Quick facts: Washington
- Measure
- Cost per booked job
- Formula
- Lead spend divided by jobs booked from those leads
- Compare to
- Gross profit on an average job
- Fix first
- Response time, booking rate, price
Fees, rules and rates change, often on July 1 and January 1. Verify every item with the responsible agency before you rely on it.
Short answer: A paid lead service is worth it when the cost per booked job is well under the gross profit on your average job. Cost per booked job is what you spent on leads divided by the jobs you actually booked from them. If you are slow to respond or book few of the leads, fix that first; it changes the math more than switching platforms.
Updated October 12, 2026. Requirements and fees change; confirm with the agency named on this page.
Lead prices only mean something next to two other numbers: how many leads you book, and what a job makes you.
The math
- Add up a month of spend on one platform.
- Count jobs actually booked from it.
- Divide: cost per booked job.
- Compare to gross profit on your average job from that source (ticket minus labor and materials).
Example: $600 of leads, 20 leads, 5 booked jobs = $120 per booked job. If the average job from that source leaves $400 of gross profit, it works. If it leaves $150, it barely does. Book 8 instead of 5 and it drops to $75.
What moves the number
- Response time, in minutes.
- Booking rate: see booking rate.
- Average ticket: see raising your ticket.
- Margin: see markup vs margin.
Questions to ask any lead platform before you pay
- Is the lead exclusive to me, or is the same customer sent to other pros? How many?
- Do I get the customer's real phone number and email, or only a message thread inside the app?
- What exactly counts as a lead I pay for, and how do I get credit for a bad one?
- Is there a contract, a minimum, or a monthly budget I am locked into?
- Can I set the job types, zip codes and hours I want?
Platforms: Thumbtack, Angi and HomeAdvisor, Google Local Services Ads, Yelp, Nextdoor. Free tools: break-even, business audit.
Where Contractor Lane Operator fits
Leads only pay if you answer, book, price and close them. Operator audits your business, shows where your cost per booked job is leaking, and gives you the next steps and the team training to fix it, for $79 a month, cancel anytime. Use it alongside any lead source on this page.
You can piece all of this together from a dozen searches, or have it in one place, in order, matched to your business. That is the trade Operator makes.
General education, not legal, tax or financial advice. Talk to a licensed professional about your situation.
Want it handled, not just explained?
Operator is the AI business coach for contractors.
A business audit and a plan, an online mentor you can ask any time, team training for your crew, and deadline reminders. $79/month, any state, cancel anytime.
Common questions
How do I know if a lead service is worth it?
Divide what you spent by the jobs you booked from it. If that cost per booked job is well under the gross profit of an average job from that source, it is working.
Why do lead services not work for some contractors?
Slow response, low booking rate and thin margins. The same leads can be profitable for one shop and not another.
Which lead service is best for contractors?
The one with the lowest cost per booked job in your trade and area, which you only learn by tracking it.