Artificial grass against a real lawn, over ten years
Compare the ten-year cost, not the install cost. Real grass is cheaper on day one and dearer by year four, because water, fertiliser, mowing and replacement keep arriving.
| Artificial | Instant lawn | |
|---|---|---|
| Installed | R19 900 | R8 500 |
| Water, 10 years | R0 | R38 000 - R55 000 |
| Mowing and feeding | R0 | R24 000 - R40 000 |
| Replacement | R0 | Once, typically |
| Ten-year total | R19 900 | R70 000 - R110 000 |
Where real grass still wins
- Very large areas. A hectare of turf is not economic.
- Heat. Real grass stays cooler in full sun.
- Ground that must stay permeable. Some estates require it.
- Biodiversity. Turf supports nothing living.
Honest answer: a small used garden suits turf, a large unused one suits planting.
The running cost of the turf option is not zero either, but it is small and predictable: four maintenance jobs a year.
The middle option
Turf the part of the garden that gets used and plant the rest. Most large Cape Town plots end up this way, with turf near the house and waterwise planting beyond it.
Price the turf part by the artificial grass price per square metre, or read how artificial grass installation works before you compare quotes.
The water column above is the one that moves most. What a Cape Town lawn actually drinks, in litres and in tariff blocks, is on water restrictions and Cape Town lawns. Doing the install yourself changes the first row only — the labour is in how to lay artificial grass.