Contractor leads: every source, ranked for remodelers
Every lead source works for somebody. The trick is knowing who else got the same phone number.
The best contractor leads for a kitchen or bath remodeler are referrals and past clients, then ads on your own account with someone qualifying and booking every lead fast. Angi, Thumbtack and Networx are the fastest to buy and the hardest to close, because several pros chase the same homeowner.
One owner told us he’d been through about eight lead companies before we talked. Here’s the ranking we’d have handed him on day one.
Itai BenistyFounder, Smarter Contractor9 min read
$287.99
a year HomeAdvisor charged for its lead membership, plus a fee for every lead (FTC, 2023)
Up to 4
contractors get the same shared Networx lead (Networx)
$42.95
average Facebook lead in home and home improvement (LocaliQ, 2026)
The ranking
The best lead generation for contractors, ranked.
Ranked for one job: home improvement contractor leads that turn into a $30,000-plus kitchen or bath, for an owner who doesn’t have a call center sitting next to him.
- 1
Referrals and past clients
- You pay for
- Doing great work
- Price
- Free, but you can't buy more
- Shared?
Nobody sells them to anyone
- Who qualifies
- Whoever sent them to you
- 2
An agency that books appointments
- You pay for
- A booked, qualified appointment
- Price
- $150 to $250 in ad spend per appointment on our accounts
- Shared?
No, one contractor per market
- Who qualifies
- The agency, before it's booked
- 3
Facebook and Instagram ads on your account
- You pay for
- Clicks and views, paid to Meta
- Price
- $42.95 average lead in home improvement (LocaliQ)
- Shared?
No, the lead is yours
- Who qualifies
- Your form, and whoever calls back
- 4
Google search ads
- You pay for
- Clicks, paid to Google
- Price
- $165.67 average lead for contractors (LocaliQ)
- Shared?
No, the lead is yours
- Who qualifies
- You, on the first call
- 5
Google Local Services Ads
- You pay for
- A valid call or message
- Price
- Not published; it varies by area and job
- Shared?
No, but the homeowner picks from the pros on the ad
- Who qualifies
- You, on the first call
- 6
Houzz Pro
- You pay for
- A monthly subscription
- Price
- $99 to $399 a month, ads from $499 a month
- Shared?
Houzz doesn't say
- Who qualifies
- Houzz says its team phone screens leads
- 7
Angi (HomeAdvisor)
- You pay for
- A yearly membership, then every lead
- Price
- $287.99 a year plus a fee per lead (FTC, 2023)
- Shared?
The homeowner picks the pros
- Who qualifies
- The homeowner's own request
- 8
Thumbtack
- You pay for
- A lead, job or no job
- Price
- You set the max; $10 to $100+ per guides
- Shared?
Up to 4 pros in the first hours
- Who qualifies
- The homeowner's own request
- 9
Networx
- You pay for
- A prepaid lead balance
- Price
- $10 to $100+ shared, $15 to $120+ exclusive
- Shared?
Up to 4, or an exclusive plan
- Who qualifies
- The form; a phone check on exclusive
- 10
Permit data
- You pay for
- A data subscription
- Price
- Not published
- Shared?
Everyone who buys the list
- Who qualifies
- Nobody, and the job's already signed
Every price above has its source further down the page. Where a company doesn’t publish one, we say so instead of guessing. Our own lead cost runs $35 to $55 on a short form and $80 to $100 when the form asks more, because the more the form asks, the more it costs and the more it books.
Want the companies scored one by one, with who follows up and who keeps the data? That’s the 9 best lead generation companies for contractors.
How to judge a source
Judge a lead source by the signed job, not the lead.
A lead source is only as cheap as the jobs it signs. Divide what you spent by the appointments that happened, then by the jobs that signed.
A cheap shared lead loves a dashboard. It looks great at $40, then quietly books one homeowner in ten because three other pros called her first.
So ask any seller one question before the price: out of every ten of your leads, how many sit down with me? The whole math is in what a remodeling lead should cost, and what “sits down” should mean is in what a qualified appointment is.
