LMN landscape software and Landscapeestimating: an honest comparison
If you are looking at LMN landscape software, you are probably serious about budgeting and estimating, and that is the right place to start. LMN is an established landscape business platform with a long tradition in budgets, estimating and company operations. Landscapeestimating takes a narrower path: satellite measurement, your cost library, a branded proposal with e-sign and job costing in one short flow. This page sets out how the two approaches differ and which kind of company each tends to suit, so you can decide on evidence, not marketing.
Two approaches
Where each product starts and what it covers.
Two approaches to landscape estimating software
LMN is known in the industry for helping landscape companies build a company budget and derive their pricing from it, and it covers a broad set of operations beyond the estimate. Many companies choose it because they want one platform across budgeting, estimating and running the business. Landscapeestimating is built around the estimate itself. It starts from a satellite takeoff, prices the measured quantities from your own materials, labor, production rates, overhead and target margin, and carries the same numbers through the proposal, the signature and the job budget. The number a client signs is the number the crew is measured against.
- LMN: a wide landscape business platform with a strong budgeting heritage
- Landscapeestimating: a focused flow from address to signed proposal to job costing
- Both treat pricing discipline as the core of a profitable landscape company
Comparison
Questions to ask any vendor on your property.
What to look at when comparing LMN landscape software and alternatives
Rather than a checklist of claims about another product, here are the questions that matter when you compare. Ask each vendor to show you these on your own property and your own rates.
| What to look at | Why it matters | How Landscapeestimating handles it |
|---|---|---|
| How quantities are measured | Drive-outs and wheel measurements slow every quote | Traced on satellite imagery, sq ft, linear ft and counts live |
| Where prices come from | Consistent pricing across estimators protects margin | Your own cost library with production rates, overhead and target margin |
| Time from address to sent proposal | Small jobs go to whoever answers first | Measure, price and send in one flow, often in minutes |
| What the client receives | A clear proposal wins more than a bare total | Branded proposal with traced map, good / better / best options and e-sign |
| What happens after signature | An estimate nobody checks cannot improve | Accepted estimate becomes the job budget, estimate vs actual per line |
| Setup effort | Time to the first real estimate | Library set up once, assemblies reused on every job |
| Pricing model | Costs should stay predictable as the team grows | Billed per company, estimator seats included per plan |
Fit
Which kind of company each approach serves best.
Who LMN suits and who Landscapeestimating suits
LMN tends to suit companies that want a single broad platform for budgeting, estimating and operations, and that value its long track record in the landscape industry. Teams already comfortable with its budgeting method often stay with it for good reasons. Landscapeestimating tends to suit companies that want estimating done faster and more consistently without adopting a full operations platform: owner-operators who quote at night, estimators at design-build firms who price patios and plantings from a takeoff, and maintenance contractors who rebid properties every season. If your main pain is the time between a lead and a signed proposal, the focused flow is usually the better fit.
- Choose a broad platform when you want one system for the whole business
- Choose a focused estimating flow when speed, measurement and margin per job are the priority
- Some companies run a focused estimating tool alongside their existing systems and export to QuickBooks Online
Our angle
The path from an address to a signed proposal.
Satellite measurement, cost library, proposal and job costing in one flow
The difference we focus on is the ten minutes between an address and a signed proposal. You search the address and trace turf, beds, hardscape and edging with landscape takeoff software layers. Quantities price from the lawn care pricing calculator in your account, with assemblies and waste factors. The proposal goes out branded, the client signs online, and the signed estimate becomes the budget in landscape job costing software, so production rates improve with every job.
Switching
Where to start when you move your estimating.
Moving your estimating from another system
If you are moving from another platform or from spreadsheets, start with your cost library: materials, labor rates, production rates, equipment and overhead. Rebuild your most common assemblies first (mowing, mulch, sod, edging, pavers) and price live jobs as soon as those are in place. Enterprise includes cost library migration from spreadsheets. You can export your estimates any time with CSV export on every plan.
- Enter your materials, labor rates and production rates
- Rebuild your top assemblies first
- Keep historical records in your previous system while new estimates run here
FAQ
- Is Landscapeestimating a replacement for LMN landscape software?
For many companies it replaces the estimating part: measurement, pricing, proposals and job costing. Companies that rely on a broad platform for other operations may keep it and use Landscapeestimating for estimates. Compare both on your own jobs.
- How is Landscapeestimating priced compared with other landscape software?
We publish our own plans: Crew at $129 per month, Company at $299 per month and Operations at $649 per month, billed per company, with Enterprise through sales. For other vendors, check their current pricing directly with them.
- Can I keep my own production rates and budget method?
Yes. Your labor rates, production rates, overhead recovery and target margin live in your cost library. If you derive rates from a company budget, enter the results and every estimate uses them.
- Does Landscapeestimating measure from satellite imagery?
Yes. Every plan includes satellite measurements each month. Imagery date and tree cover can affect edges, so verify critical hardscape dimensions on site.
Get started
Compare on your own property
Trace a real address, enter your rates and see the estimate you would send. That is the fairest comparison with any landscape software.