Am I Getting Ripped Off on My Ad Spend?
Your agency says you're doing great. This calculator checks. Enter your monthly spend and leads, and it compares your real cost per lead against published trade medians: $129 for plumbing search ads, $51 for HVAC LSAs. You get a straight verdict, free, no gate.
Your Agency Says You're Doing Great. Let's Find Out.
Six numbers you already know. 60 seconds. A verdict your agency can't spin.
Where These Numbers Come From
A rip-off detector is worthless if its own numbers are made up. Here's the sourcing, warts and all.
Trade Median Cost Per Lead
Most Google Ads medians come from a 2025 industry benchmark study of 3,211 real U.S. home services search campaigns, April 2024 through March 2025. LSA medians for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical come from February 2026 billing data across 751 LSA accounts. The rest come from smaller published datasets, and the table says so instead of hiding it. One thing we don't do: name the publishers on this page, because most companies that publish CPL benchmarks also sell marketing. The full citation list is on file, and if you want it, ask and you'll get it.
| Trade | Google Ads Median | LSA Median | Source Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC | $128 | $51 | A |
| Plumbing | $129 | $57 | A |
| Roofing | $228 | $94 | A/B |
| Tree Service | $95 | $45 | B/C |
| Electrical | $94 | $39 | A |
| Pest Control | $98 | $35 | B/C |
| Landscaping | $118 | $44 | A/C |
| Cabinet Refacing | $350 | $100 | C |
| General Contractor | $166 | $97 | A/B |
A means recent, multi-account, directly measured data. B means direct data from small or older samples. C means an extrapolation or a range midpoint. When the two channels have different quality, both badges show.
What "Efficient Tier" Means (and What It Doesn't)
Plenty of tools show a "top 10%" figure. We looked for real percentile data across every trade and channel, and outside a few small LSA samples, it doesn't publicly exist. So this tool doesn't pretend it does. Where a real 10th-percentile boundary was published (roofing, landscaping, and general contractor LSAs), the Efficient Tier figure is marked measured. Everywhere else it's marked modeled: the trade median times 0.65, a disclosed planning estimate, not sourced data.
The Mixed / Other Channel
Pick "Mixed / Other" and your benchmark is a blend: the average of your trade's Google Ads and LSA medians. That's a planning estimate. We don't yet have independently sourced Meta or organic-SEO benchmarks by trade, because the public data for those channels isn't reliable enough to publish as fact.
Why a High Number Isn't Automatically a Rip-Off
A CPL 40% over median in a brutal metro with an agency that closes the loop on every lead can still out-earn a cheap CPL full of tire-kickers. That's why the results also show your cost per booked job and return on ad spend. If your ROAS is strong, the verdict tells you that too. This tool exists to give you a straight read, not to scare you into a sales call.
What Market-Beating CPL Actually Looks Like
“First year in business and we went from 1-2 calls a month to multiple leads every single day. Watson & Co. built this from the ground up.”
Justin W.
Owner, TreesRX, Tree Services
“Top SEO rankings across Central Florida and Google Ads generating over 20 calls a month. Our schedule stays full because of Watson & Co.”
Matt S.
JMT Cabinets, Cabinet Refacing & Installation
“60+ remodeling leads every month. Consistent, daily lead flow. If you're serious about growing, these are your people.”
Mike A.
Owner, Amoroso Remodels, Remodeling Contractor
The Calculator Shows the Symptom. The Audit Finds the Cause.
Account Teardown
We go inside your actual ad account. Wasted spend, junk keywords, settings your agency never touched. The real reasons your CPL is what it is.
Market Comparison
Your numbers against your zip code, not a national table. Who's outbidding you, what they pay, and where the openings are.
90-Day Fix Plan
What to fix first, what it should cost, and what your CPL should look like in 90 days. Yours to keep, whoever does the work.
Download Your Rip-Off Report
A one-page PDF of your verdict: your CPL, the trade median, the gap, and the sources. Handy the next time your agency sends a report full of impressions.
Straight Answers. No Runaround.
Where do these benchmark numbers come from?
Published industry datasets, not our opinion: a 2025 benchmark study covering 3,211 U.S. home services search campaigns, 2026 LSA billing data across 751 accounts, trade press reporting, and smaller published samples. Every figure carries a source-quality badge on this page, and thin data is labeled as thin. The full citation list is on file; ask and you'll get it.
What is a good cost per lead for my trade?
At or under the trade median is solid: around $128 for HVAC search ads, $129 for plumbing, $228 for roofing. LSA leads run far cheaper, $35 to $97 by trade. But the number that decides whether you're profitable is cost per booked job, which is why the calculator shows it.
My CPL is way over the median. Should I fire my agency?
Not on this number alone. A tough metro, a narrow service area, or a premium-only strategy can all push CPL up while staying profitable. What the gap tells you is that you're owed an explanation. If your agency can't show you which jobs your spend produced, that's the real red flag, not the CPL itself.
What is the Efficient Tier number?
It's what strong accounts pay, shown two ways. Where a real 10th-percentile boundary was published (a few LSA categories), it's labeled measured. Everywhere else it's labeled modeled: the median times 0.65, an estimate we disclose instead of dressing up as data. Nobody publishes true top-10% figures for most trades, including the agencies claiming to be in it.
Is the PDF report really free?
Yes. Your email gets you the one-page PDF of your own results, generated right in your browser. No credit card, no strings. We'll follow up once about a free audit of your actual account, and you can ignore that and keep the report.
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