New sod in Dallas-Fort Worth costs about $1.50 to $3 per square foot, installed. A 500 sq ft backyard comes to roughly $750 to $1,500, and a 1,000 sq ft lawn about $1,500 to $3,000. Pulling out the old grass first can add $1 to $2 per square foot if your installer doesn’t include it.
We install artificial turf, not sod, so this page isn’t a quote from us. The sod numbers come from published 2026 Dallas pricing (sources are listed at the bottom). The turf numbers are ours. Sod is much cheaper on day one, and for a lot of yards it’s the right call. The rest of this page covers what sod costs to keep alive in North Texas, so you can compare the whole picture.
Sod prices by grass type in Dallas-Fort Worth
Most DFW lawns are St. Augustine, Bermuda or Zoysia. Installed prices overlap a lot, so the grass type matters less to the price than how much prep the yard needs.
Installed prices are from Angi’s Dallas sod guide. Pallet prices are what DFW sod farms and sod yards post for 2026, before delivery, which usually runs $65 to $230 a pallet.
What changes the price of new sod
- Removing the old lawn. Some installers include it, and some charge $1 to $2 per square foot on top. Ask before you compare quotes.
- Grading and soil. Low spots, bare clay and slopes need leveling and topsoil before sod goes down.
- Minimums. Many DFW installers have a minimum of one to three pallets, so a small patch costs more per square foot.
- Delivery and access. Pallets are heavy. A backyard behind a narrow gate means more carrying by hand.
- Irrigation. If the sprinkler heads don’t cover the new area evenly, adjusting them is a separate cost.
The first month: new sod needs a lot of water
Texas A&M AgriLife’s guidance for new sod is to soak it about 4 inches deep right after it goes down. After that, water every 2 to 3 days, and every day when it’s over 80 degrees, until the roots take hold.
That can run into city watering rules, since most DFW cities limit sprinklers to one or two days a week. Hand watering with a hose is allowed any day in cities like Dallas, Fort Worth, Southlake and Arlington, and Prosper grants a variance of up to 30 days for new sod. Check your city before the sod arrives: see our DFW watering schedules by city.
Timing matters too. AgriLife calls late spring to early summer the best time to lay St. Augustine, and says it can be killed by cold winters in North Texas. Sod laid in late fall goes dormant before it roots well.
What a sod lawn costs to keep up
Water. AgriLife’s rule of thumb for summer is about an inch of water a week. On 1,000 sq ft, an inch is roughly 620 gallons. At Dallas’s middle residential rates ($4.81 to $7.98 per 1,000 gallons), that’s about $3 to $5 a week if all of it comes from the sprinkler, or $50 to $80 over a June-to-September summer. A whole front and back lawn is usually several times that size.
Mowing. Dallas lawn services charge about $35 to $67 a visit. Weekly mowing from spring through fall adds up: 28 cuts at $50 is $1,400 a year. You’ll pay that whether you mow or hire it out, in time if not in money.
Everything else. Fertilizer, weed control and replacing patches that die in the shade or after a hard winter.
Sod vs artificial turf: 1,000 sq ft side by side
Turf costs several times more up front. What you get back is the mowing, the summer watering, the dead patches and the first month of babysitting a new lawn. How fast that evens out depends on how much lawn you replace and whether you pay someone to mow. For full turf pricing by yard size, see artificial turf cost in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Want a turf number for your yard? We measure for free
When sod is the better choice
- You’re covering a big, sunny area and the budget is tight. Sod costs a fraction of turf per square foot.
- You want real grass and don’t mind the mowing and watering.
- The yard gets full sun, where Bermuda does well.
When artificial turf makes more sense
- Shady yards. Under big oaks and pecans, grass thins out no matter how often it’s re-sodded. Turf doesn’t need sun.
- Dogs. Dog runs and potty areas wear grass down to dirt. See our pet turf installation.
- Small backyards. A lawn service charges by the visit, so a small yard still costs a full visit every week.
- Around pools and patios. No mud, no clippings in the water. See artificial turf around pools.
- Putting greens. A real-grass green needs daily care. A turf green doesn’t. See backyard putting green cost.
- Timing. Turf doesn’t have to root, so it can go in during the cooler months when sod struggles to establish.
Not sure which way to go? We’ll come out, measure and give you one all-inclusive turf price, and we’ll tell you if part of your yard is better left as grass.
Sources
- Angi, How much does it cost to lay sod in Dallas (updated February 2026): installed prices by grass type, removal and delivery.
- Texas A&M AgriLife, How to Select and Install Sod: watering new sod, pallet size, cold and drought tolerance.
- Texas A&M AgriLife, St. Augustinegrass Lawn Management: shade needs and planting season.
- Texas A&M AgriLife Today, Irrigation tips for lawns during summer: about an inch of water a week.
- Dallas Water Utilities, residential water rates effective October 1, 2025.
- GreenPal, How much does lawn care cost in Dallas (July 2026): mowing price per visit.
- Pallet prices: posted 2026 prices from DFW sod farms and sod yards, checked November 2026.
Prices checked November 4, 2026. Sod prices change with the season and the supplier, so treat these as ranges, not quotes.