Two leads, one example
- $40 lead
books 1 in 10, so each appointment costs $400
- $90 lead
books 1 in 2, so each appointment costs $180
- Winner
the lead that cost more than twice as much
The marketplaces
Angi, Thumbtack and Networx: fast to buy, a race to close.
The marketplaces run the ads, collect the homeowner’s request and charge you for it. You can be getting leads by Thursday. So can three other remodelers in your zip code.
Angi
Angi Leads is the old HomeAdvisor. Per the FTC’s 2023 order, pros paid a $287.99 yearly membership plus a fee for each lead, and the company agreed to pay up to $7.2 million over how it sold lead quality. Since January 2025 the homeowner picks which pros get the request, per Angi’s own earnings release.
Thumbtack
You set a max price per lead and a budget, and you’re charged whether or not the job books, per Housecall Pro’s guide, which puts leads at $10 to over $100. A Thumbtack staffer wrote that customers reach up to 4 pros in the first 4 hours.
Networx
The only one that prints its prices: $10 to $100+ a shared lead, $15 to $120+ exclusive. A shared lead goes to up to 4 contractors, the prepaid balance refills itself from your card, and an exclusive lead gets a phone check in business hours.
What they won’t refund, in their own rules
Angi. No credit when the homeowner never answers, hires someone else, or is still gathering quotes. Their rules
Networx. No credit when the homeowner "already found someone", or when you report it more than 14 days later. Their rules
Google Local Services Ads. The one that checks for you: Google reviews leads for 30 days and credits bad ones on its own. Their rules
Read that list twice. A homeowner who’s “just gathering quotes” is the exact person a shared lead sells you, and she’s priced in. The marketplace already got paid. You’re the one doing the cardio.
Modernize and Fixr sell leads the same way, with their own twists on sharing; both are scored in the ranked list of lead companies.
Want us to check what your lead sources cost per signed job?
We’ll look at your leads, your cost per appointment and your follow-up, and tell you straight what we’d change.
Google: the leads are yours, and you pay for every ring.
Google sells two things to contractors. Local Services Ads charge per valid lead, and search ads charge per click. Neither one shares your homeowner with anybody.
Local Services Ads
You pay for valid leads, at a price that varies by area, job and lead type.
A missed call in business hours is charged after 20 seconds of ringing.
The same customer calling again within 15 days isn't charged twice.
Google reviews lead quality for 30 days and credits bad leads by itself.
Source: Google’s Local Services Ads help.
Search ads
$165.67 average cost per lead for construction and contractors.
$5.31 a click, and 2.61% of clicks become a lead.
The lowest conversion rate of every home services trade in the report.
Source: LocaliQ’s home services search benchmarks, from its own client campaigns.
That missed-call rule is the one that stings. Your phone rings during a demo, you’re holding a cabinet, and twenty seconds later Google has billed you for the privilege of not answering.
Google search sends some of the best leads there are, and some of the most expensive. Why we usually start kitchen and bath companies somewhere else is in Meta or Google for remodelers.
Your own ads
Facebook and Instagram ads: the lead is yours alone.
Ads on your own Meta account send the homeowner to you and nobody else. You pay Meta for the ads, and the form decides how good the lead is.
The catch is that nobody is in the middle any more. If the form asks nothing, you get every thumb in your zip codes that likes to tap. If nobody calls back for two hours, the homeowner has already moved on to a recipe video.
How long Meta takes to learn, and what to reward it for, is in do Facebook ads work for contractors. The reply schedule is in speed to lead.
What a Facebook lead costs, and what it books
- $42.95
average, across LocaliQ's client accounts in 2026
- $35 to $100
on our accounts: less on a short form, more when the form qualifies harder
- $150 to $250
in ad spend per qualified, booked appointment on our accounts
“We were spending with Thumbtack, Yelp and a couple of marketing agencies, and our months were all over the place.”
Referrals
Referrals and past clients are still the best leads you’ll ever get.
Big remodelers have said it for years. When the Remodeling 550 asked the largest replacement contractors which sources produced the most, referrals won by a mile.
Share naming each as a most productive lead source
Referrals
43%
Past and repeat customers
32%
Their own website and SEO
28%
Home shows and events
27%
Social media sites, Houzz, Angie's List and Porch included (last of 10)
11%
The problem is you can’t just turn on referrals. They show up when they feel like it, usually the same week your crew is already booked solid, and never in the month you actually need them.
