Quick Summary
Sod is far cheaper to put down in Gretna. Installed sod in the New Orleans area typically runs $1.00 to $2.00 per square foot, while LawnStarter, a national cost guide, puts installed artificial turf at $15 to $19 per square foot on average. On a 2,000 square foot yard that is roughly $2,000 to $4,000 for sod against $30,000 to $38,000 for turf.
Last Updated: September 2026
On this page
- Is it cheaper to lay sod or turf in Gretna?
- What does sod cost to install in Gretna?
- What does artificial turf cost to install?
- How do the two compare on a typical Gretna yard?
- Why does Gretna soil matter for both options?
- How hot does artificial turf get in summer?
- When does artificial turf make sense anyway?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Homeowners in Gretna ask this question for a simple reason. Nobody wants to mow in August, and artificial turf promises a green yard with no mowing at all. The price difference between the two, though, is much larger than most people expect when they first start comparing quotes.
Big Easy Sod installs natural sod across Greater New Orleans and the Northshore, including the West Bank. We do not sell artificial turf, so read this as the sod side of the comparison, with the turf figures taken from a published national cost guide rather than from our own pricing.
Please note: The prices in this article are estimates only, shared to help you plan. Your actual cost depends on your property, the materials and the size of the job. For pricing on your project, call Big Easy Sod for a quote.
Is it cheaper to lay sod or turf in Gretna?
Sod is cheaper by a wide margin. At $1.00 to $2.00 per square foot installed, sod costs a fraction of artificial turf, which LawnStarter places at $15 to $19 per square foot installed on average. Per square foot, turf runs roughly seven and a half to nineteen times the price of a professional sod install.
The two are different products. Artificial turf is a manufactured surface laid over a prepared base, while sod is a living crop cut at a farm and laid directly onto graded soil.
The trade people are really weighing is upkeep. A sod lawn needs water, mowing and feeding for as long as you have it, and artificial turf does not need mowing. Whether that saving is worth the extra cost depends on the yard, which is what the rest of this guide works through.
When the word “turf” comes up in a quote, check which kind is meant. Turf is also used for natural grass, as in turfgrass, so it is worth confirming you are comparing a living lawn against a synthetic one before you compare prices.
What does sod cost to install in Gretna?
Professional sod installation in the New Orleans area typically costs $1.00 to $2.00 per square foot, covering the grass, soil preparation and labor. A 2,000 square foot lawn usually lands between $2,000 and $4,000 installed, with the final number set by the grass variety and the condition of the ground.
The grass itself is the smaller part of that figure. Material cost by variety runs about $0.35 to $0.55 per square foot for Bermuda, $0.40 to $0.60 for Floratam St. Augustine, $0.45 to $0.65 for Centipede and $0.55 to $0.80 for Zoysia. Our full breakdown of what sod installation costs in New Orleans covers the rest of the line items.
Preparation is where Gretna yards vary most. Clearing an old lawn, regrading low spots and correcting compacted soil can each add to the job, and similar work applies to artificial turf, since it also needs the old lawn removed and the ground prepared. Our guide to preparing a yard before sod goes down explains what that work involves.
What does artificial turf cost to install?
LawnStarter, a national lawn care marketplace, puts the average installed cost of artificial grass at $15 to $19 per square foot, including materials and labor. It puts a typical project of about 500 square feet at roughly $7,400 to $9,350 for mid-quality turf, with nylon products costing more again.
Those are national figures, not Gretna quotes, and other cost guides publish different ranges. Treat the figure as a sense of scale rather than a price. Even well below that average, turf would still cost several times more per square foot than a sod install.
Much of the turf price sits underneath the grass. Installers typically remove the existing lawn, excavate, and lay and compact a crushed stone base before the synthetic surface goes down. That base is part of how water drains away through the turf, and on dense clay it has to be built with care or the surface can hold water.
How do the two compare on a typical Gretna yard?
On a 2,000 square foot yard, sod at $1.00 to $2.00 per square foot comes to $2,000 to $4,000 installed. Artificial turf at $15 to $19 per square foot comes to $30,000 to $38,000 for the same area. Even on a small 500 square foot patch, sod would run about $500 to $1,000.
| Yard size | Sod installed ($1.00 to $2.00 per sq ft) | Artificial turf installed ($15 to $19 per sq ft) |
|---|---|---|
| 500 sq ft | $500 to $1,000 | $7,500 to $9,500 |
| 1,000 sq ft | $1,000 to $2,000 | $15,000 to $19,000 |
| 2,000 sq ft | $2,000 to $4,000 | $30,000 to $38,000 |
The turf column is simple arithmetic on LawnStarter’s average range of $15 to $19 per square foot, which is why its 500-square-foot row differs slightly from the $7,400 to $9,350 that LawnStarter reports for a typical mid-quality project. A real quote can land above or below either figure. The point of the table is the ratio, which stays large at every yard size. On a yard of any real size, the savings on mowing would need to run for a long time to make up that difference.
