Best lead generation for contractors: 5 services compared

There is no single best lead generation for contractors. Google Local Services Ads has the clearest billing and credits bad leads on its own. Angi, Thumbtack and Networx do not publish a price per lead, and Angi and Thumbtack can send the same lead to several pros. Every one of these contractor lead services rents you demand. When you stop paying, the phone stops ringing.

I sold exclusive phone leads to roofing, HVAC, plumbing and remodeling contractors for years. I listened to thousands of the recorded homeowner calls. The roofers who made money on bought leads were the ones who called back first, within minutes. The slow callers lost the job to whoever got there first. Keep that in mind as you read every price below.

This page compares five options: Angi (which now includes HomeAdvisor), Thumbtack, Networx, Google Local Services Ads and exclusive lead sellers. You will see what each costs, who else gets the lead, what you can get back, and how to test one in 30 days. For the wider view of where jobs come from, start with our guide to getting contractor leads.

Best lead generation for contractors, side by side

Angi charges a fee for each lead and can share it with up to five pros. Thumbtack lets you set your own price per lead with no joining fee, but leads still go to several pros. Networx quotes prices after you sign up. Google bills per valid call or message. Exclusive sellers charge more because nobody else gets the lead.

Contractor lead services compared, November 2026

Service	How it charges	Reported cost per lead	Shared or exclusive	Refunds and credits	Contract	Best for
Angi (includes HomeAdvisor)	Fee for each lead you match to, plus a yearly membership ($287.99 in 2023)	$15 to $120	Shared, up to five pros per request	Credit, not cash; narrow list; expires after six months; none for annual subscribers	Often 12 months, auto-renews, fee can rise up to 10%	New company with few reviews, slow season
Thumbtack	You set a price per lead inside a weekly budget; no joining fee	$10 to over $100	Can go to several pros	Case by case; refunds can be denied	No contract, per Thumbtack	Small and mid-size jobs, repair and handyman work
Networx	Price given after sign-up	Quoted for your trade and zip after sign-up	Ask which plan you are on	Get the written policy before you pay	Get the term and renewal date in writing	Shops willing to test once terms are on paper
Google Local Services Ads	Per valid call, message or booking; weekly budget you can change	$43 to $107 by trade (2026, before credits)	The caller picks you, though they may call others too	Invalid leads credited automatically, usually within 30 days	Budget can change any time	Urgent repair calls, shops that answer all day
Exclusive sellers (33 Mile Radius, Fixr)	Per lead or per call	$50 to $250 for HVAC and plumbing	Sold to one contractor	Rules vary; some bill unanswered calls	33 Mile Radius: no setup or monthly fee	Shops that want fewer leads with nobody else calling

The cost figures come from contractors, agencies and software companies that track them. Angi, Thumbtack, Networx and Google do not print a price per lead. Google comes closest, with a budget tool on Google’s own page.

What a lead costs by trade

Most reported prices land between $15 and $120 a lead on the marketplaces, $43 to $107 on Google Local Services Ads, and $50 to $250 from exclusive sellers. The spread is wide because price moves with your trade, your zip code, the job size and how many other pros want that same homeowner.

Angi, HomeAdvisor and Thumbtack

TrueBlueGrowth, a firm that builds contractor websites, reports these per-lead ranges on the big marketplaces:

• Roofing: about $50 to $120 or more
• HVAC: around $45 to $100
• Plumbing: around $40 to $85
• Electrical: roughly $35 to $80
• Handyman: $15 to $40

Roofers can see what roofing leads cost on each platform, with roofer reviews, in more detail.

Other sellers report similar bands. Flying V Group, an SEO and ads agency, puts Angi at $20 to $120 a lead and Thumbtack at $15 to $65. Nova Solutions, which sells an AI receptionist to contractors, reports that Housecall Pro’s guides put Angi at $15 to $85 and Thumbtack at $10 to over $100.

Angi also charges to join. When the FTC looked at HomeAdvisor in 2023, pros paid “an annual membership fee of $287.99, in addition to a separate fee for each lead.” Newer guides say about $300 a year. Thumbtack charges no joining fee at all.

But a Thumbtack price is not fixed. One pro on the Thumbtack Community, JMusselman, wrote in January 2024 about a small job: “In the past, this might have been $12-$15 and it was $36!”

Google Local Services Ads

Google local services ads cost is tracked by ad agencies, not published by Google. Growbi, a home-services ad agency, compiled 2026 tracker data. Plumbing ran $67.05 a lead and HVAC $60.66 in September. Roofing ran $72 median and $79 average in the first quarter, and $106.87 in another tracker from April to June. Electrical was $43.15. All home services averaged $62.88.

Prices climbed through the year. SearchLight Digital, which tracks ad spend, had plumbing at $57 and HVAC at $51 in February 2026. All of these figures are before Google’s credits for bad leads. If you run a heating and cooling shop, our page on HVAC lead prices and sources goes deeper.

