For a quality, climate-specific planting plan in Australia in 2026, expect to pay $690 to $1,200. Below $400 you're getting templates or DA-compliance documents, not a designer's input. Above $1,500 you're paying for either a site visit (often unnecessary for plant selection) or a full concept design that includes hardscape and spatial layout, not just planting.
If you've ever Googled "planting plan cost," you'll have noticed the answers are all over the place. One service quotes $97. Another quotes $5,000. They look like they offer the same thing. They don't.
If you're earlier in the journey and haven't decided whether online landscape design makes sense for your project, start with our online landscape design overview — then come back here for the cost breakdown.
I'm a Certified Horticulturalist (NZQA Level 3) with 10+ years of landscape practice. This guide is the version I wish existed when buyers email me asking why other quotes are 10x higher (or 10x lower) than ours.
Two opinions up front because they shape everything that follows:
- I reject roughly 40% of enquiries — most of those should go to a landscaper, an arborist, or a landscape architect, not to a designer. If your project is "fix one bed near the front door" you don't need a Plant Plan; you need an afternoon at the local nursery. If your project involves cutting and filling, retaining walls or stormwater design, you need a registered landscape architect or civil engineer, not me.
- The biggest cost driver in landscape design isn't the plan — it's the plants you buy after. A $690 plan that prevents one $1,800 replant in year two has paid for itself three times over before you've delivered the brief. That's the actual economics, not the line-item cost of the plan.
Who this guide is really for
The "right" planting plan price depends on what you're trying to do. Four common situations:
- Existing-home renovator — your beds are defined and tired-looking, you want them refreshed with the right plants for your climate and lifestyle. The credentialed remote band is built for you.
- New-build owner-occupier (with or without covenant deadline) — settlement done, dirt outside, 90-180 days to plant. You want compliance AND a garden you'll enjoy living with. Skip the tick-box plan; go straight to the credentialed band.
- First home buyer — you've stretched to buy and the landscape budget is tight. You still want a qualified designed plan, not a big-box-store shopping list. The credentialed band fits this scope.
- Acreage / rural / regional homeowner — remote-first design suits rural properties especially well. A fixed-price plan you can receive from anywhere, no travel component to worry about.
Investment-property owners and renters not paying themselves are the only segments who should look at the cheapest tier. Everyone else: read on.
The five price bands explained
Every planting plan available in Australia falls into one of five rough price bands. The name on the website doesn't tell you which band you're in — only what's actually delivered does. Here's the honest breakdown.
$0 – $200 Free tools, AI generators, software auto-pick
You get
- An instantly-generated species list, often based on a few clicks (climate zone + style preference)
- Sometimes a 3D render or a basic illustrative layout
- Generic care tips
You don't get
- A horticulturalist reviewing your specific site
- Cross-checks against state-level weed registers or pet-toxicity databases
- Consideration of your specific microclimate (afternoon-westerly exposure, salt drift, frost pockets, reflected heat off rendered walls)
- Accountability if the species don't perform — there's no relationship to lean on
Best use: inspiration phase only. Treat the output as a starting point for further research, not as a buying list.
$200 – $400 DA / council compliance plans (paperwork only)
You get
- A landscape plan that satisfies development application or covenant compliance requirements
- Plant species selected from a council-approved list (typically natives + drought-tolerant)
- A scaled drawing your council/estate will accept
- Fast turnaround (often 2-5 days)
You don't get
- A plan designed to look beautiful — these are designed to tick a box
- Personalised species selection based on your style preferences
- Photos of each species (usually just botanical names + quantities)
- Consideration of your existing features, view lines, or how zones flow together
- A plan you'd actually want to plant — these are paperwork artifacts, not garden designs
Honest warning: if you have a covenant deadline AND you'd like a garden you'll enjoy living with, this band is a trap. You'll pay $395 for the compliance plan, then $700-$1,200 for a real planting plan when you realise the council-approved species list isn't what you actually want at home. That's $1,100-$1,600 in total for a fragmented result. The $690-$1,200 credentialed band below delivers covenant-compliance AND a garden you actually want — in one document, with one designer, for less total spend.
Genuinely best use: investment properties where you only need the box ticked, or rentals where the renter (not you) lives with the result.
