net worth, starting wins for the few who survive (~60%).
BizBuySell + IBBA 2024 median for lawn care sits around 2.2× SDE on profitable businesses. Quality businesses (multi-location, owner-independent operations, recurring revenue) trade 30–50% higher; deals at significant discounts usually have lease, staffing, or customer-concentration issues.
Yes — SBA 7(a) is the dominant lawn care acquisition tool. ~10% down (vs 25% conventional), up to $5M, 10-yr amortization. The seller often carries 5–10% as a note bridging your down payment. Pre-qualify with your lender BEFORE you start looking at deals.
lawn care franchises survive 5 years at roughly 75–85% vs 60% for independents — meaningful safety premium. The cost: $30,000 upfront fee + 5% royalty + 1–3% marketing fund forever. Net of royalties, franchisee take-home is typically 15–25% lower than equivalent independent operators.
Putting $22,000 in the S&P 500 at 8%/yr grows to ~$32,325 over 5 years — zero operating effort. Owning a lawn care only wins financially if you build something with equity value beyond cash flow, which most operators don't. The non-financial reasons (autonomy, building, legacy) are real but separate.