How much do Google Local Services Ads cost? About $33 to $107 per lead, and Sharrk answers every one
By Sharrk Team · October 15, 2026
Google Local Services Ads cost about $33 to $107 per lead for most home-service trades in 2026, with water damage near $215, according to 99 Calls' campaign data published in September 2026. You pay for each call, message or booking request rather than for clicks, so Sharrk answers every one of those leads on the first ring, 24/7, and books the job while the customer is still on the line.
How much do Google Local Services Ads cost per lead in 2026?
Google doesn't publish a price list. It says lead prices "may vary depending on your location, the job type, the type of lead, or your bidding mode." The best public numbers come from advertisers and agencies that share their own campaign data.
The table below is 99 Calls' average cost per charged lead, from its own Local Services Ads campaigns, as reported in Lead Smart Inc's September 2026 release. Only categories with at least 30 leads in both years were included.
| Trade | Avg. cost per lead, 2025 | Avg. cost per lead, 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleaning services | $22.94 | $33.21 | +44.8% |
| Painting | $32.94 | $33.06 | +0.4% |
| Junk removal | $19.85 | $33.14 | +67.0% |
| Appliance repair | $20.33 | $34.35 | +69.0% |
| Landscaping | $22.67 | $37.29 | +64.5% |
| Tree services | $33.93 | $37.77 | +11.3% |
| Handyman | $25.06 | $38.51 | +53.7% |
| Electrical | $28.58 | $43.15 | +51.0% |
| Window repair | $46.83 | $59.99 | +28.1% |
| Plumbing | $70.06 | $66.17 | −5.6% |
| Roofing | $73.62 | $106.87 | +45.2% |
| Water damage | $171.64 | $215.31 | +25.4% |
A second benchmark lands in the same range. The Valley Marketing Group, citing SearchLight Digital's February 2026 LSA benchmark, lists roughly $25 to $40 per lead for garage doors, $35 to $65 for plumbing, $30 to $70 for HVAC, $40 to $75 for electrical and $55 to $90 for roofing, with a home-services average of $53.
Your own price will move with your city, season and competition, so treat these as starting points and watch your Local Services Ads dashboard each week.
How does Google charge for Local Services Ads?
You pay per lead, not per click or per impression. Per Google's help page, a charged lead can be:
- An answered phone call, or a callback where you speak with the customer
- A missed call during business hours where the caller stays on the line more than 20 seconds
- A text or email message
- A voicemail
- A booking request (US and Canada)
Google doesn't charge for spam and duplicates it filters out, missed calls under 20 seconds, or callers who hang up on a phone menu without pressing a key. Once a lead is charged, follow-up calls or messages from the same number or email within 15 days are not charged again.
The missed-call rule is new. PPC Land reported that Google emailed advertisers on August 24, 2026, and started charging for business-hours missed calls held past 20 seconds on October 1, 2026. Put plainly, a ringing phone nobody picks up can now cost you a full lead price.
Message leads are usually cheaper. Google says message leads typically cost less than phone leads, and their price reflects how likely the customer is to book.
How do budget and bidding work?
You set an average weekly budget. Google can spend more than that in a busy week, but never more than your monthly max (weekly budget times the average number of weeks in a month). Once you hit the monthly max, your ad stops showing for the rest of the month unless you raise the budget. You also choose a bidding mode, including a maximum you're willing to pay per lead.
Can you get credits for bad leads?
Yes, in many cases. Google reassesses charged leads over a 30-day period and may credit poor-quality, duplicate or invalid leads automatically. You can also flag a bad lead in the feedback survey, and Google may credit it. Credits aren't available for health care, tax specialists, or advertisers in the EMEA/EEA region, per the same help page.
What does the Google Guaranteed badge mean?
The badge is the trust signal next to your ad. With the Google Guarantee, if a customer who found you through Local Services Ads is unhappy with the quality of the work, Google may reimburse them up to what they paid for the job, capped at $2,000 lifetime per customer in the US. It doesn't cover price disputes, add-on jobs, property damage or cancellations. Businesses earn the badge by passing Google's screening and verification through Local Services Ads.
Does answering speed affect your Local Services Ads ranking?
Yes. Google's "About ad rankings" page lists how quickly and consistently you answer customer inquiries as part of lead likelihood, names average response time as a profile-quality signal alongside rating, review count and photos, and states that "missed calls may negatively affect your responsiveness."
So an unanswered call can hurt you twice: you may pay for it, and it can lower your ranking. Answering fast is also how you win the job, which is the point of speed to lead.
How do you lower your cost per booked job on Local Services Ads?
Cost per lead is Google's number. Cost per booked job is the number that pays your bills, and that one is mostly up to you.
