Tradie Pulse has managed over $2 million in ad spend across 200+ ad accounts, and our clients have generated $10M+ in revenue. For this page we analysed the 148 Australian tradie accounts that still have full data in Meta: about $1 million in spend and 38,600 leads. The median cost per lead was $26.92. Half of the accounts landed between $14.95 and $48.28 a lead, and 79 of the 148 came in under $30. Most tradies start at around $20 a day. Bigger jobs like granny flats and full renovations cost more per lead but are worth far more.
Median cost per lead across 148 tradie ad accounts
Ad spend managed across 200+ ad accounts
Revenue generated for our clients
| Trade | Ad accounts | Median cost per lead | Middle half |
| Builders | 73 | $29.77 | $17.78–$55.38 |
| Carpenters | 29 | $34.97 | $18.84–$55.26 |
| Concreters | 8 | $12.19 | $7.96–$27.23 |
| Plumbers | 6 | $48.24 | Small sample |
| Landscapers | 5 | $16.57 | Small sample |
| Electricians | 4 | $15.18 | Small sample |
| Roofers | 4 | $33.81 | Small sample |
| Other trades and services | 19 | $15.35 | $8.55–$33.16 |
“Middle half” is where the middle 50% of accounts landed. Other trades include cleaning, garage doors and gates, epoxy flooring, steel fabrication and more. Trades with fewer than 8 accounts are a small sample, so treat them as a guide, not a promise.
| Cost per lead | Ad accounts | Share |
| Under $15 | 37 | 25% |
| $15–$30 | 42 | 28% |
| $30–$50 | 34 | 23% |
| $50–$100 | 21 | 14% |
| Over $100 | 14 | 9% |
Big-ticket work costs more per lead. Adorini Homes paid $107 a lead for granny flats and renovations, and won about $570K from $3.5K in ads.
Nail It Construction’s general composite-deck ads stalled. Pool-surround decks came in at $9.74 a lead.
Northern Built’s leads cost $150+ until Alex went on camera and targeted a specific area. They dropped to $29.77.
Tightening location targeting helped Kornerstone Building book out all of 2026.
Cost per lead is easy to measure, but the real question is how much work you win per dollar spent. Our clients have generated $10M+ in revenue from their ads, and our 41 published case studies alone show $5.8M+ in work won. A $107 lead that turns into a $250K bathroom renovation beats ten $5 leads that never answer the phone.
The biggest factor in that is speed of follow-up. Tradies who reply within minutes, or let a CRM and AI reply for them, win far more of the leads they pay for.
How we calculated this: In November 2026 we pulled lifetime ad spend and leads, as reported by Meta, for every ad account connected to the Tradie Pulse Meta Business Manager (200+ accounts). We kept the 148 Australian tradie accounts that spent at least $300 and recorded at least one lead, and left out our own accounts and non-trade businesses. Cost per lead is each account’s total spend divided by its leads. These are lifetime totals, so they can include time before or after an account worked with us. We use medians so a few very large or very small accounts don’t skew the result. The $2M+ ad spend and 200+ account figures come from Tradie Pulse’s own records and include accounts we no longer have access to in Meta. The $10M+ revenue figure is client-reported; our 41 published case studies document $5.8M+ of it. Figures are what tradies paid and won, not a guarantee. The examples in section 02 come from our client case studies. See every case study, or how our Meta ads work.
Book a free call. We’ll give you a realistic cost-per-lead range for your trade, jobs and area.