What contractors actually pay per lead in 2026
Real numbers for Google Ads, Facebook, Local Services Ads and Angi, by trade, with a link to every source. Then the one number that matters more than any of them.
The short answer: a lead from a Google search ad costs a home service company about $91 on average. A lead from Facebook costs about $43. A Local Services Ads lead runs roughly $25 to $76 depending on your trade. Angi does not publish a price at all, and each request goes to up to five pros. To see what a lead is worth to your business, use the lead value calculator below.
Every number below links to where it came from. Most of the "cost per lead" figures you see online have no source, so I left out anything I could not check.
Cost per lead by channel
| Channel | Average cost per lead | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Google search ads | $90.92 | LocaliQ, home services |
| Facebook and Instagram ads | $42.95 | LocaliQ, home and home improvement |
| Google Local Services Ads | $25 to $76, by trade | 99 Calls, Q1 2026 campaigns |
| Angi | Not published | Angi help center |
A few notes so you read these right. LocaliQ's home services figure covers April 2024 through March 2025 and 3,211 campaigns, and LocaliQ points out its averages are really medians. The Local Services Ads numbers come from one agency's own campaigns, about 3,400 leads, not from Google, which does not publish LSA prices. Treat them as a ballpark.
Google search ad cost per lead by trade
Your trade moves the number more than anything else. These are LocaliQ's figures for Google search ads.
| Trade | Cost per lead |
|---|---|
| Roofing and gutters | $228.15 |
| General contractors | $165.67 |
| Plumbing | $129.02 |
| Heating and furnaces | $129.02 |
| Air conditioning | $127.74 |
| Landscaping | $117.92 |
| Electricians | $93.69 |
Source: LocaliQ 2025 Search Ad Benchmarks for Home Services. The average click for home services costs $7.85, and about 7.33% of clicks turn into a lead.
For comparison, the same agency data for Local Services Ads showed HVAC at $76.45 per lead, roofing at $65.80, plumbing at $56.90, electrical at $35.70 and landscaping at $25.20. That gap is why LSA is worth testing for most trades, as long as you answer the phone. Missed calls and slow replies cost you on LSA fast.
Why cheaper leads are not always cheaper
Facebook leads cost about half as much as Google leads. That does not make Facebook the better deal. Someone searching "roof leak repair" on Google has a problem today. Someone who tapped your Facebook ad was scrolling past a cousin's vacation photos. Both are leads. One is a lot closer to booking.
Angi has its own catch. Its help center says each request is matched with "no more than five pros," and that lead fees "change based on task, homeowner location, and demand." So you are paying to race up to four other contractors to the same phone call. I broke down whether that math works in Is Angi Worth It?
The number that matters is cost per booked job. A $150 lead that books half the time costs you $300 per job. A $40 lead that books 1 time in 10 costs you $400 per job. Track how many leads turn into jobs, then divide what you spent by the jobs you booked.
What I see in real accounts
Benchmarks are averages across thousands of accounts. Here is what has happened in accounts I run.
- A lighting company on Facebook ads averaged about $20 per lead over three months, on installs worth $3,000 to $10,000. That is well under the $42.95 benchmark.
- The same company's cost per lead went from $42 to $10.63 on the same budget. One of the biggest changes was not the ads. It was the form. After I simplified it, the share of visitors who filled it out went from 5.7% to 20%.
- A tree company on Google search ads was paying $6 to $8 a click. When I pulled the auction data, three of the top five advertisers were Angi, Yelp and Thumbtack, bidding on the same searches to resell the leads. You cannot outspend them. You beat them by being the real local company with the reviews and a phone that gets answered.
The pattern is the same almost every time. The cheapest way to lower your cost per lead is to fix what happens after the click: a fast page, a short form, a number someone can tap, and a quick reply.
Speed matters as much as price
A lead you pay $90 for is worth nothing if it goes cold. In a study published in Harvard Business Review, companies that replied within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify a lead as companies that waited even an hour longer. The same study found 23% of companies never replied at all. It is an older study and it was not about contractors, but anyone who has lost a job to the company that called back first knows it still holds.
