Is Google Ads Cheaper Than Lead Sites for Contractors?
Neither is cheaper by default. The fair comparison is what each one costs you per job won, measured over the same period for the same kind of work.
The short answer
Sometimes, not always. Compare them on cost per job won, not on price per click or per lead.
Google Ads can work out cheaper than lead sites for some contractors and more expensive for others. It depends on your trade, your area, how competitive the searches are and how well the campaign is run. The only fair test is to measure what each source costs you per job won, over the same period, for the same kind of work.
This page explains how each one charges, what the headline figures leave out, and a straightforward way to run the comparison on your own business.
How you pay
Two different ways of buying enquiries
Google Ads
- You pay when someone clicks your advert
- Click prices are set by auction and vary by search, trade and area
- You set a daily budget and can pause any time
- The enquiry comes to you alone
- You need a page to send people to, and someone to answer quickly
Lead sites
- You pay per lead, or a subscription for a listing
- Prices are set by the platform
- Often on a minimum term for subscriptions
- On some platforms the enquiry commonly goes to several trades
- The platform does the advertising; you respond to the leads
Published figures
What lead sites publish, and why ads have no single price
Lead platform pricing is published. Click prices aren't fixed, so there is no honest single figure for Google Ads.
Platform pricing as published by Trades Grow, One Base Media, Sleepless Tradesman and SwiftLead, 2026. Rates change, so check current pricing before relying on these figures. Google Ads figures as published by PositionWorks (2025 UK home services benchmarks, roofing) and Aimpro Digital (2026). Click prices vary by area, service and how well the account is run.
Google Ads
What Google Ads really costs a roofer
Running your own ads avoids shared leads, but it is not cheap, and every click is paid for whether or not it becomes work.
You pay for clicks, not customers
UK roofing searches are reported at around £4.50–£9.20 a click. You pay each time someone clicks, whether they ring you, fill in the form or leave straight away.
A monthly budget, not a one-off
A sensible budget for a local single-team roofer is put at £750–£2,500 a month, and £1,000–£1,500 a month is described as the realistic floor for higher-ticket trades. An agency to run the account typically adds £295–£895 or more a month.
Not every lead is a lead
Google itself says its filters cannot stop every invalid lead reaching your forms, and calls lead quality a shared effort. Broad keywords and default settings can spend budget on searches that were never going to become work, so accounts need regular attention.
Even a properly managed roofing account is quoted at roughly £75–£160 per booked job, before your own time on quotes that do not convert. Google Ads figures as published by PositionWorks (2025 UK home services benchmarks, roofing) and Aimpro Digital (2026). Click prices vary by area, service and how well the account is run.
Beyond the headline price
What each price leaves out
Setup and skill
Ads need a landing page, sensible keywords, excluded search terms and regular checking. Done badly, money goes on clicks from people who were never going to hire you. If an agency runs it, their fee belongs in the sum.
Competition for the same customer
A shared lead is cheaper to buy, but you are quoting against others for the same job. An ad enquiry is yours alone, though the customer may still ring three firms from the search results.
Your time
Both sources need fast replies, site visits and quotes. The one that wins more of the jobs you visit uses less of your time per job, which is a real saving.
Running the test
How to compare Google Ads and lead sites fairly
Use the same period and the same work
Compare a few months of each, for similar jobs. Comparing ads for large projects against leads for small repairs tells you nothing.
Count the full cost of each
For ads: click spend, any management fee and your landing page. For lead sites: per-lead charges or the subscription for that period.
Track where every enquiry came from
Ask each customer how they heard about you, and note it. A separate phone number or form for ads makes this easier.
Count accepted jobs by source
Not clicks and not leads. Only work that went ahead.
Divide cost by jobs won
Whichever gives the lower cost per job won, at a margin you're happy with, is the cheaper source for your business right now. Check again in a few months, because both change.
Which tends to suit whom
When each route makes sense
Lead sites tend to suit contractors who want enquiries quickly, don't want to learn advertising and are comfortable competing on some jobs. Pricing and terms change, so check the platform's current terms; what do lead companies charge? sets out the common models, and why are leads sold to multiple traders? explains the sharing.
Google Ads tends to suit contractors who have a decent website, can answer the phone quickly and are willing to learn or pay for good management. The basics are in Google Ads for contractors. For a closer look at one trade's figures, see how much do roofing leads cost?
Many contractors end up running both for a while, and that is often the most useful thing to do. Running them side by side, over the same months, gives you your own answer rather than someone else's average. Keep the ad budget modest while you learn, avoid long platform terms during the test, and be strict about recording where every accepted job came from. After a few months the numbers usually make the decision for you. For every other route to work, see the getting more work as a contractor hub.
A third option
Work that costs nothing to acquire
Some contractors add a source that sits outside both. In the Mortaro network there is no charge for leads at all: no joining fee, subscription or per-lead charge. We generate the enquiries ourselves and appoint one contractor to each, so you aren't quoting against others we've sent. See do you charge for leads? and is the work exclusive?
The trade-off is that you price at trade rate and meet our response and quoting standards, and we don't promise volume.
Straight answers
Ads versus lead sites
How much does Google Ads cost per click for trades?
There's no fixed price. Clicks are priced by auction and vary by search term, trade, area and competition. Google's Keyword Planner gives estimates for your own searches, which are more useful than any general figure.
Can I run Google Ads without a website?
It's possible to run some ad types that lead to calls, but most contractors get better results with a clear page to send people to. See should a contractor build a website?
For contractors
Tell us about your business
Your trade, the areas you cover and the size of work you take on. A person reads every enquiry, and if it looks like a fit we will send you the full application.