Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen) franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen) franchise takes $107,400 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $30,000 – $100,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 10% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 2%. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen) franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $30,000 | $100,000 | $30,000 to $100,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $107,400 | $107,400 | $107,400 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $107,400 | $107,400 | $107,400 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen)'s filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 10% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 2% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 10 years |
How Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen)'s cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen)'s disclosed cost sits against the Professional Services category:
- Minimum startup cost of $107,400 — about 1.3× the Professional Services median of $84,700.
- Initial franchise fee of $30,000 — about 24% below the Professional Services median of $39,700.
Category medians are computed from the Professional Services brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Professional Services franchises
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How Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen)'s units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2014: began the window at 132 units; 31 units opened, 4 closed, ending at 154 units.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen) or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen) for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen) is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen) grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen) can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen) franchise
Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen) is a professional services franchisor with 154 units at the end of 2014 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2014, it began the window at 132 units; its filings record 31 unit openings and 4 closures, ending at 154 units. Its parent company is SLS Franchise Systems LLC.
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
The franchisee will own and operate a Scotts LawnService business offering lawn care services to private residences and commercial establishments for an initial term of 10 years with the right upon payment of a renewal fee and compliance with other conditions to renew for additional successive 10-year renewal terms. The franchisor offers certain franchisees operating a Scotts LawnService lawn care services business who meet their requirements the opportunity to add to the existing lawn care services business a Miracle-Gro Tree Shrub Care Service business and/or an Ortho Pest Control Service business.
Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen) franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen) franchise cost?
- $107,400 all-in to open, per Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen)'s franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen) units are there?
- 154 units at the end of 2014 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Scotts LawnService (now merged with TruGreen)'s units held up?
- 97.5% of units at risk between 2012 and 2014 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).