Tradies in Australia get leads from six places: shared marketplaces such as hipages, where its own pricing page says every lead is capped at 3 businesses; pay-to-respond directories such as Bark; task platforms such as Airtasker; a free Google Business Profile; referrals and past quotes; and paid help. Choose by job value: on our worked numbers, a $400 job can afford about $16 per enquiry, a $40,000 job about $480.
At a glance
- The reader’s question: “where can I find leads as a tradie in Australia?”, asked by plumbers, electricians, landscapers, builders and renovators.
- The six sources: shared marketplaces, pay-to-respond directories, task platforms, Google Business Profile, referrals and old quotes, and paid help (freelancer, retainer agency, or pay-per-result appointments).
- The first criterion: how many other businesses get the same customer. hipages says 3; a referral or your own past customer has none.
- The rule: the Affordable Enquiry Price. Job value × gross margin × the share you will spend to win it × your win rate. If a source costs more than that per enquiry, it loses money however busy it keeps you.
- How we described providers: each named platform only from its own website, read on 11 October 2026. No ratings, no prices we did not see there.
What should a tradie compare before choosing a lead source?
A tradie should compare lead sources on four criteria before price: how many other businesses receive the same customer, what you pay for (a contact, a completed task, a booked appointment, or nothing), who does the chasing, and whether the source still works after you stop paying. Price per lead comes last, because a cheap lead shared with two competitors and chased at 9pm is not cheap. A source’s cost only makes sense against what one enquiry is worth to you, which is the next section.
How it works
Choosing a tradie lead source by what an enquiry is worth
Value one job
Take average job value, gross margin and the share of profit you will spend to win a job.
Price one enquiry
Multiply by your win rate to get your Affordable Enquiry Price.
Count the competitors
Check how many other businesses receive each lead and who does the chasing.
Match source to job
Small jobs suit marketplaces and Google; large projects suit referrals, old quotes and booked appointments.
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How much can a tradie afford to pay per lead? The Affordable Enquiry Price
The most a tradie can pay per enquiry is job value × gross margin × the share of gross profit you are willing to spend winning the job × your enquiry-to-job win rate. No public benchmark exists for Australian trade win rates or margins by trade, so every input below is a labelled assumption. Replace each with your own last 90 days.
| Line (inputs are assumptions) | Small job | Mid job | Project |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average job value | $400 | $4,000 | $40,000 |
| Gross margin | 40% | 40% | 40% |
| Share of gross profit spent winning the job | 20% | 20% | 20% |
| Most you can spend per job won | $32 | $320 | $3,200 |
| Enquiry-to-job win rate | 50% | 30% | 15% |
| Affordable Enquiry Price | $16 | $96 | $480 |
| Same, in hipages credits at $0.75–$0.90 a credit | about 18–21 | about 107–128 | about 533–640 |
Recompute the mid column: $4,000 × 0.40 × 0.20 = $320 per job won; × 0.30 = $96 per enquiry. The credit row divides by hipages’ plan prices on its membership costs page: $139 for 155 credits is about $0.90 a credit, and $449 for 595 credits about $0.75. hipages does not publish a fixed credit price per lead; its credits policy says the number moves with trade, location, job size and supply and demand. Compare the credits your app shows for a lead with your own row.
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Where can tradies get leads in Australia? The options compared
Each named platform below is described only from its own site, read on 11 October 2026. Option types without a single vendor are described generically.
| Source | What its own site says you pay | Who else gets the customer | Who chases |
|---|---|---|---|
| hipages (shared marketplace) | $139–$649 + GST a month for 155–850 credits; credits spent to accept a lead; 6-month introductory term, then a 12-month auto-renewal | “Every lead is capped at 3 businesses” | You |
| Bark (pay-to-respond directory) | Leads sent free; you buy credit packs and spend credits to contact a customer; credits valid 3 months; no commission | Not stated on its pricing page | You |
| ServiceSeeking (quote marketplace) | Says it sent local businesses 267,220 job leads worth $34 million in the last 12 months | Other businesses quoting the same job | You |
| Airtasker (task platform; oneflare.com.au now redirects here) | “No subscription or credit fees”; a service fee is deducted when payment is released | Other Taskers making offers | You |
| Houzz Pro (software plus ads) | $210 AUD a month after a 30-day free trial; advertising packages from $527 AUD a month | Other pros in the directory | You |
| Google Business Profile | Free, per Google | Every business in the map results | You |
| Referrals and past quotes | Your time | Usually nobody | You |
| Freelancer or retainer agency | Hourly or monthly fees plus ad spend, paid win or lose | Nobody: enquiries come to you | You |
| Pay-per-result appointments | A charge only on a booked appointment or a share of revenue | Nobody | The provider, before you are charged |
Sources: hipages membership costs, Bark Australia pricing, ServiceSeeking list your business, Airtasker, Houzz Pro pricing, Google Business Profile. hipages also says over 100,000 jobs are posted on it every month on average, and that it offers partner-program leads from Bunnings and IKEA customers that only members of those programs can access.
