What's the real cost per closed customer?

A $40 shared lead with 4% close rate = $1,000 per customer. A $149/mo subscription closing 3 deals = $50 per customer. The headline lead price hides true cost; closed-customer math usually favors the subscription model for trades with even basic sales discipline.

Why are HomeAdvisor and Angi leads so expensive?

They buy clicks from Google for $5-$15, format the inquiry, and resell to 3-5 contractors at $20-$60 each. The pricing is calibrated to maximum tolerable price, not to actual cost of generation. High-margin trades (roofing, HVAC, kitchen remodel) absorb the price; low-margin trades get squeezed.

How many leads do I get from a $149/mo permit-data subscription?

Unlimited access. PermitGrab tracks 310,281 permits in the last 180 days across 1061 cities. You can pull thousands of leads per month — the bottleneck becomes your outreach capacity, not the data.

What's the break-even on a permit-data subscription for my trade?

Depends on average ticket. Roofer at $12K avg / 30% margin: 1 deal pays the year. HVAC at $6K / 35%: 1 deal pays 14 months. Solar at $25K / 25%: 1 deal pays 35 months. Active subscribers typically see 3-15 closed deals/mo after the first 60 days.

Should I use Google Local Services Ads alongside permit data?

Yes — they complement each other. LSAs catch high-intent inbound homeowners searching now. Permit data catches medium-intent owners and contractors based on actual project activity. Combine both for maximum coverage; rely on one alone and you leave 50%+ of demand on the table.

How Much Do Contractor Leads Cost?

By Marcus Reeves, Head of Permit Research at PermitGrab · Updated daily from official city records · Last permit filed: today

154,583

Active Contractors

20,856

Phone Numbers

271,357

Code Violations

11,863,412

Property Owners

Live totals across 1061 cities · Browse all cities →

Contractor leads cost between $20 and $150 per shared lead on platforms like HomeAdvisor, Angi, Networx, and Thumbtack — or $149/month for unlimited permit-based leads through PermitGrab. The shared-lead model means the same homeowner is sold to 3-5 contractors at once, dropping conversion rates to ~3-5%. Permit-based leads are exclusive and signal-rich, but require outbound effort. Here's the full pricing landscape and which model fits which trade.

What's the actual cost per closed deal?

The headline price hides the true cost. A $40 shared HomeAdvisor lead with a 4% close rate costs $1,000 per actual customer ($40 ÷ 0.04). A $150/month PermitGrab subscription that closes 3 deals from outbound prospecting costs $50 per customer. Trade by trade, the closed-deal math usually favors the cheaper-per-month subscription model for trades where the contractor already has a sales motion, and the per-lead model for trades that want inbound demand without sales effort.

Lead source comparison table

Source	Pricing model	Typical price	Shared or exclusive
HomeAdvisor / Angi Leads	Per lead	$15-$80	Shared (3-5 contractors)
Thumbtack	Per quote sent	$8-$50	Shared
Networx	Per lead	$30-$150	Shared
Houzz Pro	Subscription	$99-$399/mo + leads	Shared
BuildZoom	Pay on hire	2.5% of project value	Curated shortlist
Google Local Services Ads	Per booked lead	$25-$100	Exclusive (one call)
Facebook Lead Ads	CPL	$15-$80	Exclusive (varies)
PermitGrab	Subscription	$149/mo flat	Exclusive (you do outreach)

Why are shared leads so expensive?

Pay-per-lead platforms make money on volume and arbitrage. They buy clicks from Google for $5-$15, format the inquiry into a "lead," and resell it to 3-5 contractors for $20-$60 each — netting $80-$240 per generated inquiry. The pricing has nothing to do with the actual cost of generating the lead. It's calibrated to the maximum price contractors will tolerate before churning. In high-margin trades (HVAC, kitchen remodeling, roofing) the prices have climbed steadily since 2018 because the buyers can absorb it.

Why are permit-based leads cheaper?

Permits are public records. The data is free to collect — it's just a question of who's willing to build and maintain the scrapers, deduplicate by business name, enrich with phone numbers from state licensing databases, and ship it daily. PermitGrab does that work for 1061 cities and charges $149/month flat. There's no per-lead markup because the leads aren't being resold — you're paying for access to the data infrastructure.

Are exclusive leads worth the premium?

Yes, if you have a sales motion. Exclusive leads convert 2-4x better than shared. An exclusive lead at $80 converts at 12-15%; a shared lead at $30 converts at 3-5%. Cost per closed customer favors exclusive at almost every price point. The catch: most exclusive lead products are still inbound — they require you to wait for the lead to come in. Permit data is the opposite — you generate the lead by reaching out to a homeowner or contractor right after the permit is filed.

What's the break-even on a PermitGrab subscription?

Depends on your average ticket. For a roofer averaging $12,000 per job at 30% gross margin, one closed deal pays for the year. For an HVAC company averaging $6,000 per install at 35% margin, one closed deal pays for 14 months. For a solar installer averaging $25,000 per install at 25% margin, one closed deal pays for 35 months.

The realistic outcomes we see from active subscribers: 3-15 closed deals per month after the first 60 days, depending on how aggressively they work the data. That's $450-$10,000+ in monthly LTV vs $149 in cost.

What about Google Local Services Ads?

Google's LSAs are the gold standard for high-intent inbound — homeowners who clicked your ad explicitly because they want service now. Cost ranges $25-$100 per booked lead. The catch: tightly capped by Google's geographic restrictions, slow background-check approval, and you're competing with the same 4-5 contractors in your service area for every search. Best used as a complement to outbound permit prospecting, not a replacement.

Which lead source fits my trade?

Roofing: Permit data is the highest-leverage source — every roofing permit in your service area is an active homeowner. More on contractor permit leads.
Solar: Roof + electrical permits both signal solar candidacy. Solar prospecting guide.
HVAC, plumbing, electrical: Mechanical, plumbing, and electrical permits are direct trade matches. Permit data has near-zero false positives.
Real estate investors: Code violations + tax delinquency are the killer combo. RE investor playbook.
Insurance: Renovation permits drive replacement-cost re-evaluation. Insurance agent playbook.
Material suppliers: New-construction and large-renovation permits drive material orders. Supplier playbook.

Why aren't more contractors using permit data?

Three reasons. (1) Awareness — most contractors have never heard of it; HomeAdvisor's marketing budget is bigger than the entire permit-data industry combined. (2) Outbound aversion — pay-per-lead is inbound; permit data requires outbound calls and emails. Many contractors prefer to wait by the phone. (3) Sales operation maturity — to work permit data well, you need a quoted CRM step, a calling cadence, and someone who actually picks up the phone. Solo operators sometimes prefer the simplicity of "click bid, wait for response" even at higher per-customer cost.

For contractors with even basic sales discipline, permit data is the highest-ROI lead source available. Start at $149/month or grab the 14-day Pro trial ($0 today).

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