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Achieving a healthy and lush green lawn is a dream for many homeowners, but for some, it’s not so easy to keep it that way. Between knowing when to fertilize and troubleshooting problems, lawn care can be challenging. Both Sunday and TruGreen are known among the best lawn care services out there, but how does Sunday Lawn Care vs. TruGreen really compare?
The truth is, both TruGreen and Sunday offer customers low-stress options to keep their lawns healthy. But ultimately, TruGreen and Sunday are fulfilling two different customer needs. TruGreen is a great choice for customers who want to be more hands-off with their lawn care by hiring a team of professional lawn care technicians to do the heavy lifting for them. Sunday is ideal for those who prefer to be more hands-on and want the satisfaction of having achieved their lawn dreams without any professional help. Below, we’ll dive into more details on the strengths of each company and what each offers.
- Read our Sunday Lawn Care review to learn more about custom lawn care plans.
- Read our TruGreen review to learn more about TruGreen’s services and plans.
How We Compared Lawn Care Services
We looked at common factors across both companies that can be compared side by side to determine whether TruGreen vs. Sunday is the best option for home lawn care. Those considerations included factors such as pricing, ease of signing up, and treatment plans.
- Availability: Who are the lawn care services and products available to? Are they location-specific or nationwide? Knowing the answers to how customers can engage the lawn care services available to them is necessary anytime, but especially when comparing two similar services.
- Product and service offerings: Some lawn care services provide technicians to perform all services, while others offer a more DIY approach, delivering products to the customer’s doorstep. Potential customers will want to know just what the company is selling before they commit to buying.
- Sign-up process: Busy homeowners will want to know how they actually get the chosen lawn care service or product, including what the sign-up process entails and how much time that process takes.
- Treatment plans: Lawn care services can run the gamut from full-scale—including weeding, fertilizing, and even shrub care—to simple DIY applications. Having a personalized treatment plan specific to the turf, climate, and level of expertise the homeowner may (or may not) possess are all key factors in choosing a lawn care service.
- Pricing: Before choosing a lawn care plan, customers will want a comprehensive breakdown of costs. This should include the price of individual products, fees, and discounts for long-term agreements.
- Guarantees: Spending hard-earned money is a means to an end, but every customer should know what assurances a company makes to guarantee its services and customer satisfaction.
- Customer reviews: Getting feedback from real-world users of the product or services will help provide potential customers with relatable, honest feedback about the pros and cons of any given product.
1. Availability
Sunday Lawn Care offers a virtual online lawn care plan that utilizes its own lawn care products. These products, such as fertilizer and grass seed, can be shipped to all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C., making Sunday lawn treatment widely available to U.S. customers. Customers apply the product themselves.
Because TruGreen creates a plan and then dispatches lawn care technicians to implement it, the availability can be more limited. Currently, TruGreen offers services in 48 states, but they are not necessarily available throughout every part of those states, so interested customers will need to make sure the lawn care service is available to them.
Verdict: TruGreen is available in 48 states and Washington, D.C., but some customers may not fall within a TruGreen branch’s service area. Sunday ships its products everywhere in the contiguous United States, Alaska, and Hawaii, meaning any customer can access Sunday’s product lineup.
Winner: Sunday Lawn Care
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2. Product and Service Offerings
Sunday Lawn Care uses analytics, past weather patterns, and customer input, including location, to run a virtual diagnostic assessment of a customer’s lawn. The plan will include everything the customer needs for lawn care, and it’s shipped directly to their door and timed for application. This includes nutrient pouches, hose-end applicator tips and a soil test kit. Any products recommended in the plan can also be purchased as stand-alone options, and there’s no requirement for an ongoing commitment. Sunday Lawn Care also offers live plants, grass seed, bulbs, and gardening tools for individual purchase. Some customers might wonder, “Does Sunday Lawn Care kill weeds?” If weeds are a particular concern, Sunday has products designed to tackle them.
