RealGreen alternative for landscapers, RealGreen software and Real Green Systems compared on estimating
RealGreen (Real Green Systems, now RealGreen by WorkWave) is lawn care business software built around recurring treatment programs: routing, CRM, customer portal, marketing, payments and Measurement Assistant, which measures turf from aerial imagery and prices a lawn program by area. Landscapeestimating is the alternative for companies whose revenue now comes from landscape work: it traces turf, beds, sod, pavers and edging as separate layers, prices each one from your own production rates, crew rate and margin, and sends a proposal the client signs online. Plans are $129, $299 or $649 a month, billed per company.
Why look
Where a lawn care platform fits and where landscape bids outgrow it.
Why landscape companies look for a RealGreen alternative
RealGreen has served lawn care companies for about four decades, and it shows. A fertilization and weed control company with a few thousand accounts gets dynamic routing, a customer portal, email marketing, pay-over-time options and a measuring tool that turns a parcel into a program price in seconds. For that business, it is a serious system.
The trouble starts when the same company grows into landscape maintenance, enhancements and installs. We hear the same four complaints.
- The price model is square feet of turf. Measurement Assistant is designed to measure lawn area and building footprints and generate a service quote from them. A landscape bid is different: mulch depth becomes cubic yards, sod needs a waste factor and haul-off, pavers need base, sand and edge restraint priced as one assembly.
- Estimates are a form, not a costing. RealGreen lists estimates and digital forms among its features. That fits a program quote. It doesn't show labor hours, crew cost and margin per line before a design-build proposal goes out.
- The quote comes from sales. RealGreen does not publish prices. Its pricing page lists Small Business, Professional and Enterprise packages and asks you to request a custom quote, so you only learn the cost after a sales call.
- You pay for the whole platform. Routing, marketing, website builder and truck tracking are useful to a treatment route. A landscape division that only needs better bids ends up inside a large system to get them.
If most of your revenue is recurring lawn treatments with tight routes, RealGreen is a strong fit and this page will say so. If your growth is in landscape estimates, keep reading.
Comparison
RealGreen and Landscapeestimating side by side.
RealGreen software vs Landscapeestimating for landscape estimating
The table sums up what RealGreen publishes on its pricing and feature pages and what our plans include. RealGreen changes packages from time to time, so confirm current terms with RealGreen.
| RealGreen by WorkWave | Landscapeestimating | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Lawn care, tree and shrub and pest control companies, from small operators to national franchises | Landscape contractors: maintenance, enhancements, design-build and light commercial |
| Measuring | Online measuring on every package; Measurement Assistant uses aerial imagery and county parcel data to measure turf and buildings | Satellite tracing on every plan, as priced layers: turf, beds, sod, hardscape, edging, irrigation zones |
| How a measurement becomes a price | Area drives a service or program quote | Each layer prices from your cost library: material, waste, production rate, crew rate, overhead and margin |
| Assemblies and waste | Service and program pricing | Multi-item assemblies with waste factors, for example base, sand, pavers and edge restraint in one line |
| Proposal and e-sign | Estimates and digital forms | Branded proposal with the traced map, good / better / best options and online e-sign |
| Job costing | Reporting on the higher packages | Estimate vs actual per line on Company and above |
| Routing, CRM, marketing, payments | Included, with advanced reporting and API on Professional and Enterprise | Not included; keep your routing tool and export the signed job |
| Accounting | Integrations through the platform | QuickBooks Online export on Company and above, CSV on every plan |
| Published prices | No, custom quote | $129, $299 and $649 a month, billed per company |
Where RealGreen wins: route density, recurring program billing, customer portal and marketing for a treatment business with thousands of accounts. Where we win: a landscape estimate built layer by layer from your own numbers, with the margin visible before the client signs, at a price you can read today.
How it works
From a US address to a signed landscape proposal.
How to measure and price a landscape job without a site visit
The measurement is the estimate, so nothing gets retyped between tools.
Try it on a sample property in the yard measurement tool, or see a finished estimate on the how it works page.
- Search the US address and zoom in on current satellite imagery
- Trace turf, mulch beds, sod, pavers, edging and irrigation zones; square feet and linear feet calculate as you draw
- Each layer pulls its price from your cost library: material, waste, production rate, crew rate and target margin
- Add recurring lines with visit counts for mowing and treatment rounds, or one-time lines for installs and enhancements
- Send a branded proposal with good / better / best options; the client signs online and the signed estimate becomes the job budget
Example
A lawn care account that asks for a landscape job.
