Free price guide · the GTA and Peel Region, Ontario
How Much Does a Full Backyard Landscape Cost in Ontario? (2026 Price Guide)
A full backyard landscape in the GTA typically costs $30,000 to $120,000, and comfortably more for large properties or pools. A modest yard with a patio, new lawn, planting beds and a fence sits near the bottom. Grade changes, retaining, a deck, lighting and irrigation move you up quickly.
This range is genuinely wide because "full landscape" is not one project — it is five or six projects bought together. The useful number is not the total, it is which elements you actually want and what each costs on your site.
What it costs, by tier
| Tier | Typical cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Refresh | $30,000–$55,000per projectPatio, new sod, planting beds, basic fence repair or replacement, minor grading. No structural work, no significant level changes. | Patio, new sod, planting beds, basic fence repair or replacement, minor grading. No structural work, no significant level changes. |
| Full rebuild | $55,000–$90,000per projectEverything above plus a deck or raised patio, some retaining, a full new fence, irrigation, and landscape lighting. Usually a design phase and multiple trades. | Everything above plus a deck or raised patio, some retaining, a full new fence, irrigation, and landscape lighting. Usually a design phase and multiple trades. |
| Transformation | $90,000–$200,000per projectSignificant regrading or engineered retaining, outdoor kitchen or structure, pool coordination, mature tree installation, natural stone throughout, full lighting and irrigation design. | Significant regrading or engineered retaining, outdoor kitchen or structure, pool coordination, mature tree installation, natural stone throughout, full lighting and irrigation design. |
What moves the price
Access governs the whole budget
A back yard reachable only through a narrow side gate changes every line item at once — excavation, disposal, material delivery and every pallet of stone. On tight semi-detached lots this alone can move a project by a quarter.
Grade changes
Moving earth is expensive, and moving it off site is more expensive again. A sloped yard that needs terracing carries retaining walls, drainage and engineering that a flat yard never touches.
How many trades are involved
Electrical for lighting, gas for a firepit or kitchen, plumbing for irrigation, and a permit for structures. Coordination is real work, and a general contractor’s margin on it is legitimate — but you should be able to see it.
Design
A proper design costs money before any work happens and usually saves more than it costs, because it stops mid-project changes. Ask whether the design fee credits against construction if you proceed.
Phasing
Almost every large yard can be split into stages — hardscape one year, planting and lighting the next. Done thoughtfully this costs a little more overall and takes real pressure off the decision. Done badly it means tearing up finished work to get a machine through.
Red flags when you are hiring
None of these mean somebody is dishonest. They mean the quote in front of you has not been thought through — and that is where the trouble usually starts.
A large deposit up front, with no schedule attached to it
A deposit to cover materials is normal. A deposit that is most of the job, before anything has been ordered or booked, is the pattern behind most of the money people lose. Tie payments to stages of work you can see.
No written contract, or one with no itemised scope
You should be able to read what is included, what is not, what happens if the ground holds a surprise, and what the schedule is. "We will look after you" is not a scope.
Leftover materials from another job, offered at the door
Legitimate contractors do not sell surplus asphalt or stone door to door. This is a seasonal pattern in the GTA and it very rarely ends with work you would want.
Pressure to decide today
A price that expires this afternoon is a sales tactic, not a market condition. Good crews are busy and can tell you when they are free; they do not need you to sign before you have read it.
A price well below the ranges on this page
If the quotes you are holding sit far under $30,000–$120,000 per project, something has been left out — usually the part you cannot see once the job is finished. Ask what the base depth is, what is being disposed of, and what happens if the ground is not what they expected. The answer tells you a lot.
A single lump-sum number for the whole yard with no breakdown by element — you cannot tell what you are cutting if you need to reduce scope.
A payment schedule weighted heavily to the front rather than tied to stages of work completed.
No design or drawing on a project of this size, just a verbal walk-around.
Reluctance to phase the work, or pressure to commit to everything at once.
Questions people ask
Should I phase a big landscape project?
Often yes, but the order matters more than the split. Anything needing machine access — excavation, retaining, hardscape — has to happen before the things that would be destroyed by getting a machine past them, like fencing, irrigation and planting. Phasing along that line costs little; phasing against it means paying twice.
How much does landscape design cost on its own?
A design for a full residential yard is usually a few thousand dollars depending on scope and how much documentation you need. Many firms credit some or all of it against construction if you build with them — worth asking about explicitly, and worth getting in writing.
Does landscaping add to the value of a GTA home?
Good landscaping helps a house sell and helps it show, but treating it as an investment that returns its cost is usually optimistic. The honest reason to do it is that you will use the space for the years you live there.
Not sure which end of that range you are at?
That is what a consultation is for. For $150 you get a written verdict on whether your project is viable, the reasoning behind it, and a realistic price range for your site — not the internet average. The fee carries forward if you go further with us.
Typical range for this project: $30,000–$120,000 per project.