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Updated (Q1 2026) Cost Per Leads for HVAC, Plumbers, Electricians and More: National + Denver vs. Colorado Springs

  • James Drake
  • 2 days ago
  • 5 min read

Updated (Q1 2026) Cost Per Leads for HVAC, Plumbers, Electricians and More (National + Denver vs. Colorado Springs)


Meta description (optional): What should a lead cost on Google in 2026? Here are current nationwide CPL benchmarks for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, cleaning, and more—plus a practical way to sanity-check Denver vs. Colorado Springs.


The uncomfortable truth about “normal CPL” in 2026


If you’re asking, “What’s a normal cost per lead on Google for HVAC/plumbing/electrical (or cleaning, roofing, etc.)?” you’re asking the right question—but most answers you’ll find online are either outdated or too generic to budget from.


In 2026, lead costs swing hard based on seasonality, market competition, and what you count as a “lead.” That’s why this post uses real campaign benchmark datasets and focuses on ranges and percentiles, not a single magic number.



First: what “CPL” actually means (and why definitions matter)


Cost per lead (CPL) is the gross marketing cost to acquire one lead.


CPL = total spend ÷ total leads.


But here’s the trap: a “lead” can mean different things depending on the Google product:


  1. Google Ads (Search / Performance Max): you typically pay per click, and a “lead” is a conversion (call or form). Some benchmarks include all conversion types; some split them.

  2. Google Local Services Ads (LSA): you pay per valid lead (calls/messages booked through the LSA unit). Google’s own documentation is explicit that LSAs are pay-per-lead and have rules around valid leads and billing.


So if you compare CPL numbers without clarifying Google Ads vs. LSA, you’ll get nonsense.


Q1 2026 nationwide CPL benchmarks (Google Ads)


The most usable budgeting data is percentile-based—because the spread is often massive. The dataset below is based on real home service Google Ads campaigns and reports January 2026 costs at the 10th, 50th (median), and 90th percentiles.


National Google Ads CPL by home service category (January 2026)

Category

10th percentile

Median (50th)

90th percentile

HVAC

$159

$189

$219

Plumbing

$103

$176

$327

Electrical services

$100

$124

$150

Roofing

$133

$276

$500

House cleaning

$57

$75

$82

Commercial cleaning

$139

$222

$460

Pest control

$131

$164

$213

Landscaping

$31

$64

$290

Painting

$128

$193

$449

Water damage restoration

$373

$645

$1,426

How to read this table:


  • The median is what “normal” looks like in the middle of the market.

  • The 10th percentile is what strong operators with tight conversion + strong offer + good tracking often achieve.

  • The 90th percentile is what happens when competition is high, tracking is sloppy, landing pages are weak, or the service mix is brutal (e.g., restoration).


A second lens: branded vs. non-branded vs. Performance Max


One of the best recent datasets breaks out Google Ads CPL by campaign type and includes downstream metrics like book rate and cost per paying customer. It’s based on January 2026 performance from hundreds of contractors and millions in ad spend.


Headline benchmarks from January 2026 (Google Ads):


  • Blended CPL (HVAC + plumbing overall): $104

  • Branded search: $34 CPL

  • Non-branded search: $149 CPL

  • Performance Max: $72 CPL


More specific by trade:


  • Plumbing (non-branded): $167 CPL

  • Electrical contractors (non-branded): $163 CPL


HVAC examples by service-line:


  • Heating repair campaigns: $144 CPL

  • AC repair campaigns: $231 CPL

  • “General HVAC” (not segmented): $198 CPL


Important: these numbers can coexist with the table above because they’re measuring different mixes (brand vs. non-brand, segmentation, and optimization maturity).


Q1 2026 nationwide CPL benchmarks (Google Local Services Ads / “Google Guaranteed”)


LSAs are a different product: pay-per-lead with the Google Guaranteed / Screened trust layer, and the lead mix tends to skew heavily toward phone calls.


National average CPL on LSAs (multi-industry benchmark)


From a dataset compiled across 100+ clients (published in 2025), typical LSA average CPLs include:


  • HVAC: $80

  • Plumbing: $69

  • Roofer: $162

  • Painter: $40

  • Landscaper: $39

  • Drywall repair/handyperson: $34

  • Locksmith: $34


That same benchmark also notes:


  • A meaningful share of spend often comes back as credits for unqualified leads (they cite ~6–7%).

