How Much Does Core Aeration Cost?
Most companies will not put a number on a web page. We will, because the arithmetic is not complicated and you should be able to work out roughly what your lawn will cost before you pick up the phone.
Our Pricing
- Core aeration: roughly $13 per 1,000 square feet of lawn.
- Core aeration with overseeding: roughly $33 per 1,000 square feet — this includes the aeration and the seed.
- $60 minimum on either service.
Those are starting figures rather than a fixed quote. Access, slope, obstacles and lawn condition can move them, and we confirm the number once we have looked at the property. But for the great majority of lawns, that arithmetic is what you will pay.
Note that pricing is based on turf area, not lot size. A quarter-acre lot with a house, driveway, patio and planting beds on it might have only five or six thousand square feet of actual mown grass.
What That Works Out To
| Lawn area | Aeration | Aeration + overseeding |
|---|---|---|
| 2,000 sq ft | $60 (minimum) | $66 |
| 3,000 sq ft | $60 (minimum) | $99 |
| 5,000 sq ft | $65 | $165 |
| 7,500 sq ft | $98 | $248 |
| 10,000 sq ft | $130 | $330 |
| 15,000 sq ft | $195 | $495 |
| 20,000 sq ft (about half an acre) | $260 | $660 |
| 43,560 sq ft (one acre) | $566 | $1,437 |
The $60 minimum only binds on small lawns. For aeration alone it applies to anything under roughly 4,600 square feet, because the drive time, trailer and setup cost much the same whether the lawn is 2,000 square feet or 5,000.
Estimate your lawn
Not sure? Estimate it from length and width
Pace out each grass area — an adult stride is close to 3 feet. Enter feet below and we will add it in.
This is an estimate, not a quote. It uses roughly $13 per 1,000 sq ft for core aeration and $33 per 1,000 sq ft with overseeding, subject to a $60 minimum. Access, slope, obstacles and lawn condition can change the figure, so a member of our team will always confirm your price before any work is scheduled.
Request your free quote or call 937-304-1888
How to Measure Your Lawn
You do not need to be precise. Within a thousand square feet is close enough to know which bracket you are in.
- Pace it out. A normal adult stride is close to three feet. Walk the length and width of each grass area, multiply strides by three, then multiply the two figures together.
- Or use a satellite map. Google Maps has a measuring tool — right-click and choose “Measure distance.” County auditor sites for Montgomery, Greene and Miami counties also publish parcel measurements.
- Subtract the hard surfaces. House footprint, driveway, patio, deck, beds, pool. Only mown grass counts.
- Add the areas together if front, back and side are separate.
For reference, a typical suburban lot in Kettering or Centerville tends to land somewhere around 5,000 to 8,000 square feet of actual turf.
Is Overseeding Worth the Extra?
Overseeding roughly triples the price, and the honest answer is that it depends on your lawn rather than your budget.
Aeration alone is the right call when the lawn is already thick and evenly covered but the soil is hard, water runs off, and growth has slowed. You do not need more grass plants — you need the ones you have to breathe.
Aeration with overseeding is the right call when the lawn is thinning, patchy, worn along walkways, or full of older grass that struggles every August. That is most of the lawns we look at, and it is the combination that visibly changes a lawn in a single season.
The difference in price is largely seed, which is a genuine material cost. Good seed is not cheap and cheap seed is not good — see best grass seed for overseeding in Ohio for what separates them.
What Can Move the Price
- Obstacles. Tight side yards, terraced beds, trampolines and playsets slow the machine and add hand work around edges.
- Slope. Steep ground is slower and harder on equipment — common on the rolling lots in Bellbrook and parts of Oakwood.
- Access. A locked gate, a narrow side passage, or a backyard a machine cannot enter changes the approach.
- Condition. Severely compacted lawns need extra passes to pull a proper core.
- Distance. We cover eight counties and schedule the outer ones in clusters, so booking early helps.
What Is Included
- True core aeration. We pull plugs two to three inches deep. Not spike aeration, which forces soil sideways and compacts the walls of each hole.
- Proper coverage, with extra passes on compacted and high-traffic areas.
- Marking and avoidance of sprinkler heads, invisible fence, buried cable and septic components.
- Quality seed at a proper rate, if you are overseeding.
- A free quote with no obligation.
Comparing Quotes
Aeration is easy to do badly in a way you will not notice for months. A fast shallow pass with worn tines on dry ground leaves holes an inch deep, and the lawn looks aerated. You find out it did nothing the following summer.
So when you compare, ask two questions: is it core aeration or spike, and what seed at what rate. Those two answers explain most of the price differences you will see.
Get a Number for Your Lawn
Tell us your address and whether you want aeration alone or aeration with overseeding, and we will confirm the price. The form also asks about invisible fence, sprinkler heads, buried cable and gates that need unlocking — all worth flagging before a core aerator goes two to three inches into your lawn.
Aeration and overseeding are the only services we sell, so there is nothing else to upsell you on. If your lawn does not need aeration this year, we will say so — see is aeration and overseeding worth it for how to check before you spend anything.
Request a free quote or call 937-304-1888.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you charge for a quote?
No, and there is no obligation. Aeration and overseeding are the only services we sell, so there is nothing else for us to upsell you on. If we look at your lawn and think you do not need aeration this year, we will say so.
Is the price based on my lot size or my lawn size?
Lawn size — the actual mown turf area, not the parcel. A quarter-acre lot with a house, driveway, patio and planting beds on it might only have five or six thousand square feet of grass, and you should not be paying for the driveway.
Any company quoting off the county auditor parcel size rather than the lawn itself is guessing.
Is there a minimum charge?
Yes, $60 on either service. It exists because the drive time, trailer and setup cost much the same whether the lawn is 2,000 square feet or 5,000. In practice it only affects small lawns — for aeration alone it applies below roughly 4,600 square feet.
Does the overseeding price include the seed?
Yes. The roughly $33 per 1,000 square feet covers the core aeration and the seed together. Seed is a genuine material cost and it is most of the difference between the two prices.
Why is aeration with overseeding so much more than aeration alone?
Almost entirely the seed. Good grass seed is not cheap, and cheap grass seed is not good — bargain bags typically combine unnamed cultivars, lower germination rates, more inert filler and measurable weed content.
You are also paying for a second operation on the day. Whether it is worth it depends on the lawn: if yours is already thick, aeration alone is the sensible choice.
Can you give me an exact price over the phone?
Usually very close, if you can tell us the approximate lawn area. The calculator above will get you to the same figure. What we confirm on site is anything that changes the job — steep slopes, tight access, a locked gate, or a lawn compacted enough to need extra passes.