What HVAC leads cost in 2026
Ask five HVAC contractors what a lead actually costs and you'll get five different numbers — because the price on the invoice and the price per job you actually win are rarely the same figure. Here's what the published 2026 data says HVAC contractors are paying on Angi, HomeAdvisor and Google, broken out by channel, plus where the numbers get too thin to trust.
HVAC has the largest sample (409 accounts) and the highest average ticket of the trades SearchLight measured, which is why a lead can cost more here and still pay for itself. The measurement was taken in February, heating season, which the source says helps its conversion and ticket figures.
What each channel actually charges
| Where | Per lead | Who else gets it |
|---|---|---|
| Angi / HomeAdvisor Plus a membership of about $300 a year. | $35–90 | Typically 3–8 contractors |
| Google Local Services Ads Measured, February 2026: 409 accounts. | ~$51 | Just you |
| Paid search estimate Contractor Magazine: lead cost benchmarks for plumbing and HVAC (August 2026). Google search and Local Services Ads; the same author reports 25 to 40 percent of leads becoming jobs. | $30–90 | Depends on the campaign |
| Paid search estimate Be Seen, Contractors!: contractor cost per lead by trade (2026). Paid channels. | $40–150 | Depends on the campaign |
The agency rows are estimates, not datasets, and the sources disagree with each other. That is normal for lead pricing, and it is why the ranges are wide.
What a shared HVAC lead costs per job won
Shared leads are reported to close at roughly 13 to 20 percent. At those rates a lead priced $35 to $90 works out to about $175 to $692 for each job you win. That is our arithmetic on two published ranges, not a measurement; contractors report worse. The number to compare across channels is this one, not the price on the lead.
What the jobs are worth
In SearchLight’s February 2026 data, HVAC leads on Local Services Ads booked 44% of the time at an average tracked ticket of $2,110. “Booking” is a booked job, not a paid one. Job size varies enormously: from about $400 for a tune-up to about $12,000 for a full system install.
The Valley Marketing Group reports that emergency air-conditioning calls in summer can run past $100 a lead on Local Services Ads.
Why the job behind the lead changes the number
HVAC is the trade where season changes the picture most. The SearchLight figures above are a February snapshot, heating season, and the source itself credits that timing with helping its booking rate and ticket size. Cooling season (summer) brings its own emergency spike, and the Valley Marketing Group figure above shows emergency AC calls running higher per lead than the general average. Within a season, a tune-up sits near the $400 low end of the job-value range and a full system replacement near the $12,000 high end, so a lead's worth depends on which of those a homeowner is asking for, and on the time of year they are asking. We found no source breaking Local Services Ads cost per lead out by season or by job type (tune-up, repair, emergency, replacement) specifically, so treat those distinctions as reasoning about the market, not measured sub-figures.
What we couldn’t find
None of the sources we read published a Thumbtack price for HVAC, so we left it out rather than guess. If you pay for Thumbtack, the price shown in your own account is the real figure for your market.
Common questions
Read next: how much a lead is worth, what Angi and HomeAdvisor charge, and a website and inquiry form built for HVAC contractors.
Where ProLicensed fits
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What it won't do is create demand that isn't there or send you leads. If nobody in your area knows your business exists, start with your Google Business Profile and your reviews — they're free and we don't get paid for them.
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- SearchLight Digital: Google Local Service Ads cost per lead by trade (2026)A dataset: February 2026, 888 home service contractors, $6.72 million of Local Services Ads spend. Figures are before dispute credits.
- The Valley Marketing Group: Angi leads cost per lead for contractors (2026)An agency article. Its per-trade Angi ranges are figures it attributes to other publishers, not its own measurements.
- Housecall Pro: HomeAdvisor vs. Angi comparison (2026)Written by a vendor of field-service software. Its close-rate and contract-term figures are ones it attributes to LeadTruffle.
- Contractor Magazine: lead cost benchmarks for plumbing and HVAC (August 2026)A marketing consultant's own "directional" ranges for high-intent Google search. No sample size is published.
- Be Seen, Contractors!: contractor cost per lead by trade (2026)An agency's estimates for paid channels, described by the agency as a sanity check rather than a quote.
These are published third-party figures, not ProLicensed measurements, and prices change often — check them before you budget against them. Last checked September 2026.
If you're a contractor
We publish what we have worked out about how contractors actually get work — what leads cost, and why most contractor websites don't produce any.