We install across London, Surrey and Hertfordshire, and every figure here comes from our own quote book rather than a supplier price list.
Every price on this page includes VAT. These are the figures a homeowner pays, which is how consumer prices have to be shown. Commercial and school and nursery work is quoted plus VAT.
What artificial grass actually costs in 2026
Most cost guides quote the price of the grass roll and leave you to guess at the rest. The number that matters is the installed price — grass, groundwork, edging, infill, waste removal and labour in one figure. Here is what our customers actually paid:
| Installed price per m² | Share of jobs |
|---|---|
| Under £60 | 25% |
| £60 – £80 | 50% — the typical range |
| Over £80 | 25% |
The median is £70 per m² installed. If a quote comes in well under £60 per m², something has been left out — usually the sub-base or the waste removal. If it is well over £80, there is normally a reason on site, such as a raised deck or no side access.
Cost by garden size
Small gardens cost considerably more per square metre, because the fixed work — protecting the route through the house, disposing of the old lawn, setting up and clearing away — does not shrink with the area. This is the part most cost guides get wrong, and it is why a single “price per m²” figure misleads people with small London gardens.
These are the medians from our own quotes, with the middle half of jobs in brackets:
| Garden size | Installed price per m² | Typical total |
|---|---|---|
| Under 20 m² (courtyard, small terrace) | £100 (£81 – £125) | around £1,440 |
| 20 – 30 m² | £72 (£70 – £80) | around £1,820 |
| 30 – 40 m² (our most common job) | £70 (£69 – £80) | around £2,425 |
| 40 – 60 m² | £70 (£62 – £70) | around £3,108 |
| 60 – 100 m² | £60 (£59 – £65) | around £4,680 |
| Over 100 m² | £55 (£50 – £62) | around £8,170 |
Half the gardens we work on are between 20 m² and 53 m². If you are not sure of your area, multiply the width by the length in metres — a lawn 4 m wide and 8 m long is 32 m².
Read that table before you compare quotes. A £100 per m² price on a 15 m² courtyard is not an inflated quote; it is what that job costs. Equally, a large garden priced at £75 per m² is expensive, because the per-metre rate should be falling as the area grows.
What actually moves the price
People assume the grass itself is the variable. It is not. Across our quotes, the choice of grass moves the installed price by only a few pounds per square metre. What moves it is the groundwork — what is under the grass now, and what has to happen before the new lawn goes down.
| Type of installation | Typical installed price | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Onto an existing hard surface | around £64 / m² | Sound concrete, paving or decking already in place |
| Dry base | around £67 / m² | Existing ground is stable and drains well |
| Full excavation and sub-base | around £70 / m² | Old turf or soil lifted out, new aggregate base built — most gardens |
Beyond that, the things that add cost on a real site are:
- Access. No side gate means every barrow of spoil and aggregate goes through the house. This is the single most common reason a quote rises.
- Waste removal. A 30 m² lawn dug to 100 mm produces roughly three tonnes of spoil, and it has to be tipped legally.
- Levels and edging. A sloping garden, or one that needs timber or steel edging installed, takes longer.
- Pet infill. Our grass is non-infill as standard. Zeolite infill is an optional extra at a few pounds per m² and is worth it if you have dogs — see pet-friendly installations.
- Removing what is there. Old decking, tree stumps and dead paving are priced separately.
A worked example
A back garden 4.5 m × 7 m, so 31.5 m². Old lawn lifted out, new sub-base built, mid-range non-infill grass, side access available. That sits in our 30–40 m² band, so the installed rate is £70 per m²:
31.5 m² × £70 = £2,205 for the finished lawn, everything included — excavation, waste removal, aggregate sub-base, membrane, grass, edging, joints and labour.
If the same garden had no side access, add roughly a fifth. If it were 15 m² instead, the rate would rise to about £100 per m² and the total would fall to around £1,500.
Is cheap artificial grass a false economy?
Yes, but not for the reason most guides give. The grass is rarely what fails. Poor groundwork is. A lawn laid on an inadequate base will sink, ripple and hold water within two or three winters, whatever grass is on top of it — and putting that right costs more than doing it properly the first time, because the grass has to come up.
If you are comparing quotes, ask each installer the same three questions: how deep are you excavating, what aggregate are you using, and who removes the spoil. The answers will explain any price gap far better than the product names will.
The difference is rarely the grass. A quote we were shown for a 42 m² garden in Ruislip came to £3,237 including VAT — £77 per m², excavating to 60 mm. The same garden on our rates is £2,940 at £70 per m², excavating 70 to 100 mm. More depth, less money. If you have a written quote from someone else, send it over and we will tell you honestly whether it is a fair price.
Frequently asked
How much is artificial grass per square metre in London?
£60 to £80 per m² installed, with a median of £70. Supply-only, without installation, the grass alone runs roughly £15 to £35 per m².
Do your prices include VAT?
Yes. Every figure on this page is what a homeowner pays, VAT included. Commercial premises, schools and nurseries are quoted plus VAT.
How long does an installation take?
Most gardens under 50 m² are done in one to two days.
How long will it last?
Ten to twenty years on a properly built base. We give a ten-year product guarantee.
Is there a minimum job value?
Full installations start at £900. Laying grass onto an existing solid base — a balcony or a sound patio, where there is nothing to dig out — can come in under that, and that is roughly one job in ten.
Do you charge for a quote or a site visit?
No. Quotes and site surveys are free, and we will send up to five free samples so you can see the grass in your own light before you decide.
Can I install it myself?
You can, and for a small, flat, already-hard surface it is realistic. For anything that needs excavating, the sub-base is where self-installs go wrong, and the repair costs more than the original job.
Get a fixed price for your garden
Tell us your rough measurements and we will come back with a fixed quote — no call-out charge, no obligation. If you would rather just send a photo and get a ballpark figure, message us on WhatsApp and we will reply the same day.
We install across London, Surrey and Hertfordshire.
Prices last reviewed September 2026, from the 298 quotes we issued this year.
