Hedge and bush trimming looks like quick work, and the cutting often is. The part beginners forget to charge for is everything else: setting up ladders, raking out the clippings, bagging them and getting rid of them. On most jobs the cleanup takes as long as the trimming.
A medium hedge at head height or below goes for $125–$210 in the US, £70–£130 in the UK, C$160–C$280 in Canada and A$90–A$190 in Australia. Height is what moves the price most, so this guide and its calculator start from length and then adjust for how tall and how overgrown the hedge is.
Calculator
Set the job details to get a price to quote, then check what that price leaves you per hour once driving, supplies and tax are counted.
Charge about
$160
per trim, for 50 ft
per trim, in your own currency
$59an hour in your pocket at the typical price
Adjust the numbers above to match your job.
The price is built as a base fee plus a rate for the size of the job, then adjusted for the options you pick. Time is an estimate for one person working alone; change it if you know your own pace.
Price list
| Job | United States (USD) | United Kingdom (GBP) | Canada (CAD) | Australia (AUD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short hedge or a few bushes | $75–$105about 20 ft | £50–£80about 5 m | $95–$140about 20 ft | $70–$115about 5 m |
| Medium hedge | $125–$210about 50 ft | £70–£130about 10 m | $160–$280about 50 ft | $90–$190about 10 m |
| Long hedge | $210–$370about 100 ft | £130–£280about 25 m | $270–$500about 100 ft | $165–$420about 25 m |
| Full boundary hedge | $380–$700about 200 ft | £230–£530about 50 m | $490–$950about 200 ft | $290–$790about 50 m |
| Hourly rate | $48–$90what working pros bill | £20–£45what working pros bill | $50–$95what working pros bill | $45–$90what working pros bill |
| Minimum charge | $60smallest job worth the trip | £50smallest job worth the trip | $70smallest job worth the trip | $70smallest job worth the trip |
Prices are per trim in local currency, from a fair budget price to an established operator in a higher-cost area.
United States: Customers often ask for a price per bush. Count the bushes, but still price by the time involved: a row of ten small shrubs is about the same work as a 30 ft hedge.
United Kingdom: Check for nesting birds before cutting between March and August. Disturbing an active nest is against the law, so heavy cutting back is normally done in autumn and winter.
Canada: Published Canadian prices are thin and vary widely. Cedar hedges are the most common job, often tall and long, and a yearly trim usually falls somewhere between $150 and $800 depending on size.
Australia: Fast growers such as lilly pilly and murraya need trimming three or four times a year in warm areas, which makes hedges good repeat work. Tall screening hedges are often quoted separately because they need platforms.
Method
A base fee plus a rate per foot or metre of hedge, with a higher rate once you need a ladder. It keeps quotes consistent and is the method the calculator uses. Measure the length and note the height and width when you look at the job.
One price for the whole garden after you have walked it. This is what most customers want. Work it out from your length rate, then round to a clean number.
Common in the US for foundation shrubs. It works when the bushes are similar in size. Set a price for small, medium and large bushes, and keep a minimum charge so three small shrubs still cover the trip.
Fair for badly overgrown hedges where the amount of cutting and waste is anyone's guess. Tell the customer the hourly rate, your best estimate of the hours, and that disposal is charged on top.
Price factors
Below shoulder height you walk along and cut. Above it you are moving a ladder or platform every few feet and working with your arms raised. Hedges over 6 ft cost about half as much again per foot, and very tall screens are a specialist job.
A hedge is three surfaces: two sides and a top. A wide hedge with a flat top you cannot reach across takes far longer than a narrow one. Check whether you can get to the far side, or whether it means going through a neighbour's garden.
A hedge trimmed twice a year needs a light pass. One left for three years has thick woody growth that needs loppers or a saw, and it produces a mountain of waste. Add about 40 percent for a hard cut back.
Raking out and bagging clippings can take as long as the cutting. If you take the waste away, you also pay to tip it, or spend time driving to a green waste site. Charge for removal as its own line.
