The 4 Best Lawn Fertilizers (Organic & Synthetic) 2025

For many of us maintaining a great looking lawn can be a struggle. You might look over at your neighbors grass with envy and wonder what you can do to make yours look just as nice. Nobody wants ugly brown patches scattered around their yard and they don’t want weeds or crabgrass either. One of the best ways to rid yourself of these problems is to make sure your lawn gets all of the nutrients it needs throughout the growing season and that starts by choosing the right fertilizer.

best lawn fertilizers

Below you’ll find our recommendations for the best choices around, but first, we’ll take a quick look at the benefits of organic fertilizers vs synthetic options.

The Organic Choice

As you’ve probably already guessed, organic fertilizers are made from all-natural ingredients such as seaweed, kelp and alfalfa. They feed your lawn much-needed nutrients, but it takes longer for your grass to see the benefits than it does if you choose the synthetic option.

If you want a great lawn as quickly as possible, organic is not the best way to do it. If you’re trying to balance what’s best for the environment, your children and your pets with a desire for a healthy law then organic is the perfect solution.

Why Synthetic Fertilizers Are More Popular?

While environmental concerns are a major concern for many homeowners, synthetic fertilizers are still the more popular choice. There are a couple of main reasons for this – they’re usually less expensive and you get positive results more quickly.

There’s a lot of science that goes into making great fertilizers and the experts have included a lot of ingredients that result in a fast-growing healthy lawn, but they can also harm the environment around them and they can be a potential hazard for your kids and your pets.

If you do go the synthetic route, be sure to keep your children and pets off your lawn while you do.

The Best Lawn Fertilizers 2025:

1. Simple Lawn Solutions Complete Lawn Food

Simple Lawn Solutions Advanced 16-4-8 Balanced NPK Lawn Food Image credit: Simple Lawn Solutions Check availability and price: Amazon

Why It’s Great For Your Lawn:

There’s a good reason that Simple Lawn Solutions have called this one the Complete Lawn Food – it’s full of ingredients both organic and synthetic that provide all of the nutrients that your lawn needs to grow healthy and thick.

A common term in the fertilizer world is the NPK ratio, which refers to the mix of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the product. This one has a ratio of 16-4-8, which is ideal for helping the grass grow. It can be used on all types of grass and it’s relatively safe to use compared to many of its competitors.

Potential Concerns:

There isn’t a whole lot that we don’t like about Complete Lawn Food. Like any fertilizer, you do have to be careful not to use too much of it and it may be a bit more expensive than some of its competitors. It’s also usually sold in smaller 32-ounce containers which won’t cover large lawns so you may have to buy a few containers if you have a bigger yard.

  • An ideal NPK ratio.
  • Combines organic and synthetic ingredients.
  • Works on all types of grass.
  • Relatively safe.
  • A little more expensive.
  • Usually sold in smaller quantities.

A Great Choice:

The Simple Lawn Solutions Complete Lawn Food is the perfect product for dealing with problem areas of your lawn. While you can use it on your entire lawn, that’s not the best use of this product. It can get expensive if you’re using this on a large lawn, but for mallet lawns or problem areas of a larger lawn, it’s ideal.

2. Scotts Turf Builder Weed & Feed

Scotts Turf Builder Weed & Feed Lawn Fertilizer Image credit: Scotts Check availability and price: Amazon

Why It’s Great For Your Lawn:

Scotts has been one of the most trusted names in the fertilizer business for decades and for good reason – they make great products. Scotts Turf Builder Weed & Feed is a great option if you’re battling to rid yourself of weeds and you’d like to replace them with a healthy lush lawn.

It’s specially formulated to attack dandelions and clovers while thickening your lawn with nutrients at the same time. It uses something Scotts calls WeedGrip technology and it’s highly expensive.

Potential Concerns:

As the label on the package says keeps this product away from your children and your pets too. This product is highly effective because it’s synthesized to attack weeds and it uses some potentially harmful ingredients to accomplish this task. You also don’t want to overuse this product as it will burn your lawn if you’re not careful with it.