Example of turning a treatment customer into a priced enhancement bid
A fertilization customer on a five-round program asks for a bed refresh, new sod along the driveway and a small paver landing at the back door. In a program-based system you already know the lawn area. Everything else is a custom line you price from memory. In Landscapeestimating you trace four new layers on the same property.
| Layer | Quantity | Priced by |
|---|---|---|
| Mulch beds, 3 in depth | 980 sq ft | 9.1 cubic yards before waste, material plus install rate |
| Sod along driveway | 640 sq ft | Sod, prep and haul-off as one assembly |
| Paver landing | 120 sq ft | Base, bedding sand, pavers and edge restraint as one assembly |
| Lawn program, 5 rounds | 6,200 sq ft | Visit count times your per-round rate |
Each line shows labor hours and margin before you send. If the paver landing needs 18 man-hours at your crew rate and clears only 20% margin, you see it now and adjust the option, not after the crew is on site. When the job wraps, actual hours post against the same lines, so the next enhancement bid starts from real production rates.
Fit
Who picks each tool.
Who should choose RealGreen, and who should choose Landscapeestimating
Choose RealGreen if you run a fertilization, weed control, tree and shrub or pest control business where revenue is recurring programs, route density decides profit and you want marketing, portal and payments in the same system. Franchise groups and large treatment companies are its home ground.
Choose Landscapeestimating if you bid maintenance contracts, enhancements and installs where the number decides whether the job makes money. It suits companies pricing residential treatment programs alongside landscape work on our lawn care software, design-build firms using the landscape construction estimating software, and irrigation contractors on the irrigation estimating software. Plenty of companies keep a routing tool and add us for the estimate; our Service Autopilot alternative comparison walks through that setup. If you are weighing other platforms, see the Aspire alternative and LMN alternative pages, or the QuoteIQ alternative for small crews.
- Lawn care companies adding a landscape division that needs its own estimates
- Landscape companies with one to fifteen estimators who price their own work
- Maintenance firms that want last season's traced properties ready to rebid in spring
FAQ
- What is RealGreen software used for?
RealGreen by WorkWave is business software for lawn care, tree and shrub and pest control companies. It covers CRM, scheduling, dynamic routing, a mobile app, customer portal, email and digital marketing, integrated payments and Measurement Assistant for remote property measuring. It is widely used by lawn treatment franchises and large recurring-service companies.
- Is Real Green Systems the same as RealGreen by WorkWave?
Yes. Real Green Systems is the original name of the company behind Service Assistant and Measurement Assistant. It became part of WorkWave and now markets the product as RealGreen by WorkWave. Older forum posts and contracts still use Real Green Systems or Service Assistant for the same software.
- How much does RealGreen cost?
RealGreen does not publish prices. Its pricing page lists three packages, Small Business, Professional and Enterprise, and asks you to request a custom quote. Landscapeestimating publishes its plans at $129, $299 and $649 a month, billed per company, so you can compare the cost before a sales call.
- Does RealGreen have satellite measuring?
Yes. Measurement Assistant uses county parcel boundaries and aerial imagery to measure lawn, turf and building areas and generate a service quote. It is designed for area-priced lawn programs. Landscapeestimating traces beds, sod, hardscape and edging as separate layers and prices each from your own production rates and margin.
- Is RealGreen good for landscaping companies?
RealGreen is strongest for lawn treatment and recurring-service companies with dense routes. Landscape companies doing enhancements and installs often find its estimating too program-oriented, because a design-build bid needs assemblies, waste factors, labor hours and margin per line. Many keep a routing platform and add a dedicated estimating tool.
- What is the best RealGreen alternative for landscapers?
For landscape companies whose revenue depends on accurate bids, the best RealGreen alternative is a tool that measures and prices in one step from your own rates. Landscapeestimating does that and sends the proposal for e-sign. Jobber suits small crews that mainly want scheduling, and Aspire or LMN suit larger commercial firms.
Get started
Price the next landscape bid from your own numbers
Trace a real US address, enter your rates and see the estimate you would send. When it matches how you price, create your account and send it as a branded proposal. Compare plans on the pricing page.