"How much does a lead cost?" is the first question most contractors ask — and it's the wrong one. The honest answer is that a construction lead can cost anywhere from a few pounds to well over a hundred, depending on your trade, your location, how competitive your market is and, above all, whether the lead is exclusive to you or shared with your competitors. The number that actually matters isn't the price of a lead at all. It's your cost per booked job — and the two can be wildly different.
Cost per lead vs cost per booked job
Imagine two options. Option A gives you leads at £10 each, but they're sold to four contractors and only 1 in 20 turns into a job. Option B gives you exclusive leads at £40 each, and 1 in 5 books. Which is cheaper?
Option A: £10 × 20 leads = £200 per booked job.
Option B: £40 × 5 leads = £200 per booked job — but far less time wasted chasing dead ends, and no price war.
The cheap lead wasn't cheaper. Once you factor in close rate and the hours your team burns quoting jobs that go nowhere, exclusive leads usually win. Always judge a lead source on cost per booked job, not the sticker price.
Why shared "marketplace" leads disappoint
Lead-selling portals look attractive because the per-lead price is low. The catch is that the same enquiry is sold to several contractors at once. That means:
- A race to the phone — the fastest caller usually wins, not the best firm.
- A price war — the homeowner is now comparing three or four quotes purely on cost.
- Low intent — many "leads" are just collecting quotes or an insurance figure.
You can win with shared leads, but you're fighting uphill. Exclusive leads from your own advertising put you in a much stronger position: you're the only firm the homeowner spoke to, and you set the terms.
What drives the price of a lead
Several things move construction lead costs up or down:
- Trade and job value — a lead for a £40,000 extension is worth more than one for a small repair, so it can cost more and still be very profitable.
- Location and competition — dense, competitive cities cost more than quieter regions.
- Season — demand for roofing spikes after storms; garden and landscaping work peaks in spring.
- Offer and creative — a strong, specific offer with good photos lowers cost per lead dramatically.
- Qualification — asking the right questions up front costs you a few cheap leads but saves hours on the wrong ones.
How to work out if a lead is "too expensive"
Do this quick sum with your own numbers:
- Take your average profit per job (not revenue — profit).
- Estimate how many leads it takes you to book one job (your close rate).
- Multiply your target cost per lead by that number to get your cost per booked job.
If that cost per booked job is comfortably below your profit per job, the leads aren't expensive — they're an investment that pays for itself many times over. For high-value construction work, paying more per lead is often the smart move.
A real example. One FGSX client generated over 150 qualified leads in their first month at about £4 per lead, which worked out to roughly a 14x return on their ad investment. The per-lead price was low because the offer, targeting and follow-up were built properly — but even at a higher price, the return would still have been strong.
The bottom line
Stop shopping for the cheapest lead and start building the most profitable system. Exclusive leads, a proper offer, fast follow-up and honest tracking will almost always beat a pile of cheap shared leads. Get those right and the cost per lead becomes almost irrelevant — because every pound is making you several back.
Want to know what that could look like for your trade and area? See how FGSX builds lead systems for construction companies, or explore our pages for roofers, builders and remodelers.