How much do tradie leads cost in Australia? The honest answer is: anywhere from a couple of dollars to well over a hundred per lead, depending on your trade, your job value and whether the lead is shared or exclusive. Sticker price alone won't tell you if it's a good deal, but knowing the real ranges stops you getting fleeced. Let's lay them out.
What drives the price of a tradie lead?
- Job value: a $300 tap repair lead is cheap; a $40k bathroom reno lead is not.
- Trade and demand: high-demand, high-margin trades cost more per lead.
- Shared vs exclusive: exclusive leads cost several times more than shared, because they convert.
- Area: metro and competitive postcodes push prices up.
- Lead quality: a qualified, ready-to-book enquiry is worth far more than a cold form fill.
2026 cost-per-lead ranges by trade
These are realistic Australian ballparks for 2026, your numbers will move with area and season. Shared-platform leads sit at the low end; exclusive leads sit higher but convert much better.
Lower job value (call-outs, repairs, services)
- Plumbing call-outs, blocked drains, small electrical: roughly $15-$60 shared, $50-$120 exclusive.
- Handyman, locksmith, appliance repair: roughly $8-$40 shared, $40-$90 exclusive.
- Cleaning, gardening, pest: roughly $5-$30 shared, $30-$70 exclusive.
Higher job value (installs, renovations, fit-outs)
- Hot water, switchboard upgrades, solar: roughly $40-$100 shared, $90-$200 exclusive.
- Roofing, decking, fencing, concreting: roughly $40-$120 shared, $100-$250 exclusive.
- Bathroom and kitchen renos, full builds: roughly $60-$150 shared, $150-$400+ exclusive.
Want the full shared-vs-exclusive breakdown with a worked cost-per-job example?
Read: Shared vs Exclusive LeadsCost per lead vs cost per won job
Here's the bit most tradies miss. A $30 shared lead isn't a $30 cost, if you win 1 in 5, you've spent $150 to land one job. An $80 exclusive lead where you win 1 in 2.5 costs $200 per job, but those jobs are won on value, not by being cheapest. Always divide your total lead spend by jobs actually won. That's your real number.
- Cost per lead = what you pay for each enquiry.
- Win rate = jobs won ÷ leads received.
- Cost per won job = total lead spend ÷ jobs won. This is the figure that matters.
What about the 'own your pipeline' option?
Want us to do it for you?
Book a free 30-minute lead audit. We'll show you the fastest way to fill your calendar — no pitch, no lock-in.
Buying leads is renting. The alternative is building marketing you own, local SEO, Google Ads and a converting website, where the upfront cost is a monthly investment but the cost per lead drops over time as your organic presence compounds. Most growing trades run a hybrid: exclusive leads to fill the calendar now, plus their own engine building underneath.
Curious what your own lead engine would cost to run versus buying leads forever?
See lead generation optionsCheap leads aren't cheap if you lose four out of five. The price tag is per lead; your bank account cares about per job.
How to make sure you're not overpaying
- Always ask: shared or exclusive, and how many tradies get this lead?
- Insist on call tracking so you can tie spend to actual jobs.
- Avoid lock-in contracts and credit systems that are hard to leave.
- Match leads to your trade and the area you actually drive to.
- Review your cost per won job monthly, drop what isn't paying.
Where ClickSmith fits
We generate exclusive, never-shared leads priced for your trade and job value, and we'll tell you honestly what to expect to pay per won job before you spend a cent. If owning your pipeline makes more sense, we build that too. The free audit is where we put real numbers on the table.