Every number on this page comes with a direct source next to it. No blended averages we can't trace back, no "industry experts say." If you're a contractor sizing up your own numbers, a journalist looking for a figure to cite, or another site putting together a resource page, pull whatever's useful here — just check the source, since a couple of these move year to year.
This isn't a complete picture of every home service trade yet. It currently covers the niches where we've done the deepest research: tree service, HVAC, junk removal, painting, landscaping, and security systems, plus two patterns that hold across every trade we've looked at. We'll expand it as we research more niches.
Speed to lead: the biggest lever across every trade
How much more likely a lead is to qualify when you respond within 5 minutes versus waiting 30 minutes, per the MIT Lead Response Management Study (Dr. James Oldroyd), published in Harvard Business Review.
This is the single most-cited number in speed-to-lead research, and it holds up outside the original study too. A separate analysis of 132,188 home services speed-to-lead campaigns by Hatch found the same pattern: contractors who respond fast consistently out-convert contractors with an identical lead source and a slower callback.
Shared vs. exclusive leads: what "shared" actually means
The number of contractors a single homeowner inquiry can be matched with at once on Angi — confirmed directly in Angi's own help center. Every one of them is charged for the same lead.
This is worth sitting with: on a shared platform, the per-lead price you're quoted assumes you're the only one paying for that homeowner's attention. You're usually not — you're one of up to five.
Tree service
Per Tree Traction's 2026 cost-per-lead benchmarks, an exclusive tree service call runs $40 to $100, and a shared one runs under $60. Cost varies significantly by channel: Google Local Service Ads ($35-$85), Google Search Ads ($45-$85), Facebook and Instagram ($25-$45), and direct mail ($50-$85).
The standard-rate multiple storm and emergency tree work commands once crane work, structural damage, or night response is involved, per ArboStar's emergency tree removal pricing guide.
HVAC
Google Local Services Ads for HVAC average around $51 per lead nationally, with Local Services Ads specifically averaging $113 to $180 and Google PPC running $85 to $150, according to RS Gonzales's 2026 HVAC cost-per-lead benchmarks. That price is identical whether the callback happens in 5 minutes or 5 hours — which is exactly why the speed-to-lead numbers above matter as much as the price itself.
Junk removal
The close rate Local Services Ads / Google Guaranteed calls typically see, against roughly 30-50% for standard Google Ads PPC on the same comparison, per PushLeads' junk removal cost-per-lead benchmarks by channel.
Gross margins in junk removal typically run around 60%, per Dropcurb's data — useful context when weighing what a lead is actually worth against what it costs.
Painting
Shared painting leads typically close in the 3-8% range, per PaintViz's research. Referral-driven leads close dramatically higher — 40-60%, according to Minyona's data on contractor referral programs, which is one reason exclusive, warm-outreach leads tend to outperform cold shared-platform leads by such a wide margin.
Landscaping
Landscaping cost per lead varies more by service type than almost any other trade in this list. Analyzing 1,928 leads, 99 Calls found a blended 2026 average of $54, ranging from $28 for mulch installation and snow removal up to $108 for hardscaping. The Valley Marketing Group's broader 2026 benchmark puts the target range at $94-$125 once account maturity is factored in.
How often the first company to respond wins a landscaping job, per Pitchit's landscaping lead research — against an industry average response time of 38 hours.
Security systems
Security is the one niche here where install price alone understates lead value — a subscriber also pays for monitoring for years. Shared leads run $30-$80, exclusive leads run $80-$150+, Local Services Ads run $40-$120, and standard PPC runs $50-$200 per lead, per Nizamuddeen's home security lead cost analysis.
Approximate 36-month lifetime value of one monitored security subscriber (install + recurring monitoring revenue combined), per the same analysis — the number lead volume should be planned against, not install price alone.
Using these numbers
If you're a contractor, the most useful exercise is comparing your own cost-per-booked-job (not cost-per-lead) against these ranges — track total spend on a lead source against jobs actually closed from it over 60-90 days, the same method we walk through in Why Shared Leads Cost More Than You Think. If you're citing this page elsewhere, link directly to this page rather than re-hosting the numbers — sources get updated as new data comes out.
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