$690 – $1,200 Credentialed remote planting plans
You get
- A qualified horticulturalist reviewing your site (from photos, plans, intake form, BoM rainfall + climate-zone lookup, CSIRO Soil Atlas profile)
- Cultivar-specific selection — not "Lomandra" but "Lomandra longifolia 'Tanika' for the wet clay corner, 'Lime Tuff' for the part-shade strip, 'Katie Belles' for the screening row." The cultivar matters as much as the species.
- Photos of every species, mature height × width to the cm, sun requirements (morning/afternoon/full/dappled), water needs, recommended pot size for purchase, quantity per bed
- Illustrative layout showing where each species goes — spacing per mature width, mass-planting groups vs solo features
- 12-month maintenance calendar (prune, feed, divide, mulch top-up — month-by-month)
- Cross-checks against your state's weed register (NSW DPI WeedWise, QLD's Restricted Matter list, VIC Catchment and Land Protection Regulations, WA's Declared Pests, SA NRM Act species, etc.) and APVMA/ASPCA pet toxicity if you've disclosed pets or young kids
- Covenant + estate-guideline compliance — when you upload your design guidelines at intake, your plan is designed to meet them AND look great
- Revision round included
- A document you can hand to any landscaper to install from
You don't get
- A site visit — but for planting plans on standard residential blocks, photos and your description give us everything we need
- A full hardscape design (paths, lawns, retaining, structures) — that's a different scope
Best use: this is the sweet spot for most homeowners. New-build covenant buyers (Stockland, Mirvac, Villawood, Peet estates), first home buyers, renovators with existing beds, anyone whose beds are already defined and just needs them filled beautifully.
$1,500 – $3,000 Hybrid: concept layout + planting (remote)
You get
- Everything in the credentialed remote band, plus
- Concept-level spatial design (where the beds go, not just what fills them)
- Pathway, lawn, and entertaining-area layout
- Sometimes a video consultation; not always — fully-async options exist in this band too
You don't get
- Hardscape engineering (retaining walls, drainage, structural decks) — these need an engineer
- A site visit (still remote)
Best use: new builds where the outdoor space hasn't been defined yet (no existing beds), or renovations where the beds + paths + lawn all need rethinking together. If your beds are already in and you only need them filled, the band above is enough.
$3,000 – $5,000+ In-person landscape designer (full traditional service)
You get
- A site visit (typically 2-3 hours) where the designer sees your property in person
- Soil testing, drainage assessment, on-site tree health checks
- Detailed design including hardscape, planting, lighting, irrigation
- Often a workshop-style consultation to align on style and brief
- Multiple revision rounds and longer relationship
You don't get
- Anything you couldn't have got remotely if your site is reasonably standard — most of the value of a site visit is for genuinely complex sites
- Fast turnaround — most in-person designers run 4-8 weeks from inquiry to delivered design
- The same plan for less money — you're paying for the visit, not the design quality
Genuinely best use: properties with real complications a remote designer can't assess from photos — steep slopes with retaining decisions, drainage problems requiring on-site investigation, mature heritage trees needing arboricultural input, contaminated or made-ground soil, sites where the plan needs council-stamped certification beyond a planting layout.
Honest test: Ask yourself "do I actually need a site visit, or do I want one because it feels more thorough?" Most owner-occupiers on standard suburban blocks (700-1,200m²) don't need one. The site-visit value is real for complex sites — and almost entirely psychological for everyone else.
The cheap planting plan can become the expensive replanting bill. If you spend $200 on an AI-generated plan and 60% of the species are wrong for your microclimate, you'll spend $2,000-$4,000 on plants that fail in their first 12 months — plus the labour to dig them out and replant. The $1,000 plan that gets the species right costs less in year one than the $200 plan that doesn't.
From the desk: 9 species I see fail consistently in cheap AU residential plans
This is the part of the article that's actually useful. The pattern below shows up in plans I review for clients who came to us after a prior plan didn't work. None of these species are "bad" — they just get specified into the wrong situations consistently.
- Magnolia 'Little Gem' — specified into Sydney + SE QLD coastal sites. Hates wet feet, hates humidity, sulks all summer, drops black-spotted leaves continuously. Use in temperate inland or skip.
- Buxus sempervirens (English Box) — specified for hedging in QLD/NSW subtropics. Falls to box blight (Calonectria pseudonaviculata) within 18-36 months in humid summers. Substitute: Westringia 'Grey Box' or Lonicera nitida 'Lemon Beauty'.
