Seasonal or per-push: which snow contract is cheaper?
One is a metered bill and one is insurance. Anyone telling you seasonal is simply a discount is describing their preference, not your arithmetic.
The crossing point, drawn
Two lines: one flat, one rising. They cross exactly once, and where they cross is the only thing that matters.
How many visits does a Macomb County winter actually produce?
Southeast Michigan averages about 45 inches of snow a season, based on the National Weather Service's 1991–2020 normal at Detroit Metro Airport. Counting from NOAA's daily records for the same station, a 2-inch trigger works out to about 10 billable visits in a typical winter, with the middle half of the last 30 winters between 7 and 12. That sits below the break-even, so per-push costs less in most winters. Seasonal comes out ahead in heavy ones: the count reached 14 or more in four of those 30 winters (2007–08, 2010–11, 2012–13 and 2013–14). The full counts are in how many plowable snows Macomb County gets.
The average is also misleading in a way worth understanding. Two winters with identical totals can produce twelve visits or twenty-two, depending entirely on whether the snow arrived in a few large events or a long series of small ones. A 12-inch storm is one visit. Six 2-inch events are six.
What you are actually buying with seasonal
A fixed cost. That is the whole product. In a heavy winter you win; in a mild one you lose and will have paid more than per-visit would have cost.
That is not a flaw, it is the same trade as any insurance policy. And like insurance, the right question is not "what is the expected value" but "can I absorb the bad outcome". A household that genuinely cannot handle a surprise $400 February is better served by seasonal even when the expected value slightly favors per-visit.
Who should choose which
| Your situation | Usually better | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Short driveway, flexible mornings | Per-visit | Low per-visit cost, and you can skip marginal events |
| Long or steep rural drive | Seasonal | High per-visit rate; a heavy season adds up fast |
| Mobility or medical constraints | Seasonal | You cannot be snowed in; predictability is the product |
| Shift work with a fixed start | Seasonal | Same reason — the cost of being late exceeds the premium |
| Rental or second property | Seasonal | Fixed cost, no decisions needed from a distance |
| Tight monthly budget | Seasonal | A known number beats a lower average with spikes |
| You own a working snowblower | Per-visit | Use it on the small ones, call for the big ones |
The three questions that expose a bad seasonal contract
- What is the trigger depth? Unlimited visits at 3 inches is a far smaller promise than unlimited at 2.
- Is de-icing included? Frequently not, and a heavy ice season then produces an invoice the customer believed was covered.
- How is a long storm counted? A 14-hour event reasonably needs two passes. Some agreements bill that as two events even under seasonal.
Every one of those should be answerable in a sentence. If a contractor cannot answer them crisply in October, they will not be clearer in February.
What we do
Per-visit is the default at $0.0715 per square foot with a $75 minimum and no lock-in. Seasonal agreements are priced from measured square footage rather than a flat tier, so a 720-square-foot drive and a 1,600-square-foot drive do not pay the same. Full detail is on seasonal contracts and snow pricing.
Questions people actually ask
Which is actually cheaper?
Per-push below roughly 14 to 16 visits, seasonal above it. Counting from NOAA’s daily records for Detroit Metro Airport, a typical winter runs about 10 visits at a 2-inch trigger (the middle half of the last 30 winters ran 7 to 12), so per-push costs less in most winters and seasonal comes out ahead in heavy ones.
Why does seasonal cost more than an average winter?
Because the contractor carries the heavy-winter risk. A typical winter here runs about 10 visits at a 2-inch trigger, but the heaviest of the last 30 ran 21, and a seasonal price has to survive winters like that. A seasonal rate priced far below the expected per-push total would lose money in a heavy year; far above and nobody buys it.
Does "unlimited" mean unlimited?
Check three things: the trigger depth, whether de-icing is included, and how a multi-day storm is counted. Those are the three places unlimited quietly stops being unlimited, and all three should be in writing.
Can I switch mid-season?
No, and no contractor should let you. Switching only ever happens in one direction — toward whichever option is currently winning — and pricing both fairly depends on the choice being made before anyone knows the weather.
Are mild-winter rebates worth anything?
Read the threshold. It is frequently set low enough that it almost never pays out, which makes it a marketing feature rather than a financial one. Ask what snowfall total triggers it and how many times it has actually been paid.
What if I just want it for one storm?
Per-visit with no contract handles that, and there is no penalty for using a contractor three times and then buying a snowblower. Any company that will not do single visits is selling you an annuity rather than a service.
Related guides
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The calculator gives you the per-visit number. Send the address and we will quote the season from the same measurement.