That is why I set up missed-call text back and instant replies before I turn on ads. If you want the numbers on that, read how many touches it takes to reach a home service lead.
What is a lead worth to you?
Benchmarks tell you what other contractors pay. They do not tell you what you can afford. That comes from four numbers you probably already know:
- Average job price. What a typical job brings in.
- Profit margin. The share left after labor and materials.
- Close rate. How many leads turn into jobs. If you book 1 out of every 4, that is 25%.
- How much of the profit you will spend to win a job. This one is your call. The examples below use 30%.
The math: average job price × profit margin = profit per job. Profit per job × close rate = what a lead is worth. What a lead is worth × the share you will spend = the most you should pay per lead.
Here is how that plays out for three very different trades. These are example numbers, not averages, so plug in your own.
| Roofer | Plumber | Gutter cleaner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average job | $12,000 | $600 | $250 |
| Profit margin | 30% | 50% | 50% |
| Profit per job | $3,600 | $300 | $125 |
| Close rate | 1 in 4 (25%) | 1 in 2 (50%) | 1 in 2 (50%) |
| What a lead is worth | $900 | $150 | $62.50 |
| Most to pay per lead (30%) | $270 | $45 | $19 |
Now hold those up against the benchmarks. The roofer can afford $270 a lead, and Google search ads for roofing average $228. That works. The plumber can afford $45, but a plumbing lead from Google search ads averages $129. At those numbers, search ads lose money on a single job. The gutter cleaner at $19 a lead will struggle to make any paid channel work.
That does not mean the plumber should skip ads. It means one job is the wrong way to count. If a plumbing customer calls you back three times over the next few years, that lead is worth about three times as much. Count repeat work if you get it. And for low-ticket trades, the channels you do not pay per lead for, like your Google Business Profile and local SEO, usually carry the load.
Lead value calculator
Put in your own numbers to see what a lead is worth to you and the most you should pay for one.
Close rate changes everything
Most contractors try to lower their cost per lead. Raising the close rate is usually easier, and it does the same thing. Take the roofer above. Book 1 in 3 leads instead of 1 in 4, and each lead is worth $1,200 instead of $900. The most you can pay per lead goes from $270 to $360, without the ads changing at all.
Close rate comes from things you control: how fast you call back, whether every missed call gets a text, how quickly the estimate goes out, and whether you follow up on it. That is why I fix those before turning up ad spend.
One more number to track once a month: cost per booked job. Divide your cost per lead by your close rate. A $90 lead with a 25% close rate costs you $360 per job. If that is under your profit per job with room to spare, you can spend more. For the full budgeting version, read how much a contractor should spend on marketing.
Want to know what your leads should cost?
In 20 minutes I'll look at your website, your Google presence, and what shows up when homeowners search your trade in your area. I'll tell you where you're losing leads and what to fix before you spend more on ads.
Frequently asked questions
How do I figure out what a lead is worth?
Multiply your average job price by your profit margin to get profit per job. Multiply that by your close rate to get what a lead is worth. Then decide how much of that you will spend. For example, a $12,000 roofing job at a 30% margin is $3,600 profit. If you book 1 in 4 leads, each lead is worth $900, and spending 30% of that means paying up to $270 per lead.
What is a good cost per lead for a contractor?
It depends on what a job is worth to you. LocaliQ's benchmarks put the average Google search ad lead for home services around $91, but a roofer can afford far more per lead than a gutter cleaner. Work it out from your profit per job and how many leads it takes to book one.
Why are Facebook leads cheaper than Google leads?
Someone searching Google is already looking for a contractor. Someone on Facebook was scrolling and saw your ad. That lead costs less but usually takes more follow-up to turn into a job, so compare cost per booked job, not cost per lead.
How much does an Angi lead cost?
Angi does not publish a price list. Its own help center says lead fees change based on the task, the homeowner's location, and demand, and that each request is matched with up to five pros.
Do Local Services Ads cost less per lead than Google search ads?
Often, yes. With Local Services Ads you pay per lead instead of per click. One agency's 2026 data showed LSA leads from about $25 to $76 depending on trade, below the LocaliQ search ad averages for the same trades. Google does not publish official LSA lead prices.