Permit data gets pitched here too. Services like Construction Monitor sell weekly lists of permits pulled, which helps a sub or a supplier. For a remodeler, a pulled permit means somebody else already won the job.
Booked appointments
The other way to buy leads: don’t.
Some agencies, us included, sell the booked appointment instead of the lead. The ads run on your own account, and the agency does the part the marketplaces leave to you.
That’s the whole process we run: the reply in 30 seconds, the qualifying questions, the booking, the reminders and the follow-up, with Natasha, our AI assistant, as the safety net so no lead gets forgotten. You show up and close.
How it works and what it costs is on remodeling leads, booked as qualified appointments. How it compares with paying per lead is in pay per lead vs pay per appointment.
What changes hands
A marketplace hands you a phone number, then it's your race.
An ad on your own account hands you a form. Then it's your phone.
A booked appointment hands you a homeowner who already said yes to a time.
Straight answers
The questions contractors ask about leads.
What is the best lead generation for contractors?
For a kitchen or bath remodeler, referrals and past clients first, then ads on your own account with someone qualifying and booking every lead fast. Shared marketplaces are the quickest to buy and the hardest to close, because several pros chase the same homeowner.
How much do contractor leads cost?
Networx publishes $10 to $100+ for a shared lead and $15 to $120+ for an exclusive one. A Facebook lead in home improvement averages $42.95 and a Google search lead for contractors $165.67 (LocaliQ). The number that matters is what a signed job costs.
What is the best app for contractor leads?
Angi, Thumbtack and Houzz Pro are the apps most contractors use. For remodeling, Houzz Pro fits design-led companies, and Angi and Thumbtack fit owners with someone who can call every lead within minutes.
How do I get remodeling leads?
Ask every finished client for a review and a referral, then run ads on your own Meta account with a form that asks about the project, budget and timeline. Answer every lead in minutes, or hand the answering and booking to someone who will.
Are Angi and HomeAdvisor the same company?
Yes. The FTC's 2023 order says HomeAdvisor also does business as Angi Leads and HomeAdvisor Powered by Angi. Both sell leads to pros for an annual membership plus a fee per lead.
What's the difference between shared and exclusive leads?
A shared lead goes to several contractors at once, so you're racing them to the phone. An exclusive lead goes to you alone. Exclusive costs more per lead and usually less per signed job.
Founder, Smarter Contractor. Runs the ads, the qualifying and the booking for kitchen and bath remodelers, one per market.
See your numbers first
Every source sells leads. We’d rather sell the appointment.
Answer a few quick questions and I’ll tell you whether your market is open and what a full calendar of qualified homeowners looks like for your business.
Read next: the 9 best lead generation companies for contractors, scored one by one.
What type of jobs are you looking to book more of?
Sources
Every outside number and rule on this page. Checked 16 October 2026. Prices come from each company’s own pages where it publishes them, a federal order, or a published benchmark; the one guide estimate is labelled. Our own numbers are from our accounts.
- Federal Trade Commission, order against HomeAdvisor (23 January 2023)
- Networx Help Center, How much do leads cost
- Networx Help Center, Pay Per Lead (shared with up to 4 contractors)
- LocaliQ, Facebook advertising benchmarks for 2026 (from its own client accounts)
- LocaliQ, home services search advertising benchmarks (3,200+ campaigns, updated July 2026)
- Houzz Pro, pricing plans (Houzz's own blog)
- Houzz Pro, construction leads
- Angi Inc., second quarter 2025 earnings release (homeowner choice)
- Angi pro help, lead credit policy
- Thumbtack community forum, staff reply on how many pros a customer reaches (January 2025)
- Housecall Pro, what Thumbtack is and how it charges pros (guide estimate)
- Networx Help Center, lead credit policy
- Google Local Services Ads Help, how leads are charged and credited
- Remodeling 550, top 10 most productive lead generators (published 2015)
- Remodeling 550 preview, how heavily remodelers rely on social media for leads (published 2017)
- Networx, how the lead balance renews
- Networx Help Center, exclusive leads (phone verification)
- Construction Monitor, permit data