- Frangipani (Plumeria) under 1.5m from a pool — drops 100+ broad leaves over 6 months annually. Pool filter loves it. Pool owner doesn't. Site them 3m+ from any water body.
- Cocos Palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana) — declared environmental weed in NSW + VIC; classed as a problematic species in QLD. Still specified by builders constantly. The fronds will skin you, the fruit ferments and stinks, and birds spread the seeds.
- Lomandra longifolia 'Katrinus Deluxe' in clay-bound subtropical sites — gets crown rot inside 12 months. Use 'Tanika' or 'Lime Tuff' instead, which tolerate wet clay far better. (Cheap plans rarely specify the cultivar — they say "Lomandra" and you get whatever the wholesaler stocked.)
- Agapanthus praecox (seed-setting cultivars) — declared invasive in VIC + parts of NSW. Sterile cultivars (Agapanthus 'Silver Baby', 'Streamline', 'Snowstorm Sterile') are the only legal way to plant Agapanthus in those states. Most plans don't specify "sterile."
- Murraya paniculata (Orange Jessamine) — naturalised invasive across SE QLD. Specified for hedges anyway because it grows fast. Plant Syzygium 'Resilience' or Lilly Pilly 'Backyard Bliss' instead.
- Gardenia augusta 'Florida' in alkaline soils — yellow leaves, no flowers, slow death. Test soil pH first. Substitute: Pittosporum 'Golf Ball' for similar low-globe form without the soil fussiness.
- Cordyline 'Red Star' in afternoon-westerly exposure — leaves bleach within one summer, looks tatty year-round. Site morning-sun only or substitute Phormium 'Black Adder'.
None of these decisions require a $5,000 designer. They require any designer who knows what they're doing — which is the entire reason credentialed remote plans cost $690-$1,200 instead of $97.
What $690 actually covers — line-item breakdown
Buyers ask me this often: "Where does $690 go? Why isn't it $200, or $2,000?" Here's the actual decomposition for a Half-Site Plant Plan, in approximate hours:
- Site analysis (~15 min) — Bureau of Meteorology rainfall + climate zone lookup for your postcode (BoM data services), CSIRO Soil Atlas profile, frost risk months, UV zone, plus reading every photo and your written brief carefully
- Style + brief reconciliation (~10 min) — comparing what you've said you want against what'll actually thrive on your site. Often involves at least one "you want X but Y will work better here, do you want me to substitute" decision
- Species selection (~25-35 min) — drafting 12-25 candidate species, cross-checking each against (a) your state's weed register (NSW DPI WeedWise, QLD's Restricted Matter list, VIC's Catchment and Land Protection Regulations, etc.), (b) APVMA/ASPCA pet toxicity if you've flagged pets/kids, (c) mature size vs your bed dimensions, (d) availability at major AU wholesale nurseries (typically Plantmark, Speciality Trees, or local indigenous specialists)
- Layout drafting (~20-25 min) — illustrative bed plan, spacing per species mature width, mass-planting groups vs feature placement
- Species schedule build (~15-20 min) — photo, botanical name, common name, mature height x width, sun requirements, water needs, recommended pot size, quantity per bed
- Maintenance calendar (~10 min) — 12-month per-species care notes (when to prune, feed, divide, mulch top-up)
- PDF assembly + QA (~15-20 min) — template merge, proof, double-check no specified species are on weed registers or known toxic to disclosed pets
- Email delivery + follow-up handling (~10 min)
Total: ~2 to 2.5 hours per Plant Plan. At $690, that's $276-$345 per hour effective rate — comparable to a mid-tier consultancy hourly. Below that, corners get cut: usually species selection (smaller candidate list, no cultivar specificity) and the weed/toxicity cross-checks.
Why credentialed costs more than software
Software can match plants to climate zones at a coarse level. What it can't do is the judgement work — the bit you actually want from a designer:
- Microclimate reading. The south-facing corner that gets full afternoon sun in summer but no winter sun. The east-facing wall that takes morning sun until 11am then drops into shade. The rendered wall that throws reflected heat 4-6°C above ambient onto your western bed. AI doesn't ask. A horticulturalist asks first.
