Lawn Care

Sunday Vs TruGreen: A Comparison Of Lawn Care Services

The market for DIY lawn care has really blossomed recently and one of the early innovators in that space was Sunday.

Boasting an organic array of lawn care products that don’t use any harsh or harmful chemicals, Sunday also promises homeowners the prospect of saving hundreds of dollars over traditional lawn care services.

But can a DIY lawn care service really stack up to a full-service company like TruGreen?

In this comparison, we’ll look at both companies and see how they stack up against each other. We’ll also look at the pros and cons of each so you can decide on which option may be best for your lawn and your budget.

Overview Of Sunday

Sunday is a fully DIY lawn care service. That means you’ll be doing all the work when it comes to applying whichever lawn care products you either choose or Sunday recommends.

The process of getting started is relatively straightforward with Sunday and no real lawn care knowledge is needed. That’s one of the main selling points of Sunday. Despite being a DIY service, you don’t need to know much about lawn care at all to get started. It’s a lawn care subscription service, which means they mail you what you need for your lawn when it needs it. Sunday takes the confusion and hassle out of the DIY lawn care process.

When signing up for the service, you will answer a short questionnaire about your lawn and goals for your lawn.  Sunday has a database of customers all around the country so they have a pretty good idea of the type of soil in your area.

However, they do send out a soil kit so you can grab a sample and return it to Sunday to analyze. They then use this analysis to further customize your specific lawn care products and regimen.

We have heard some complaints from customers that the soil test kit was sent out after the first batch of lawn care products had already been sent.

This isn’t to be confused with the “starter kit” they sent out which includes some basic nutrient treatments along with the test kit.

We didn’t experience this specific issue but it seems to be a logistical issue with how Sunday was mailing the test kits out. If you don’t receive your test kit in the time frame they mention, make sure to reach out to customer support before any custom products are sent.

After that, there isn’t much else to the sign-up process. Once the above steps are complete, you get your first batch of products along with instructions to begin applying them to your lawn.

TruGreen Overview

TruGreen is a full-service lawn care company that sends a qualified team member to your house to do an analysis and consultation.

You can also take a short quiz on their website when requesting a visit. This can help the professional they send have a better understanding of what your lawn may need before even showing up.

Unlike a DIY service, the big difference here is that you have very little to do after the initial consultation. From that point on, your work is done and TruGreen will simply arrive when needed and perform the services you requested.

Of course, this comes with a higher price, which we’ll discuss next.

Sunday vs TruGreen Pricing

Pricing is a big issue between these two services so that will generally be what people will be concerned with first.

Sunday Pricing

Sunday uses a much simpler pricing plan but there are few overall options. Their basic plans can be as low as $89 but for a more realistic price, we looked at the costs of their plan for a roughly 6,000-square-foot lawn.

Below is a sample of what comes with each plan. The individual products use catchy names and are fairly self explanatory.

Basic Plan – $259 (full season)

2 Shipments

Products Included:

  • Lawn Strong
  • Application tools
  • Soil test kit
  • Water focus
  • Grass powerhouse
  • Green Out
  • Active Lawn

Keep and Protect Plan  – $291 (full season)

Includes everything in basic plus:

  • Motorized applicator
  • Dandelion Doom
  • Sunday Herbicide pouch

Grow and Renew – $331 (full season)

Includes everything above plus:

  • Lawn Kickstart

Lawn and Paws (for pet owners) – $351 (full season)

Includes everything above plus:

  • Pet Patch

Of course, these plans will differ slightly based on your lawn and how you answer the initial quiz. It’s also important to note you can add any product to any plan a la carte and essentially build your own plan.

TruGreen Plans

TruGreen plans aren’t so much about the individual products used and instead focus on the service offered. They offer 3 main plans.

TruHealth Plan

Includes:

  • Weed control
  • Fertilization
  • Custom lawn treatments

TruComplete

  • All of the above plus aeration and overseeding

TruSignature

  • Includes all of the above plus tree and shrub care

TruGreen is a custom service so the prices are not as transparent as Sunday. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing or an example of them hiding anything, it’s simply a more customized service that requires an on-site consultation before customers can receive a final quote.