Soft growth like privet and box cuts fast. Thorny hedges such as hawthorn and pyracantha are slow and unpleasant. Conifers will not regrow if you cut back into brown wood, so a customer who wants one made much smaller needs to hear that before you start.
A straight formal hedge needs string lines and care. Rounded shrubs, topiary and spiral shapes take skill and much more time per plant. Price decorative shaping by the hour, not by length.
Worked examples
A 60 ft privet hedge, about 5 ft tall, trimmed twice a year. The customer wants the clippings hauled away.
Haul-away is the easy upsell on almost every hedge job. Just make sure the fee covers what the green waste site charges you.
A 12 m leylandii hedge, about 2.5 m tall, not cut for two years. The top needs taking down and the sides cutting back.
Tall and overgrown together more than doubles the price, and it should. This is most of a day once the waste is loaded, and conifer waste is bulky.
About 20 m of waist-high murraya hedging around a front garden, trimmed every three months.
Low, regularly trimmed hedges are quick, clean work. Four visits a year from one customer is worth more than a single big rescue job.
Your costs
Hand shears are not enough for paid work. These are the usual costs for a basic professional kit bought new.
| Item | USA (USD) | UK (GBP) | Canada (CAD) | Australia (AUD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hedge trimmer, petrol or batteryBattery models are quieter and lighter, which matters by the end of a long hedge. | $150–$450 | £120–£400 | $200–$600 | $250–$700 |
| Long-reach pole trimmerLets you cut tops and tall sides from the ground. | $200–$600 | £180–£550 | $280–$800 | $300–$900 |
| Loppers, hand shears, rake and tarps | $80–$200 | £60–£160 | $100–$260 | $110–$280 |
| Platform or tripod ladder | $150–$450 | £120–£400 | $200–$600 | $220–$650 |
| Green waste disposal, per load | $20–$60 | £15–£60 | $20–$70 | $20–$80 |
| Liability insurance, per year | $400–$1,200 | £60–£200 | $500–$1,300 | $400–$900 |
Avoid these
Ten minutes of trimming can leave thirty minutes of raking and bagging. Time yourself on a full job, from unloading to driving away, and price on that.
Anything you cannot reach from the ground is slower, harder and riskier. If you charge your normal rate for a 9 ft hedge you will earn half as much per hour as on a 5 ft one.
Taking waste away costs you fuel, tip fees and time. If you include it in the price without counting it, a big overgrown hedge can wipe out the profit on the job.
Many plants do not recover from being cut back hard, and conifers never do. Explain what will happen before you start, or you will be blamed for a brown, dead hedge.
Questions
For a medium hedge up to head height, charge $125–$210 in the US, £70–£130 in the UK, C$160–C$280 in Canada and A$90–A$190 in Australia. Charge about half as much again for hedges over 6 ft, and more for overgrown ones.
Price by time. A small shrub takes 5 to 10 minutes including cleanup and a large one 20 minutes or more. In the US a typical bush trimming job, covering several bushes, averages about $86 and ranges from about $25 to $200. Keep a minimum of $60 so a few small bushes still cover the trip.
In the US, about $2.50 to $4 per foot for hedges up to 6 ft and $4 to $6 above that. In the UK, about £5 to £15 per metre depending on height, and in Australia about $5 to $25 per metre, with $12 typical.
Working pros bill about $48–$90 an hour in the US, £20–£45 in the UK, C$50–C$95 in Canada and A$45–A$90 in Australia. Waste removal is normally extra.
Yes. Many customers assume it is included, so say clearly whether your price covers removal. A set fee per load that covers your tip charges and the drive is the simplest approach.
Most hedges need one or two cuts a year. Fast growers and formal hedges need three or four. Offer a yearly plan with the visits booked in advance, because regular customers are quicker to do and steadier to rely on.
The rates on this page were set in November 2026 from the published price guides below, then checked so that the calculator, the price list and the examples all agree. How we work out prices.