TruGreen starts with a quote process, which allows customers to specify any concerns or specific requirements. TruGreen will then serve up a selection of plans designed to achieve optimal lawn health and address any outstanding issues the customer has noted. Once customers subscribe to a plan, they can schedule a time for their lawn care professional to visit. Lawn care professionals also offer advice for continued lawn health in between visits. A common query is, “Does TruGreen mow lawns?” TruGreen doesn’t provide lawn mowing services, so that’s something customers will have to do themselves or hire another service to take care of.
Verdict: Sunday Lawn Care and TruGreen both promise to improve the look and health of a lawn. Sunday is a DIY option for those who want to tackle lawn care on their own, while TruGreen is better suited to those who prefer to trust a professional and hire out.
Winner: Tie
3. Sign-Up Process
TruGreen’s sign-up process does not require potential customers to create an account before learning about the plan options. Customers can get project quotes by inputting property details and contact information into the company’s online quote tool. Then TruGreen’s property measurement tool shows a satellite image of the property. Customers draw a perimeter around the area of the lawn they want treated with an easy-to-use method to click and set boundaries. There is a tutorial for anyone who needs extra guidance. Once this is done, TruGreen can estimate the area and devise a treatment plan. At this point, customers receive pricing options.
Similarly, Sunday uses satellite images. Customers answer a few questions about the state of their lawn, enter their address, and are served satellite imagery of their home. While customers don’t need to draw boundaries, they do need to estimate the number of square feet of lawn they have. Sunday provides estimated square footage to help customers determine how big their lawn is. At this stage, customers will need to create an account to see the custom lawn plan.
Verdict: For both Sunday and TruGreen, customers will need to enter their location on each company’s website and create an account in order to book services. The sign-up process for both companies is relatively straightforward and frictionless.
Winner: Tie
4. Treatment Plans
Once the virtual diagnostic has been run, Sunday’s lawn care plans are created to address all of a customer’s concerns. Once the customer has entered their address and any problems they may have, such as pet stains or a heat-stressed lawn, they are served a custom lawn care plan to help resolve any issues. Sunday then recommends the right kind of seed and a recommended quantity. Sunday subscriptions include seasonal boxes that contain the necessary nutrients and lawn care products; these are delivered during the optimal window for application each season (spring, summer, and fall).
TruGreen customers can schedule their first visit from a lawn care professional after choosing a plan. A technician will then visit regularly, every 4 to 6 weeks, and perform agreed-upon services such as fertilizing and treating for fungus or other lawn diseases. Additionally, TruGreen lawn care specialists will offer customers tips for keeping the lawn healthy in between visits. TruGreen’s plans are annual, although customers can purchase one-off services like mosquito treatment or shrub care.
TruGreen has three treatment plans to choose from:
- TruHealth: Weed control, fertilization, tailored lawn treatment
- TruComplete: Everything in TruHealth plan plus aeration and overseeding
- TruSignature: Everything in TruComplete plan plus tree and shrub care
Verdict: Sunday and TruGreen customize plans based on a lawn’s individual needs and regional attributes. Sunday’s lawn assessment is done mostly online with information from the customer and public information about the soil type and climate, along with a soil test. For customers who choose TruGreen, a lawn specialist will perform the lawn assessment in person and can suggest one of three maintenance plans.
Winner: Tie
5. Pricing
In general, lawn care costs nationwide can vary wildly, depending on the size of the lawn, the season, and what the lawn requires. With both Sunday and TruGreen, pricing can also vary depending on the plan a customer selects. How much does Sunday Lawn Care cost? Sunday Lawn Care costs start at $119 per year, and products are delivered when the customer needs them, according to the plan they choose. Although there are both pay-in-full and “pay as you grow” options, the pricing is the same. The primary difference for customers is being billed when each box ships versus paying the entire annual bill up front.
TruGreen offers two pricing options for customers: a prepay option where customers receive a discount for purchasing a year of service up front and a pay-by-service option. The services that TruGreen provides are priced between $464.77 and $1,049.45 per year. The higher TruGreen lawn care cost plans include an additional product application (seven instead of six). Customers wondering, “Is TruGreen worth the cost?” will want to keep in mind that all applications are done by technicians instead of the homeowner.
Verdict: TruGreen’s services are priced higher than Sunday’s since a professional is coming to a customer’s property to treat the lawn. Sunday is a DIY product and therefore typically more affordable than TruGreen, but the customers do all of the work themselves.