Exclusive lead sellers

Exclusive leads cost more because nobody else is calling that homeowner. Fixr lists HVAC repair leads at $80 to $120 and replacement leads at $100 to $180. The 33 Mile Radius calculator uses $50 to $80 a lead for plumbing and $90 to $250 for HVAC, with no setup or monthly fee.

What you sign with Angi and HomeAdvisor

Angi and HomeAdvisor are one company and one lead product now, so HomeAdvisor’s cost per lead is Angi’s cost per lead. Angi’s Pro Agreement, as quoted by Modern Websites, says: “You will pay for the leads you receive, even if you do not win the job.” The same agreement says leads are not exclusive.

That settles the Angi vs HomeAdvisor question. You are not picking between two services. You are picking whether to use one.

Who else gets the lead

Angi’s help center caps it at five pros per request, per Modern Websites. Since early 2025, the homeowner picks which matched pros get their contact details. So your profile, your reviews and your speed all decide whether you even get the chance to call.

Angi leads cost different amounts by task, location and demand. Your monthly budget is “a target, not a hard cap,” so you can spend past it.

Credits and contract terms

Angi credits are narrow and time-limited, and a credit is not cash. You can ask for one on bad contact info, a wrong location, a service you do not offer, or a duplicate. You get nothing if the homeowner never answered, hired someone else first or was just shopping prices.

Nova Solutions reports that credits expire after six months. Modern Websites reports that annual subscribers “can’t get credits at all.” Contracts auto-renew, and the fee “can be raised by up to 10% per term.” Flying V Group reports you must cancel in writing at least 60 days before renewal. Prepaid fees are not refunded.

The 2023 FTC order

In 2023 the FTC ordered HomeAdvisor to pay up to $7.2 million. The FTC alleged that HomeAdvisor told pros its leads turned into jobs at rates “much higher than it can substantiate.” That does not prove today’s leads are bad. It does show why you get every claim in writing.

Is Angi worth it for contractors?

It can be, as a bridge. A new company with no reviews, crews sitting idle, a slow season or a market with few competing pros can book work from it. It is a poor fit for a one-person office that cannot call back within minutes, because four other pros may be dialing the same number.

Thumbtack lets you set the price, and the price still moves

Thumbtack for contractors works differently. There is no joining fee. You set a price per lead for each service and a weekly budget, and that controls how many leads you see. The real price still moves with job size, how many pros are available and your market, and a lead can go to several pros.

Thumbtack’s own pro page says “No hidden fees or contracts” and promises “Limited competition per lead.” It does not say how limited. JMusselman, the pro quoted above, wrote about one small job: “The customer reached out to 3 organizers so thumbtack made over $100.”

The Thumbtack Community moderator, DustiO, explained it plainly in January 2024: “I know prices will vary based on things like project/job size, how many pros are available at the time, and what’s happening in your specific market.”

How charges and refunds work

The charge rule has changed over time. In 2022, the moderator told a pro they were charged “when matched to customers’ jobs.” Nova reports that open opportunities now show the price first and charge only if the customer responds. Refunds are decided one case at a time. A pro named Mrhouston wrote in 2022: “Thumbtack charges me $119.00 and says I’m not eligible for a refund.” Read the current rule in your own account before you set a budget.

The plain difference in Thumbtack vs Angi: Thumbtack lets you name your price and pause any week with no membership fee, while Angi sets the fee and has charged a yearly membership on top. Thumbtack suits small and mid-size jobs, repair and handyman work, and shops that want to stop spending fast when the schedule fills.

What to get from Networx before you pay

Networx does not publish lead prices on its public site. Pricing comes after you sign up. Its homepage claims “10K+ Contractor partners” and offers “real time access to our exclusive network of local jobs,” but it does not spell out who else gets a lead, what gets refunded or how long you are locked in.

That does not make Networx leads bad. It means you do the homework before the first charge. Ask the rep for these four things in writing:

• Plan type: is each lead shared or exclusive, and how many pros get it?
• Price per lead in your trade and your zip code.
• Refund rules: what qualifies, how fast to ask, and whether you get cash or credit.
• Contract term, renewal date and how to cancel.

If the rep will not put those in an email, you have your answer.

Google Local Services Ads bill per lead, so answer the phone

You pay per valid call, message or booking. You set a weekly budget, pass Google’s business registration and identity checks, and show up at the top of the page with a Google Verified badge. Since October 1, 2026, a call you miss during your business hours can be billed if the caller stays on more than 20 seconds.

Google says you can adjust your budget whenever you need to. Roofing, HVAC, plumbing, electrical and general contractors are all eligible.

What counts as a lead and what gets credited

Growbi reports that the same person contacting you again within 15 days is billed once. Google reviews leads with its own models and credits spam and wrong numbers on its own, usually within 30 days. You no longer get credit for job types or areas you do not serve, so set those carefully in your profile.

