Leaf & Fall Cleanup Cost Estimator

The price builds up multiplicatively from the area you actually clear, then floors at a minimum service fee and presents a low–high band — never a single false-precision number.

billedArea    = coveredArea ? area : area × coveragePct
base          = billedArea × baseRate
subtotal      = base × densityMult × complexityFactor
disposal      = bag&stage: bags × $/bag · vacuum&haul: surcharge · blow: $0
pointEstimate = max(subtotal + disposal + gutter, minimumFee)
priceLow/High = round(pointEstimate × 0.85 / 1.20)
laborHours    = (subtotal + disposal) ÷ hourlyRate   (cross-check, not the driver)

Density maps to 1.0 / 2.0 / 3.0 / 4.0 (light → extreme) and complexity to 1.0 / 1.2 / 1.5 (easy → difficult) — pinned in-band defaults so two people get the same number. The covered-area step is the accuracy detail: whole-lot square footage overstates a cleanup because leaves rarely cover 100% of a lot.

The labor-hours line is a reality check, not the price driver: it shows the hours implied if you billed at your hourly rate, so the area model and the hours model can agree within a band.

The benchmark verdict compares your point estimate to LawnStarter's static one-time lot-size table (¼-ac $160–$290, etc.) and labels it high / fair / low. It's a baked-in reference, not a live lookup.

Sources: Calculator City (leaf removal cost calculator); LawnStarter (2026 leaf removal cost guide — lot-size table, per-method rates, $/bag, pro minimum, gutter rate); Mowing Magic (per-sq-ft and per-acre bands, hauling minimum).