Winner: Sunday Lawn Care
6. Guarantees
The most pressing questions many customers have when considering one of these lawn care programs are, “Does TruGreen work?” and “Does Sunday Lawn Care work?” Sunday guarantees that it can improve lawn health, and it stands behind its products. If a customer is unhappy with the products or does not achieve positive results, they can contact Sunday’s customer service for a replacement product or advice on how to resolve the issue. However, there is no specific course of action to resolve problems a customer may experience, and it is up to the customer to reach out. The company does have responsive customer service that is available 7 days a week during business hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. MST) and within 24 hours outside of business hours. There is also an extensive online resource section full of tips and tricks to maintain a healthy lawn.
TruGreen offers a Healthy Lawn Guarantee that pledges TruGreen will visit the customer in between regular visits to rectify any issues. This guarantee applies to customers on lawn care plans, tree and shrub plans, perimeter pest plans, and TruShield plans. TruGreen also offers mosquito-control plans guaranteeing mosquito control within 24 hours and up to 30 days after each treatment. Like Sunday, TruGreen makes an online library of resources available to help anyone (not just customers) with lawn care questions; those who are interested simply need to enter their ZIP code to zero in on the specific growing climate and common problems.
Verdict: Sunday has a somewhat nebulous guarantee—customers can reach out to their team of advisors with any questions or issues, but there’s no confirmed course of action to remedy any customer problems. For those signed up for an ongoing plan, TruGreen offers a guarantee that a lawn specialist will return whenever needed to ensure customer satisfaction.
Winner: TruGreen
7. Customer Reviews
Customer reviews can sometimes be a deciding factor when a shopper is on the fence about a lawn care service. In more detailed reviews of TruGreen, the pros often outweigh the cons for those who are looking for a low-maintenance, relatively affordable option. It’s notable that there are a number of negative TruGreen lawn care reviews online, and customers claim that their lawns didn’t show significant improvement and that company representatives pushed for continued or higher-tier services. However, it’s important for customers to assess these negative reviews with a critical eye: customers with negative experiences are typically more likely to express their opinions. Finally, TruGreen operates via different branches and some independently-owned franchise locations, which can affect the quality of the service. When evaluating TruGreen as a service, it would be key for a customer to consider the customer reviews for the branch closest to them.
Overall, Sunday Lawn Care reviews seem to be more favorable, although because it’s a relatively new company, fewer actual reviews are available. For example, Sunday gets an average score of 3.7 stars out of 5 on Trustpilot, but there is only one review. TruGreen receives lower marks: 1.6 out of 5, but there are over 5,000 reviews. Sunday and TruGreen both have positive reviews on their respective websites; however, it’s possible that the sites display more of the 4- and 5-star reviews than a third-party site might.
Verdict: Sunday Lawn Care has few online reviews, but they’re positive on the whole, complimenting the product results and ease of the service. Conversely, TruGreen has mixed online reviews, with some leaning negative and citing poor results and pushy customer service.
Winner: Sunday Lawn Care
DIY Lawn Care. Simplified.
Bob Vila has partnered with Sunday to get your lawn exactly what it needs to thrive.
Free Lawn Analysis
Our Verdict
For those looking to DIY their lawn care but who might not know the best treatment plan, Sunday lawn care is an excellent choice. The company delivers a fully customized lawn care regimen directly to the customer’s door. TruGreen, with its comprehensive treatment and maintenance plans, is a top choice among professional services for those who want a great-looking lawn but don’t have the time to manage it.
The choice really comes down to how involved in the routine care and maintenance of a lawn the customer wants to be. If the customer wants to just mow and go and leave the timing, troubleshooting, and treatment to the pros, then TruGreen is worth it. If homeowners want to get involved in the potential repair and routine care of turf, Sunday makes it as easy as possible, taking a lot of the guesswork out of the process. Regardless of the service, just don’t forget to water!
- Want to do it yourself? Check out Sunday’s custom lawn plans, live plants, pest control plans, and more.
- Thinking about hiring a pro? Check out what TruGreen can do for you.