  • Highly effective weed killer.
  • WeedGrip technology.
  • Fast-acting.
  • Thickens lawn.
  • Hazardous for kids and pets.
  • May burn your lawn in higher concentrations.

A Great Choice:

Scotts Turf Builder is a great choice if you have a lawn full of weeds or a couple of areas you’re trying to rid yourself of dandelions. It does contain strong ingredients that may be harmful to small children or pets so it should be used in moderation. As long as you’re careful when using this product we highly recommend it.

3. Espoma Organic Lawn Food

Espoma Organic All Season Lawn Food Image credit: Espoma Check availability and price: Amazon

Why It’s Great For Your Lawn:

If you’re in the market for organic fertilizer, you can’t do any better than Espoma’s Lawn Food. It’s rich in organic nutrients and it’s designed to be used in all seasons making it great for any climate.

Because it uses all-natural ingredients it’s completely safe to be used around pets and children. It’s also perfectly safe for the environment around you. You won’t be adding harmful chemicals into runoff water and you won’t be adding anything that can poison the bee population. There’s also no risk of burning your lawn with this product.

Potential Concerns:

As this is an organic product it takes a little more time to work its magic. You have to be patient and accept that you won’t see results in a couple of days, but in a couple of weeks, you’ll start to notice health and thick lawn growth. It does work, it just takes a little longer than synthetic fertilizers do.

The only other problem with this fertilizer is that it’s quite a bit more expensive than many of its competitors.

  • Fully organic ingredients.
  • Safe for children and pets.
  • Works in all seasons.
  • Better for the environment.
  • Takes longer to work.
  • Expensive.

A Great Choice:

If you don’t mind spending a little more on a safe organic fertilizer, then you’ll want to give Espoma’s Lawn Food a try. It works great for an organic product and you won’t have to worry about the health of your children or pets when you use it. This fertilizer will take a little longer to work, but the results will be worth it.

4. Miracle-Gro Water Soluble Lawn Food

Miracle-Gro Water Soluble Lawn Food Image credit: Miracle-Gro Check availability and price: Amazon

Why It’s Great For Your Lawn:

Miracle-Gro Water Soluble Lawn Food is easily one of the best options if you want a lush and healthy lawn this spring and summer. Miracle-Gro has a full range of products for your lawn, but this is by far the best choice for most lawns.

It’s fast-acting and that’s why they call it Miracle-Gro. Their all-purpose fertilizer also happens to be one of the least expensive products on the market. It’s sold in a variety of sizes to suit any size lawn as well.

Potential Concerns:

One of the reasons this fertilizer works so well is that it’s formulated with some strong ingredients. Those ingredients may be effective and long-lasting, but you don’t want your children or pets to come in close contact with them and that means keeping them off the lawn for a while. Because it’s so strong you can also burn your lawn if you’re not careful with its use as well.

  • Fast-acting.
  • Long-lasting.
  • Inexpensive.
  • Sold in a variety of sizes.
  • Not safe around children or pets.
  • Overuse will burn your lawn.

A Great Choice:

If you use Miracle-Gro All Purpose Lawn Food as directed by the manufacturer you’ll have a healthy thick lawn this year. It works quickly and it works well because it contains a strong mix of effective ingredients.

You do have to keep your kids and pets away for at least a couple of days after application and you have to be careful not to overuse if you don’t want to burn your lawn. As long as this fertilizer is used carefully, it’s one of the best options on the market today in terms of effectiveness and price.

A Better Lawn With Fertilizer

There’s no doubt that you’ll have a healthier thicker lawn if you use fertilizer. Any one of these products will help you get there. We’ve included both organic and synthetic options as well as products that target weeds directly.

If we had to pick just one we’d choose Miracle-Gro Water Soluble Lawn Food because it’s fast-acting and inexpensive, but all of these products are great choices for a lusher and healthier lawn.