The headline: the sticker price isn't the price
Ask a tradie what a lead costs and they'll quote the number on the invoice — the per-connection fee on a platform like HiPages, somewhere between $30 and $80 in 2026. That number is real, but it's not the cost. Because the same enquiry is sold to three or more tradies at once, the average tradie wins only a fraction of the leads they pay for. Once you account for the ones you lose, the true cost of a job you actually land is roughly three times the sticker price.
1. What a shared lead really costs
HiPages charges a monthly membership (roughly $100–$200 for many trades) plus a credit each time you connect with a lead. Those connection credits have climbed steadily — from an average of about $12 in 2021 to $30–$80 per connection in 2026, depending on the trade and job type. But the price tag is only half the story. HiPages sends the same job to several tradies, so you're not buying a customer — you're buying a chance to quote against two or more competitors, usually on price.
Industry data puts a tradie's win rate at 25–40% when competing against two or more others on the same shared lead. Do the maths: if you win one job for every three leads you pay for, each won job has really cost you three leads' worth of credits — so a $50 connection becomes ~$150 per job, before you factor in the margin you gave up to win on price.
2. Google Ads: what an exclusive lead costs by trade
The other way tradies buy work is running their own Google Ads — where the enquiry is exclusively theirs. You pay per click, and cost-per-click varies widely by trade, city and how urgent the search is. Here's the 2026 range across the main trades in Australia:
| Trade | Avg cost per click (AU) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Electrician | $8 – $18 | Among the highest-cost trade clicks; strong buyer intent. |
| Plumber | $5 – $25 | $10–25 for emergency terms, $5–12 for general searches. |
| Builder / renovation | $4 – $10 | Higher-value jobs, longer consideration. |
| Landscaper | $3 – $7 | Lower click cost, more seasonal. |
| Roofer | $2 – $8 | Lower CPC but high job value. |
At those click costs, a well-run campaign lands an exclusive lead — one only you receive — for somewhere in the range of $60–$200 depending on trade and location. It's more than a shared connection on paper. The difference is what you get for it.
3. Shared vs exclusive: the numbers that decide it
An exclusive lead costs more up front, but you're the only tradie the customer is talking to. That changes the conversation from “why should I pick you over the other three quotes” to “when can you come take a look” — and it shows up in the close rate. Shared leads typically convert at 10–20%; exclusive leads at 30–50%.
| Shared lead | Exclusive lead | |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets the lead | You + 2 or more other tradies | Only you |
| Cost per lead | $30 – $80 (HiPages connection) | Higher per lead (e.g. ~$60–$200) |
| Typical close rate | 10 – 20% | 30 – 50% |
| How you win | Usually the lowest quote | On value — you're the only quote |
| Who owns the customer | The platform | You (repeat work + referrals) |
| True cost per job won | ≈ 3× the sticker price | Higher lead cost, far higher win rate |
The honest finding: exclusive leads aren't automatically cheaper per lead. But when you win 2–3× as often and never race to the bottom on price, the cost per job — and the margin on it — usually comes out ahead. The shared-lead sticker price is just the part you can see.
4. What it means for a tradie
None of this makes shared platforms useless — if you're brand new with no website and need work this week, a shared lead today beats an exclusive lead next month. But if you're relying on shared leads long-term, you're paying to compete on price for customers you never get to keep. The tradies who get off the treadmill build channels they own — local SEO, their own Google Ads, reviews and referrals — and use exclusive leads to fill the gaps.
Want the exclusive-lead side of this benchmark for your trade and area? That's exactly what we set up.
Methodology & sources
This benchmark is built from public data, not a proprietary survey, and every figure carries a source or a stated calculation. We've deliberately used conservative ranges rather than single dramatic numbers.
- Shared-lead pricing (HiPages membership + per-connection credits, and the 2021→2026 rise) is drawn from published Australian pricing breakdowns and tradie reviews.
- The “sold to 3+ tradies” and 25–40% win-rate figures come from platform disclosures and aggregated tradie reviews of shared-lead platforms.
- Google Ads cost-per-click ranges are Australian trade benchmarks; actual CPC varies by city and search intent.
- The “true cost per won job” is a transparent calculation: cost per lead ÷ win rate. At a ~1-in-3 win rate, one won job costs ~3 leads.
- Shared (10–20%) vs exclusive (30–50%) close rates are from published home-services lead-generation data. We use the conservative end of each range.
Figures are indicative ranges for 2026 and will be refreshed annually. Prices vary by trade, city and provider — treat these as benchmarks, not quotes.
Cite this report
“The 2026 Australian Tradie Lead-Cost Benchmark,” ClickSmith, July 2026. www.clicksmith.com.au/reports/australian-tradie-lead-cost-benchmark-2026
Free to reference with a link back to this page. For the data behind a figure, an interview, or a trade-specific breakdown, contact discover@clicksmith.com.au (media enquiries: Muhammad Furqan, ClickSmith).