Prices and calculator
Sod Installation Cost in Toronto
These are the rates Right On Sod charges for lawns across the city, per square foot and per square metre, with the $1,750 minimum explained and a calculator that prices your own yard before anyone comes out.
Serving Toronto, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Pickering and Ajax
Quick answer
We charge $2.00–$2.50 per sq ft to lay new sod on bare ground and $3.00–$3.75 per sq ft to tear out a worn lawn and re-sod it, haul-away included. Rates are before 13% HST, and a Toronto job starts at $1,750.
Instant Sod Cost Calculator
Measuring Your Lawn Area
Run a tape along the length and the width of the area you want as lawn, in feet, and multiply the two. A backyard 30 ft deep and 20 ft wide comes to 600 sq ft. Break an L-shaped or curved yard into rectangles and add them together, and leave out the patio, deck, walkways and garden beds.
Prefer metres? Switch the calculator to m², or multiply square metres by 10.76 to get square feet. A rough figure is fine here: we measure again at the site inspection, and your written quote uses our numbers.
What Happens Next
Get your range
Choose installation or replacement, type in the size, tick grading if the yard is uneven, and the calculator shows a range with the minimum already applied.
Free site inspection
We call back within one business day to book a visit. In the yard we look at the grade, the soil, the old lawn, the way in and where a truck or bin can park.
Written quote
Your final price arrives in writing, with any extra grading or topsoil on its own line. Approve it and we book your install date.
Sod Prices in Toronto
| Service | Per sq ft | Per m² | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sod installation | $2.00–$2.50 | $21.53–$26.91 | Clearing, basic soil prep and levelling, fresh-cut sod laid and watered |
| Sod replacement | $3.00–$3.75 | $32.29–$40.36 | Includes cutting out the old lawn and taking it away, plus everything in installation |
| Grading add-on | About $1.00 | About $10.76 | A calculator guide; grading itself is quoted per yard at the visit |
Rates guide the estimate until the free site visit sets your final price. Jobs start at $1,750.
What Changes the Price
Lawn Size
Size moves the total the most, and it moves the rate too. Travel, parking, delivery and set-up cost about the same for a small front yard as for a big backyard, so a larger lawn spreads them over more square feet and lands near the low end of the range. At our rates, with no grading added, an installation under 700 sq ft or a replacement under about 465 sq ft comes in at the $1,750 minimum.
Removing the Old Lawn
Laying sod on cleared, bare ground is installation. When a lawn is still there, it becomes a replacement at $3.00–$3.75 per sq ft. That rate pays for cutting out the old turf and its roots, carting it away, then preparing the soil and laying the new rolls. A thick, matted lawn or one full of buried debris takes longer to strip than thin grass.
Grading and Soil
Basic prep and levelling are already in the installation rate. Deep low spots, humps or a yard that tips toward the house need proper grading first, which we price per yard after seeing it, and the calculator adds about $1.00 per sq ft as a stand-in. Thin or poor soil may need topsoil, which shows as a separate line on your quote.
Slopes and Awkward Shapes
A flat rectangle is the fastest lawn to lay. Steep banks, terraced levels, narrow side strips and long curves around beds all mean more cutting and fitting per square foot, which can move a quote toward the top of the range.
Shade and Mature Trees
Kentucky Bluegrass needs a fair amount of sun. Prep is slower around big roots, and under a dense canopy we will tell you plainly if a patch would do better as a bed than as lawn. Leaving it out takes those square feet off your price instead of paying for turf that will struggle.
Access, Parking and Permits
When a backyard has no side gate, every roll, every load of soil and all the old turf go in and out by wheelbarrow, so the job takes longer. Where the driveway has no room to spare, a bin or truck parked on the road can need a City permit. We check access, parking and permits at the site inspection, and any cost appears on the written quote.
Example Prices
Each figure comes straight from the rates above, before 13% HST. Your yard can fall anywhere inside its range.
- New sod on a 600 sq ft yard: the rates give $1,200 to $1,500, so the job is priced at the $1,750 minimum
- New sod on 1,000 sq ft of bare ground: $2,000 to $2,500
- The same 1,000 sq ft with grading added: $3,000 to $3,500
- Replacing a 1,000 sq ft lawn, old turf removed: $3,000 to $3,750
- Replacing a 1,500 sq ft lawn, old turf removed: $4,500 to $5,625
Sod Cost Questions
What is the cost of sod installation per square foot?
For new sod on bare ground our rate is $2.00–$2.50 per sq ft. Replacing a lawn, removal included, is $3.00–$3.75. Both are before HST. Bigger lawns sit nearer the low end. Published prices around the GTA vary widely, so when you compare quotes, check whether each one includes removal, haul-away, grading and HST, and whether it carries a minimum.
Why is the minimum job $1,750 in Toronto?
A small yard costs nearly as much to set up as a large one. Bringing a crew and a load of fresh sod across the city, finding legal parking, arranging a City permit when a bin or truck has to sit on the road, and wheeling everything to a backyard with no side gate all take time before the first roll goes down. A 400 sq ft front lawn replacement works out to $1,200 to $1,500 at our rates, so it is priced at the minimum.
Is HST included in your prices?
No. Every rate, range and minimum on this page is shown before the 13% HST, and so is the calculator. The tax is added on your written quote: a $1,750 job comes to $1,977.50 with HST, and a $3,000 job comes to $3,390.
What does the per-square-foot rate include?
The installation rate covers clearing the surface, basic soil prep and levelling, laying fresh-cut Kentucky Bluegrass from Ontario sod farms and giving it its first soak. Replacement adds stripping the old lawn and hauling it away. Extra grading and topsoil are not in the rate; they are listed separately on your written quote. Your new lawn also comes with our 14-Day Fresh-Cut Sod Guarantee.
Do tight access or street parking change the price?
They can. If the sod has to go in by wheelbarrow because there is no side gate, the work takes longer, and if a bin or truck has to stand on the street, the City may require a permit. We check both at your free site inspection and build them into the written quote, so they are already in the price you approve. Call (226) 213-5179 if you would like to talk it through first.
Get Your Exact Price
Get a range from the calculator in a minute, then book a free on-site visit. We call you back within one business day and confirm the final price in writing.