- Pet-and-kid screening. If you've mentioned a curious 2-year-old, that rules out roughly a dozen otherwise-perfect species (Oleander, Brugmansia, Castor Bean, Foxglove, Lily of the Valley, Daphne, Yew, Stinging Nettle, Rhus, Strelitzia berries, Aloe vera latex contact). The good plan substitutes; the cheap plan doesn't ask.
- Pinterest reality-check. The English garden you saved 47 photos of relies on summer rainfall, cool nights and pH-neutral soil — none of which you have in subtropical Australia. A good designer translates the aesthetic intent into species that'll deliver the same vibe in your actual climate zone.
- Wholesale supply check. Specifying species the wholesale market doesn't carry costs you 3-6 weeks of substitution headaches when your installer can't source. A designer who actively checks Plantmark, Speciality Trees and indigenous-specialist availability before finalising the schedule saves you that.
That judgement is the difference between a plan that delivers and one that doesn't. You can't get it from software — you get it from a person who's specified plants into hundreds of Australian properties and watched what survived 24 months and what didn't.
Do you need to pay for a site visit?
For most residential planting plans: no.
The data we actually need to specify the right plants is:
- Climate zone, rainfall, frost risk — derived from your address (Bureau of Meteorology data, Soil Atlas of Australia)
- Bed dimensions + sun exposure + slope — you measure these in 15 minutes with a tape measure and a compass app
- Soil type — you can usually identify sandy / clay / loam by feel; if not, your address tells us a lot
- What surrounds each bed — fence, wall, lawn, path — you describe this
- Existing plants you want to keep — you list these
- Your style preferences and constraints — pets, kids, allergies, time-for-maintenance
None of those need a designer to physically visit. A site visit becomes valuable when there's something a photo or your description can't convey — a complex slope, drainage concerns, heritage trees, structural hardscape decisions. For 80% of residential planting projects, those complications don't apply.
Charging $300-$700 for a site visit on a standard residential block isn't bad practice — it's just an outdated cost structure. The remote model we use at Planted Studio reflects the actual cost of producing a quality plan when most data can be gathered remotely.
If you have a covenant deadline: here's the smart play
This deserves its own section because it's the situation we see most often — and the one where the cheap-plan trap costs people the most.
You've settled on a house in a master-planned estate. Stockland Aura, Mirvac Olivine, Villawood Aspire, Peet Lakelands — pick your developer. Your covenant gives you 90-180 days from handover to complete front (and often back) landscaping. The penalty for missing the deadline ranges from polite letters to fines to forced rectification at your cost.
Two paths:
Path 1 — the "tick-box" route ($395 + $700-$1,200 later = $1,100-$1,600 total). You buy a $395 DA-compliance plan, plant the council-approved species, then realise six months in that you don't actually like Lomandra hedges and Coastal Rosemary blocks of three. You pay another $700-$1,200 for a "real" plan and either rip out half the original planting or live with a garden you didn't choose.
Path 2 — the "compliant + beautiful" route ($690-$1,200 total). You upload your covenant guidelines at intake (most are downloadable PDFs from your developer's portal — Stockland calls these "Design Essentials," Mirvac calls them "Design Guidelines," Peet calls them "Restrictive Covenants"). The plant selection is then built to BOTH meet your covenant requirements AND reflect your style preferences. One plan, one cost, one garden you actually want to live with.
For 90% of new-build covenant buyers, Path 2 is cheaper, faster, and delivers a result you'll keep. The DA-compliance band only makes sense for investment properties where the box-tick is the entire goal. For a deeper guide on what your developer actually requires, see our New Build Covenant Landscape Plans Explained guide.
Credentialed remote plans deliver in 5-10 business days standard, or 48 hours with a rush fee. Even if your covenant deadline is 4 weeks away, you've got time. Don't let perceived urgency push you into a tick-box plan you'll regret.
How to pick the right price band for your project
Here's a simple decision tree:
Pick the $200-$400 DA band ONLY IF
- This is an investment property and you don't live there
- The renter / occupant doesn't care about aesthetics
- The box-tick is genuinely the entire goal
If you live in the house — skip this band. See the covenant section above.