  • Most LSA leads are phone calls (they cite 90%+).


Denver vs. Colorado Springs: how to compare (without pretending we have perfect city CPL data)


Most public benchmark datasets are national, and very few publish clean, repeatable city-level CPL by trade.


So the honest way to compare Denver vs. Colorado Springs is:


  1. Anchor on national percentiles.

  2. Overlay what we know about how local competition affects CPL.

  3. Use any city-specific datapoints as spot checks—not universal truth.


A real Denver datapoint (HVAC LSAs)


One Denver-specific datapoint that is publicly stated: an HVAC marketing agency reports Denver HVAC LSA lead costs around $25–$38 per lead.


What to do with that (and what not to do):


  • Do: treat it as evidence that LSAs can be materially cheaper than standard PPC when your profile/reviews/response rates are strong and the account is tuned.

  • Don’t: assume Denver HVAC “should” always be $25–$38.


Practical budgeting bands for Denver vs. Colorado Springs


Use percentile bands instead of pretending there’s a single “Denver CPL” and “Colorado Springs CPL.”


  • If you’re in Denver, budget closer to the median → 90th percentile until you prove you can win cheaper.

  • If you’re in Colorado Springs, start with 10th → median as the target band, then adjust based on what you actually see in your first 2–4 weeks.


Suggested planning ranges (using national percentiles):


  • HVAC: Colorado Springs target $159–$189; Denver planning $189–$219

  • Plumbing: Colorado Springs target $103–$176; Denver planning $176–$327

  • Electrical: Colorado Springs target $100–$124; Denver planning $124–$150

  • House cleaning: Colorado Springs target $57–$75; Denver planning $75–$82

  • Commercial cleaning: Colorado Springs target $139–$222; Denver planning $222–$460

  • Roofing: Colorado Springs target $133–$276; Denver planning $276–$500


These aren’t “truth.” They’re budgeting bands anchored to real distributions.


The 80/20 levers that actually change CPL


1) Segment by service line (especially in HVAC)


Running separate campaigns for “heating repair,” “AC repair,” etc. (instead of one generic HVAC campaign) is associated with lower CPL in the January 2026 dataset.


2) Separate branded vs. non-branded (and measure them differently)


Branded campaigns can be far cheaper on a per-lead basis than non-branded acquisition.


3) Don’t optimize for CPL if your booked-job rate is weak


A “cheap lead” that never books is expensive. Track cost per booked job / paying customer.


4) LSAs reward operations (not just marketing)


Response time, reviews, and lead handling often matter as much as the ad itself.


Bottom line


  • “Normal CPL” isn’t one number. It’s a range shaped by your service line, channel (Google Ads vs. LSAs), and market competitiveness.

  • For 2026 planning, the most useful benchmarks are percentiles (10th/50th/90th), not averages.

  • If you want to win in Denver and Colorado Springs, don’t obsess over CPL in isolation—track cost per booked job and cost per paying customer or you’ll optimize the wrong thing.


References (copy/paste links)


[1] 99 Calls Blog — “Google Ads Lead Costs by Home Service Industry in 2026” (Feb 3, 2026) https://blog.99calls.com/2026/02/03/google-ads-lead-costs-by-home-service-industry-in-2026/ [2] SearchLight Digital — “What Is a Good Cost Per Lead for HVAC Google Ads? (2026)” (Jan 2026 dataset; page notes last updated Feb 2026) https://searchlightdigital.io/what-is-a-good-cost-per-lead-for-hvac-google-ads/ [3] The Media Captain — “Local Service Ads Stats & Cost Per Lead Data for 11 Industries” (Aug 26, 2025) https://www.themediacaptain.com/google-local-service-ad-statistics/ [4] Google Support — Local Services Ads Help: “How leads work” https://support.google.com/localservices/answer/7195435?hl=en [5] First Page Sage — “Average Cost Per Lead by Industry – 2026” (May 8, 2025) https://firstpagesage.com/reports/average-cost-per-lead-by-industry/ [6] RS Gonzales — “HVAC Marketing Agency in Denver” (Denver HVAC LSA cost-per-lead range) https://rsgonzales.com/hvac-marketing-agency-in-denver/


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