If the budget is tight even for sod, there are cheaper routes worth knowing about. Our comparison of whether it is cheaper to reseed or sod in New Orleans explains why seed is not an option for most St. Augustine lawns, and our guide to doing the sod install yourself or hiring it out covers the labor side.
Why does Gretna soil matter for both options?
Gretna and the rest of the West Bank sit on alluvial soil laid down by the Mississippi River. It is rich in nutrients but dense, slow-draining and heavily clay-based in the older neighborhoods. Both a sod lawn and an artificial one depend on how well water leaves that ground after a storm.
Gretna has been the seat of Jefferson Parish since 1884, and its older neighborhoods show it. Lots there often carry compacted clay from decades of use, roots from trees older than the houses, and grades that have shifted as the ground settled. Newer subdivisions further from the river follow a more typical parish clay profile.
For sod, that means grading and drainage come first, then the grass. For turf, it means the drainage base has to cope with water that the clay underneath will not take quickly. Our guide to installing sod in flood-prone New Orleans yards covers the drainage work in more detail.
How hot does artificial turf get in summer?
Much hotter than grass. Measurements reported in Environmental Health Perspectives found that on a 78°F afternoon, a grass field in direct sun reached 85°F while an adjacent synthetic turf field reached 140°F. The same report noted synthetic fields reaching 160°F on summer days, which is worth weighing if children or pets use the yard.
Those figures come from sports fields rather than home yards, and home turf products vary. The underlying reason carries over to a back yard, though. Living grass cools itself by moving water through its leaves, and a synthetic surface does not cool that way.
That is the part of the comparison the price sheet leaves out in a Louisiana summer. You can read the full article, Synthetic Turf: Health Debate Takes Root, on the National Institutes of Health library site. A sod lawn in August needs water, but it does not heat up the way a synthetic surface in full sun can.
When does artificial turf make sense anyway?
Turf may be worth considering on a small area where grass will not grow and nothing else fits, such as a deeply shaded strip, a spot under heavy foot traffic, or a patio insert. On a full front or back yard in Gretna, the cost gap usually makes sod the practical choice.
Shade is the case where people most often give up on grass too early. St. Augustine, and Palmetto in particular, handles more shade than Bermuda or Zoysia, so a yard that killed one grass may suit another. Our comparison of Floratam, Palmetto and Raleigh St. Augustine shows which ones cope best under trees.
If you are leaning toward sod, delivery is not the hurdle people expect on the West Bank. Gretna sits between the Mississippi River and Marrero, and West Bank installs in the two areas often run on a single dispatch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is sod cheaper than artificial turf?
Yes. Installed sod in the New Orleans area typically runs $1.00 to $2.00 per square foot, while LawnStarter puts installed artificial turf at $15 to $19 per square foot on average. On most yards, turf costs many times more up front.
How much does it cost to sod a yard in Gretna?
A 2,000 square foot lawn typically costs $2,000 to $4,000 installed, including grass, preparation and labor. The grass variety and how much grading or clearing the ground needs are what move the price within that range.
Is turf the same thing as sod?
Not always. The word turf can mean natural grass or synthetic grass. Confirm which one a quote covers before comparing prices, because the two differ by several times per square foot.
Does artificial turf work on Gretna clay soil?
It can, but the drainage base underneath has to be built for slow draining clay. The same drainage problem affects sod, which is why grading comes before either surface goes down.
Does artificial turf get hot?
Yes. Reported measurements found a synthetic field at 140°F beside an 85°F grass field on a 78°F day, with synthetic surfaces reaching 160°F on summer days. Those were sports fields and home products vary, but synthetic surfaces in full sun run far hotter than grass.
Can I get sod delivered to Gretna?
Yes. Big Easy Sod delivers to Gretna addresses and offers same-day delivery, with installation available if you would rather not lay it yourself.
Price the sod side properly before you decide
The fairest comparison uses a real sod price for your yard, not a national average. Call (504) 608-3321, or send us the size and light of your yard for a free quote. Our sod installation team in Gretna handles the grading, delivery and laying, and our full sod installation service covers the rest of the West Bank.