Which lead source is wrong for which tradie?
- Shared marketplaces are wrong for a tradie who cannot reply within minutes, or who prices above the market. With up to three businesses on each hipages lead, a slow or dearer reply pays credits for a lost quote.
- Pay-to-respond directories are wrong for trades with few local requests: Bark’s credits are valid for 3 months, so an unused pack is lost.
- Task platforms are wrong for projects that need a site measure, a drawing and a fixed-price contract. They suit defined tasks.
- Houzz Pro is wrong for a business without a photographed portfolio, since you pay monthly for software and visibility, not for jobs.
- Google Business Profile is wrong for nobody, but it is slow: reviews and photos build over months.
- Retainer agencies are wrong for a business that needs work next month; SEO is a long build and fees are owed either way.
- Pay-per-result appointments are wrong for small jobs. On our worked numbers, below a few thousand dollars per job a booked appointment rarely pays for itself, and a marketplace lead is the right tool.
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Pay-Per-Result pricing — performance-based alignment.
Which lead source should a tradie start with, by job value?
| Your average job | Affordable Enquiry Price (our assumptions) | Start with | Add later |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under about $1,000 (callouts, small repairs) | Tens of dollars | Google Business Profile, then a marketplace or directory | Repeat-customer reminders |
| About $1,000 to $10,000 | Up to about $100 | Google Business Profile, referrals, one marketplace | Own website and ads |
| Over about $10,000 (renovations, pools, landscaping builds, solar and batteries) | Hundreds of dollars | Referrals from builders and designers, your old quote list, booked appointments | Own marketing as a long-term asset |
The bands are our judgement from the worked table, not a measured benchmark. The trades with the highest job values each have a dedicated page: all our trades guides, the ten lead generation providers for trade businesses we compared, and a straight hipages versus pay-per-result comparison.
What is the cheapest lead source a tradie already has?
The cheapest lead source a tradie already owns is the list of people they quoted who never said yes, because the cost of finding them has already been paid. Working it costs time: as a labelled assumption, 200 old quotes at 10 minutes a call is about 33 hours. Two compliance points apply in Australia: the ACMA says you must first have consent before sending marketing texts or emails under the Spam Act 2003, and marketing calls are subject to the Do Not Call Register. Our guide to reactivating dead quotes in a trade business covers the sequence and those rules, and database reactivation explains the done-for-you version, priced on results.
FAQ: where tradies get leads in Australia
Where can I find leads as a tradie in Australia?
From six places: shared marketplaces such as hipages, pay-to-respond directories such as Bark, task platforms such as Airtasker, a free Google Business Profile, referrals and your own past quotes, and paid help ranging from freelancers to pay-per-result appointment setting. Pick by job value and by how many competitors see each lead.
How many tradies get the same hipages lead?
Up to three. The hipages membership costs page states that every lead is capped at 3 businesses. Plans run from $139 to $649 a month plus GST for 155 to 850 credits, and credits are spent when you accept a lead.
Is Oneflare still running?
On 11 October 2026, oneflare.com.au redirected to Airtasker’s Australian site. Airtasker’s own homepage says it charges no subscription or credit fees, with a service fee deducted when payment is released.
How much should a tradie pay per lead?
No more than the Affordable Enquiry Price: job value × gross margin × the share of profit you will spend to win it × your win rate. On our assumptions that is about $16 for a $400 job, $96 for a $4,000 job and $480 for a $40,000 project.
Are free lead sources worth it for tradies?
Yes, but they are slow. A Google Business Profile is free, per Google, and referrals cost only time. Neither fills next week’s calendar, so most tradies pair one free, compounding source with one paid source sized to their Affordable Enquiry Price.
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