However, pricing for a lawn similar to the previous example of 6,000 square feet is estimated to cost between $400 for basic services and up to $1500 per year if you choose every service offered.

Extra services above their regular plans are flea and tick control along with a separate mosquito treatment. Each of these costs roughly $400 each if added to any plan. Once again, prices reflect a lawn size of approximately 6,000 square feet.

Trugreen often has discounts running and they usually include half off your first treatment and up to $50 cash back if you prepay. Other seasonal and local promotions may be available as well.

If you’re considering TruGreen, make sure to always look for these promotions as they can offer considerable savings.

Sunday vs TruGreen Products

The big difference here is that TruGreen uses conventional (non-organic) treatments and Sunday offers all organic versions.

Sunday’s organic options do limit what they can do. For example, Sunday offers no pest control solutions at all. Trugreen does offer mosquito and flea and tick control. Both are popular and both work well, but they are not organic.

Weed control is another area where we found big differences. For example, Sunday’s Dandelion Doom product is their broadleaf herbicide alternative. This iron-based weed killer is only for pre-emergent use and has little effect on dandelions already showing.

Trugreen on the other hand does offer weed control for both pre-emergent as well as weeds that are already showing.

So if you already have a weed problem, you will need to treat these with some other option if you go with Sunday.

As for effectiveness, both systems work equally well when paired with the correct soil and grass.

For example, we spoke with a homeowner who used Sunday’s service and he was aware that his soil was low in potassium. The Sunday soil test kit picked this up and his treatments from that point on had extra potassium to address the issue.

Of course, if there is a unique issue with your soil or you have a specific problem, Sunday may not be customizable enough to fully solve that problem.

We found that Sunday works best for moderate to good lawns that just need standard treatments. When used for that, their products are solid and work well to deliver results similar to other store bought treatments.

The main benefit of Sunday in this case is they do most of the analysis for you and there is no need to go to your local home improvement store and browse the myriad of treatments trying to guess which may be best for your lawn.

Sunday vs TruGreen: Pros And Cons

Sunday Pros

  • Very affordable options with a low entry point and the ability to customize as needed with a la carte options.
  • Completely organic options that are pet and child safe. There is no need to wait after treatments before allowing pets on the lawn.
  • No knowledge of lawn care is needed. Items are delivered shortly before they are to be applied and instructions for applications with a standard garden hose are very easy to follow.

Sunday Cons

  • Limited treatment options which mean no pest control and limited weed control.
  • You have to do all the applications yourself.
  • You’ll need to store the items after they are delivered until they are ready to be used.
  • Products may not be effective enough for seriously troubled lawns or soil.

Trugreen Pros

  • Localized service that knows your area including the soil type and seasonal needs of the grass.
  • After the initial consultation, TruGreen does all the work and you don’t need to worry about it again.
  • Highly effective pest and weed control treatments.
  • Tree and shrub care. Sunday has no options for this service.

Trugreen Cons

  • Higher prices. Almost 4X the price if you include all services. Basic packages are about double that of Sunday’s basic package.
  • Non-organic. Many treatments have required waiting periods before pets or children can use the lawn.
  • Less transparent pricing. You will need to have a consultant come to your home. Some may feel uncomfortable with this process.

Sunday vs Trugreen: Conclusion

Based on our own experience with both services as well as talking to real customers, both lawn care companies are a solid choice for those who want a customized solution for dealing with lawn treatments.

Sunday is a great choice for those who want the ultimate environmental safety when treating their lawns due to the organic nature of their products. This may be a very important selling point for those with small children or pets. Their products do work well, but as mentioned, there are limits to what problems they can solve.

TruGreen on the other hand is definitely more expensive. But you do get a wider variety of solutions and the service is better suited for problem lawns with serious pest or weed issues.

Overall, these two services are aimed at different consumers and situations, which makes deciding between them a lot easier. As long as you match your lawn and needs with the correct service, you should have good results with both solutions.

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