Artificial grass cost and installer comparison (UK, 2026)

Professionally supplied and installed artificial grass costs £45 to £80 per square metre in the UK, so a typical 40 square metre back garden runs £1,800 to £3,200. The turf itself is usually the smallest line on the invoice. Most of the cost is the Type 1 MOT sub-base, the labour to prepare and lay it, and disposal of the old lawn, which is also where a cut-price quote usually cuts corners. This guide breaks down where that money goes, compares the UK’s largest artificial grass installers on verifiable customer ratings, and covers the drainage, pet and DIY questions that decide whether it is worth doing.

How much does artificial grass cost in the UK?

Supplied and installed by a professional, artificial grass costs £45 to £80 per square metre in the UK, covering materials, sub-base and labour. Buying the grass alone, without installation, costs considerably less, and the price scales with quality.

Source: Checkatrade cost guide (last updated May 2024, checked July 2026).

A fresher, June 2026 installer source corroborates this range: Wolsten’s 2026 pricing guide states that public UK sources, including Checkatrade, MyBuilder and MyJobQuote, put the typical installed price at £55 to £90 per square metre as of mid-2026, in line with the range above. Treat Wolsten’s own £115 to £150 per square metre figure as one installer’s premium-spec pricing rather than a market average, since it is their own commercial rate, not an independent survey.

Checkatrade’s own worked example for a 30 square metre garden shows exactly where that per-m² figure comes from, and it is a useful reference point for scaling to a different garden size:

Source: Checkatrade, worked example for a 30 square metre garden, last updated May 2024, checked July 2026.

What decides the price per square metre?

Three things move the price most: the pile material you choose, how much groundwork your garden needs, and how much of the roll gets wasted on an awkward shape.

Source: Checkatrade cost guide, checked July 2026.

Groundwork is usually the line a cheap quote cuts. A proper installation needs a compacted Type 1 MOT sub-base topped with a blinding layer of Grano, or granite, dust, and one bulk bag of Grano dust covers only around 10 square metres at a 40 to 50mm depth, which is why the aggregate line on the worked example above came to £180 for a 30 square metre job.

Source: Mainland Aggregates, Grano dust coverage, checked July 2026.

Some installers substitute cheap sharp sand for that sub-base to save money. UK trade sources warn against this because sharp sand does not bind together, moves underfoot, and washes away under drainage of up to 50 litres per square metre per minute, the amount artificial grass backing is designed to pass through. The result, typically within a season of wet UK weather, is a sunken and uneven lawn.

Source: Active Surfaces Ltd, why sand should not be used as a sub-base, checked July 2026.

Garden shape adds a second, easy-to-miss cost. Artificial grass is sold in standard 2m, 4m and 5m wide rolls, so a garden that is not an exact multiple of a roll width pays for offcut waste. A garden 5m wide, for example, needs one 4m roll and one 2m roll, with a 1m strip cut off along the entire length and thrown away. Pile direction adds a further constraint when joining rolls: UK installers lay the pile facing towards the house in a back garden, and towards the street in a front garden, because grass viewed against the lean of the pile reflects more light and looks noticeably shinier and less natural. Any join between two rolls needs the pile running the same way or the seam is visible.

Source: Trulawn, roll widths FAQ and Trulawn, pile direction guidance, checked July 2026.

A lightweight roll-width and wastage calculator (garden dimensions in, rolls needed and offcut waste out) would be a genuine, non-commodity addition here and is a trivial build. It is flagged rather than included, since it needs implementing in the site’s own tooling rather than faked as a static example. Worth building once and linking to from other outdoor cost guides.

Roll width and wastage calculator

Which artificial grass suits which garden?

The right pick depends on budget, pets and how natural it needs to look up close, not a single ‘best’ product. We have not tested these ranges ourselves. The comparison below is built from each product’s published specification and retailer listing, all linked, so the pile height, material and backing can be checked independently rather than taken on trust.

Sources: GardenKraft 15mm (Homebase), Lisbon 26mm (Amazon UK), Ark Mat 35mm (Amazon UK). Prices vary by roll size and are not quoted here as they were not available consistently across listings, check the current listing for an exact price. Checked July 2026.

Do you need planning permission for artificial grass in the UK?

Generally no, but front gardens are the exception worth checking. Under the General Permitted Development Order, hard-surfacing more than 5 square metres of a front garden needs either a permeable surface or planning permission, and this applies to any hard, water-shedding surface, not just paving. Back gardens are not covered by this specific rule, but drainage is still worth confirming with the local planning authority before a large area of artificial grass goes down at the front of a property.

Source: GOV.UK, guidance on the permeable surfacing of front gardens, checked July 2026.

Is artificial grass safe for dogs?

It depends on the backing, not the grass itself. Most standard UK artificial turf uses a latex backing, and UK suppliers commonly report that latex absorbs ammonia from dog urine and traps the smell in a way that washing cannot fully remove, particularly in hot weather. Polyurethane, or PU, backing is non-absorbent and lets liquid drain straight through to the sub-base instead, which is why suppliers recommend it specifically for dog owners, usually at a higher price than latex-backed turf.

Source: Cheshire Artificial Grass, PU vs latex backing, checked July 2026.

How do UK artificial grass installers compare?

We have not installed or tested any of these companies’ products ourselves. This comparison is built from published Trustpilot and Reviews.co.uk ratings, checked July 2026, and each company’s own public information, all linked below.

Sources: Easigrass on Trustpilot, LazyLawn on Trustpilot, LazyLawn on Reviews.co.uk, Trulawn on Trustpilot, Neograss on Trustpilot, Neograss on Reviews.co.uk. All checked July 2026.

Official sites: Easigrass, LazyLawn, Trulawn, Neograss.

Is it cheaper to fit artificial grass yourself?

Usually, but the saving is mainly the labour line, not the materials. Checkatrade lists a £300 to £600 per day rate for artificial grass installation, and a small domestic garden typically takes one to three days including groundwork, so professional labour alone runs roughly £300 to £1,800 depending on garden size and how much prep work it needs. Fitting it yourself removes that cost but adds the risk of getting the sub-base depth, roll wastage or pile direction wrong, each of which is expensive to fix once the grass is down. If the groundwork and joining work described above sounds like more than you want to take on, the cost of laying real turf instead is worth comparing before committing either way, and a reliable lawnmower is the ongoing cost that comes with keeping a real lawn instead. Hard landscaping, such as laying flags or slabs, is a further alternative worth weighing against either type of lawn.

Source: Checkatrade cost guide, checked July 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Does artificial grass smell with dogs?

It can, if it uses a latex backing, which absorbs ammonia from dog urine and traps the odour. Polyurethane-backed artificial grass avoids this because it does not absorb liquid, letting urine drain through to the sub-base instead, so dog owners are generally better off paying the premium for a PU-backed product.

Can I lay artificial grass directly onto soil?

No. Laying artificial grass straight onto soil leads to an uneven, sunken lawn and weed growth. A weed membrane and a compacted Type 1 MOT and Grano dust sub-base are needed underneath to keep the surface flat and let water drain away properly.

How long does artificial grass last?

Good-quality artificial grass typically lasts 12 to 20 years, though family gardens with heavy foot traffic tend to sit at the lower end of that range. Most UK suppliers back their products with an 8 to 15 year warranty, so it is worth checking exactly what a warranty covers, and for how long, before comparing prices between installers.

Source: As Good As Grass, artificial grass lifespan guide, checked July 2026.

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