Comparison
In-house grounds crew vs. a landscape contractor
Updated · Glossary
Most commercial properties in Dallas–Fort Worth are better off with a landscape contractor. An in-house crew can make sense on a large campus with steady daily needs, if someone on staff already manages people, equipment and licenses. For an HOA, an office park, a retail center or a church, a contractor usually costs less once you count everything an in-house crew needs.
What you take on with your own crew
Wages are the obvious part. What surprises owners is the rest:
- Mowers, trimmers, blowers, trailers and a truck, and fixing or replacing them
- Workers’ comp, liability insurance and payroll
- Hiring, training, and covering for whoever quits in May
- Licensing. In Texas, applying weed and fire ant products on someone else’s property for pay takes a license from the Texas Department of Agriculture, and irrigation repair takes a TCEQ Licensed Irrigator.
- Spring cleanup, seasonal color and summer mowing all hit at once, and a small crew falls behind
What a contractor gets you
A contractor spreads equipment, licenses and crew across a lot of properties, so you pay for a share of it instead of all of it. You also get people who do this every day. The irrigation tech has worked on your kind of system many times. The applicator knows when fire ant bait works and when rain will wash it out.
What you give up is control, since the crew isn’t standing by on site all day. A good contractor makes up for it with one account manager you can reach directly and same-day response when something comes up.
| In-house crew | Landscape contractor | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Equipment, vehicles, storage | None |
| Labor | Your payroll, your turnover | Contractor’s crew |
| Licenses | You hire or train licensed staff | Contractor holds them |
| Peak season | Hard to staff up | Contractor adds crew |
| Control | Full, on site daily | Through one account manager |
| Pricing | Ongoing costs, hard to predict | Fixed contract, line-item extras |
| Best fit | Large campus with daily needs | Most HOAs, offices, retail, churches |
When to keep it in-house
If the property needs people on site every day for more than landscaping, like facility upkeep, setups and teardown, or event support. Large university and hospital campuses often fall here.
Some owners split it. They keep a small in-house team for daily litter and porter work and hire a contractor for mowing, irrigation, chemicals and color.
Common questions
Is a landscape contractor cheaper than an in-house crew?
For most commercial properties, yes, once you count equipment, insurance, licensing and turnover. An in-house crew only wins on cost when the property is big enough to keep a full crew busy every day.
Can we keep a porter on staff and contract the rest?
Yes, and that split works well. Your porter handles daily litter and quick fixes, and the contractor handles mowing, beds, irrigation, chemicals and seasonal color.
What licenses should a landscape contractor have in Texas?
A TCEQ Licensed Irrigator for irrigation work and a Texas Department of Agriculture licensed applicator for weed, fertilizer and fire ant treatments. Sage and Stone Landscapes has both on staff, plus an ISA Certified Arborist.
If you’re weighing it, request a proposal. We’ll walk the property and send a line-item price you can set next to your in-house costs. Here’s what our maintenance division covers.