What it means for a small shop

Set your ad hours to the hours someone actually picks up. A one-man crew on a roof all day will pay for calls nobody answers. Your rank depends on your bid, how often you respond and your profile: rating, review count, photos and verification. Google recommends funding at least 10 leads a week.

The dashboard is also changing. Starting August 2026, Google began moving these ads into Google Ads as Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals for some US advertisers. Expect new screens and bid options.

LSA suits urgent work like leaks, no heat and repairs, where a verified listing at the top of Google helps and someone answers all day. It is weaker for a company with no reviews yet, because ranking leans hard on rating and review count.

What shared and exclusive leads do to your cost per job

A shared lead goes to several contractors, so the first call and the best reviews win. An exclusive lead costs more because nobody else is calling. Neither one is cheaper until you divide what you spent by the jobs you booked. That number, cost per booked job, is the only one that matters.

Here are three worked examples from the sources. They are examples, not averages.

Housecall Pro gives the first: pay $40 a lead and close 1 in 4, and each job costs you about $160. Its second: 20 leads at $10 that close one job cost $200 per job. Five leads at $25 that close two cost $62.50 per job. The pricier lead was the cheaper job.

Growbi’s LSA example: a $60 lead that books 45% of the time costs about $133 per booked job. The same lead booking 20% of the time costs $300.

Speed is one thing that moves that booking rate. The calls I listened to made it plain. On a shared lead, the slow callers lost the job to whoever called first, within minutes.

One more thing on bought leads. If you text them or use an autodialer, ask the seller what proof of consent comes with each lead.

How to judge any lead service in 30 days

Put in a small, capped amount. Log every lead and every dollar in one sheet. At day 30, decide on cost per booked job, not cost per lead. A service with cheap leads that never book is the expensive one. A test this simple tells you more than any sales rep will.

Week 1. Get the price in your trade and zip, how many pros get each lead, the credit rules and the contract terms, all in writing. Set a weekly spending cap and a tight service area.

Weeks 1 to 4. Log each lead in a sheet with these columns:

• Time the lead came in
• Time you called back
• Whether you reached them
• Whether an estimate was set
• Whether the job was booked

Ask for credits on wrong numbers and out-of-area leads. Write down which ones were approved. Do not count a credit as money back until it is approved.

Day 30. Cost per booked job equals total spend, plus fees, minus approved credits, divided by jobs booked. Add your own time for calls, estimates and driving if you can. Lead spend is also overhead, so see how to set your markup from last year’s books. PipelineOn, a software company, gives an example: $600 on leads and three jobs is $200 a job. Add $300 of your time and it is $300 a job.

Do not count a sent estimate as a won job. Then decide: keep it, change one thing (price, area or hours), or stop. Roofing and remodeling jobs may close after day 30, so look again at day 60 to 90 before you write a service off. Remodelers who want somewhere to log every lead can see the best remodeling software for small crews.

What the same money builds when you own it

Rented leads stop when you stop paying. A Google Business Profile, reviews and a website you own keep working, and no one else gets the call. Window companies, where one homeowner gets quotes from several installers, can read how owned search works for a window and door company. It is slower to start, and nobody can honestly promise how slow. That is the trade: pay per lead forever, or build something that stays yours.

My view is simple. Rent leads to fill a gap, never as the foundation. Whatever your trade, the industry pages show what we would build instead.

The basics are often missing, even for contractors who already rank. In our State of Contractor Local SEO study of 9,700 contractor Google Business Profiles, every profile ranked in the top 20 local results. Still, 14% listed no website, and 13% had homepages under 200 words. Those are cheap fixes.

Asked about contractor lead generation services on Contractor Talk in 2021, a poster named Fishindude wrote: “Your own company, do it yourself. Nobody cares about your success like you do.” The thread has a fair counterpoint too. Another poster in the same thread wrote in 2022: “Some business models don’t lend themselves to word-of-mouth sustainably such as countertop repairs and sink replacements.” For that kind of work, a lead service can earn its keep.

If you would rather have help, this is the work we do at Contractor Lead Partners (CLP). Our plans run $3,000 or $5,000 a month, and our pricing page with every deliverable listed shows what each one includes. You own the site, the profile, the reviews and the tracking; we hold manager access only, and we guarantee no rankings or leads. Growth, the lower of the two, is $36,000 a year. A year of lead spend can be smaller (20 leads a month at $60 is $14,400), but none of it stays when you stop.

Here is something to do today. Open last quarter’s lead invoices. Divide what you spent by the jobs you booked from those leads, and write that number next to your average profit per job. If the first number is close to the second, call your rep this week and ask the five questions: price in your trade and zip, how many pros get each lead, the credit rules, the contract term and renewal, and what else shows up on the bill. Get every answer in an email.