Pick the $690-$1,200 credentialed band IF
- You're a new-build covenant buyer who wants compliance AND a garden you'll enjoy
- Your beds are already defined (or you know where they'll go)
- You want plants that will actually thrive in your specific conditions
- You want photos, mature sizes, quantities — a real document, not a list
- You're budget-conscious but not willing to gamble on cheap templates
- You're a first home buyer or renovator with existing beds
Pick the $1,500-$2,500 hybrid band IF
- The whole outdoor space is a blank slate — including bed positions, paths, lawn shape
- You want a video consultation or designer relationship
- You're early in a renovation and want a cohesive plan before you start building
Pick the $3,000-$5,000+ in-person band IF
- Your site is genuinely complex (acreage, steep slopes, drainage issues, heritage)
- You want a long-term designer relationship for a multi-year project
- You have the budget and want the full bells-and-whistles experience
Before you commit to a plan at any price, take our 2-minute Style Finder quiz. Eight quick questions and we'll send you a personalised style direction (tropical, native, coastal, modern, cottage or low-maintenance) plus three sample looks that match. Take the quiz →
What questions to ask before paying
Whatever band you choose, ask these five questions before committing. Honest answers will tell you which band you're really getting.
- Who selects the plants? A qualified horticulturalist? A designer? Software? An offshore template? Get a name and a credential.
- Are the species cross-checked against my state's weed register? Recommending a Cabomba in QLD would be illegal. You want to know it won't happen.
- Will I get photos of every species? A list of botanical names without photos is a homework assignment, not a plan.
- What happens if a species is wrong for my conditions? Look for a real revision policy, not just "tough luck."
- How long does delivery take? If you've got a covenant deadline, factor delivery time into your decision. Software is instant; designers can be 4-8 weeks.
Where Planted Studio fits
We're in the credentialed remote band — $690 (Half-Site) and $990 (Full-Site) Plant Plans, reviewed and signed off by a qualified horticulturalist for your specific climate zone, delivered in 5 business days. Australia-wide, no site visit, fixed pricing.
Start Your Plant PlanFrequently asked questions
How much does a planting plan cost in Australia?
Planting plans in Australia range from $97 (template-generated software) to $5,000+ (in-person landscape designer). The realistic sweet spot for a qualified, climate-zone-specific plan in 2026 is $690-$1,200 — enough to get a horticulturalist's input, photos, species suited to your property, and a maintenance schedule, at a scope that suits most residential blocks.
What's the difference between a $400 plan and a $1,000 plan?
At $400 you typically get a template-driven document or a DA-compliance plan (designed to satisfy council, not to look good). At $1,000 you get a horticulturalist actually selecting species for your specific climate zone, soil and aspect — with photos, mature sizes, and quantities. The $600 difference is the difference between a plan that survives 12 months and one that doesn't.
Do I need to pay for a site visit?
Not for a planting plan. Plant selection depends on climate zone, soil type, sun exposure and what surrounds the bed — all of which can be assessed remotely from photos, address-based data lookups, and your written description. For standard residential blocks, a well-built remote intake gives a designer the information needed to specify the right species.
Are cheap online planting plans worth it?
Sub-$400 plans use templated species lists or AI-generated suggestions. They cost less because no human horticulturalist reviews your site. The risk: species that don't suit your climate, are on local weed registers, are toxic to pets, or won't survive their first summer. The cheap plan can become an expensive replanting bill.
How long does a planting plan take to deliver?
Software-generated plans deliver instantly or within days. Credentialed remote plans typically take 5-14 business days. In-person designer plans take 4-8 weeks (including the wait for a site visit slot). If you've got a covenant deadline, factor delivery time into your decision.
What if I just want plant suggestions, not a full plan?
For under $200 you'll find services that send a species list. That's not a planting plan — it's a shopping list. A real plan tells you where each plant goes, how many of each, what spacing, what borders what. The list is the easy bit; the layout judgement is the value.
Can a planting plan satisfy my estate covenant or council requirement?
Yes — a credentialed remote plan can be designed to satisfy estate covenants (Stockland, Mirvac, Villawood, Peet, etc.) and most council landscape requirements. Upload your covenant or design guidelines at intake and the species selection, quantities and layout are built to meet those requirements AND look great. This is almost always cheaper than buying a $395 DA-compliance plan first and a $700+ aesthetic plan later.
Important caveat: a planting plan is not a council-stamped DA document for development applications requiring formal certification (e.g. a Construction Certificate condition). For those, you may also need a registered landscape architect to sign off. If you're unsure, email us your council's requirement document and we'll tell you straight whether a Plant Plan is enough.