Worked example (made-up numbers): a plumber pays $66 a lead and books 1 in 3 leads, so each booked job costs $198 in ads. Book 1 in 2 of the same leads and it drops to $132, with no change to the ad budget.
Steps that move it:
- Answer every call on the first ring, all day. Missed business-hours calls past 20 seconds are now charged, and missed calls count against responsiveness.
- Book on the first call. Offer two time slots instead of "we'll call you back."
- Reply to messages and booking requests in seconds, not hours. They're cheaper leads, but only if someone answers.
- Keep your business hours accurate so after-hours leads come in as messages and bookings you can handle overnight.
- Dispute every bad lead (spam, wrong trade, outside your area) in the feedback survey.
- Trim job types you don't want so you aren't paying for leads you'd turn down.
- Follow up with leads who don't book. A charged lead stays yours, and follow-ups within 15 days aren't charged again.
- Ask happy customers for reviews, since rating and review count feed your ranking.
Comparing lead sources? See our breakdown of what Angi leads cost to set it next to your LSA cost per booked job.
How does Sharrk help you get more from every Local Services Ads lead?
Sharrk turns every lead you pay Google for into a real conversation. A Sharrk AI voice agent answers every call 24/7 on the first ring, handles many calls at once in a natural voice, and books the job onto Sharrk's built-in calendar, Calendly or Cal.com, or straight into ServiceTitan. Callers who want a person, or emergencies you define, get a live transfer. New leads from web forms, Angi, Thumbtack, Networx, webhooks and API connections get a text and a call in under 30 seconds. Every call lands in the CRM with a summary and transcript.
For leads that don't book on the first call, Strikes run follow-up sequences of calls, texts, emails and voicemail drops that stop the moment the lead replies or books, inside 8am–8pm quiet hours in your timezone.
Mako, the AI assistant inside Sharrk, builds all of it for you from plain English. Tell Mako "answer my Google calls, book roofing inspections on weekdays, and transfer emergency leaks to me," and it builds the voice agent, the booking rules and the follow-up Strike, shows you every change, and waits for your OK before anything goes live.
You can build and test unlimited agents with Mako on Sharrk Free with no credit card, and go live on Sharrk Core at $99 a month (see pricing). That's less than the 2026 average price of a single roofing lead in the table above. Start free or book a demo to hear an agent answer the way your Local Services Ads callers will, or read how Sharrk works as an AI answering service.
Advertising on Yelp as well? See what Yelp Ads cost per month and per click.
Sources
- Google Ads Help: How you're charged for Local Services Ads leads (checked October 15, 2026)
- Google Local Services Help: About ad rankings (checked October 15, 2026)
- Google Ads Help: The Google Guarantee (checked October 15, 2026)
- Lead Smart Inc: Google lead costs rose up to 69% in a year (99 Calls LSA data, September 2026) (checked October 15, 2026)
- The Valley Marketing Group: Google Local Services Ads cost per lead 2026 (citing SearchLight Digital, February 2026) (checked October 15, 2026)
- PPC Land: Google LSA advertisers face missed-call charges from October 1 (September 25, 2026) (checked October 15, 2026)
Related on Sharrk: AI receptionist for plumbing · AI receptionist for roofing · AI answering service · Speed to lead
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Google Local Services Ads lead cost?
Most home-service trades paid about $33 to $107 per lead in 2026, per 99 Calls' campaign data published in September 2026. Cleaning and painting sat near $33, plumbing near $66, roofing near $107 and water damage near $215. Your price depends on your location, job type, lead type and bidding mode.
Do you pay per click on Google Local Services Ads?
No, you pay per lead. Google charges for answered calls, business-hours missed calls held past 20 seconds, messages, voicemails and booking requests, not for clicks or views.
Does Google charge for missed calls on Local Services Ads?
Yes, for missed calls during business hours where the caller stays on the line more than 20 seconds. PPC Land reported the charge took effect October 1, 2026. Missed calls under 20 seconds are not charged. Sharrk answers every call on the first ring, 24/7, so those calls become booked jobs instead.
Can I get money back for bad Local Services Ads leads?
Often, yes, as a credit. Google reassesses charged leads over 30 days, may credit spam, duplicate or invalid leads automatically, and lets you flag bad leads in a feedback survey. Credits aren't offered for health care, tax specialists, or EMEA/EEA advertisers.
Does response time affect my Local Services Ads ranking?
Yes. Google lists average response time and how quickly and consistently you answer inquiries as ranking signals, and says missed calls may hurt your responsiveness. Sharrk answers calls on the first ring and replies to new leads in under 30 seconds.
How do I set a Local Services Ads budget?
You set an average weekly budget. Google may spend more in a given week but never more than the monthly max, and your ads pause for the rest of the month once you reach it unless you raise the budget.