Cost per lead: SEO vs Angi vs Google LSA
Angi, Google LSA, and organic search all produce roofing leads, but they are three fundamentally different pricing models wearing the same lead generation label. Here is what each actually costs once you account for fees, shared leads, and the ones that never convert.
Three very different pricing models
Cost per lead implies these three are directly comparable line items. They are not.
Angi charges a membership fee plus per-lead costs, for leads shared across several competitors. Google LSA charges per verified lead, exclusive to you but still competing for the click. Organic search is a fixed upfront cost with no per-lead charge at all. Understanding the mechanics behind each number is what makes the comparison useful.
How Angi actually prices
Angi, and HomeAdvisor under the same parent company, typically charges an ongoing membership fee regardless of how many leads you receive, plus a per-lead cost commonly running $50 to $300 depending on job type and market.
The same homeowner inquiry is frequently sold to three to five roofing companies at once, which means your quote is one of several being compared before you have even called back.
How Google LSA actually prices
Local Service Ads require the Google Guarantee vetting process, meaning background checks and insurance verification, then charge per lead once you are approved. Costs commonly run $20 to $100 or more depending on how competitive your market is.
Unlike Angi, the lead is not sold to multiple companies. But several LSA providers can still appear for the same search, so the homeowner may be gathering quotes from a few verified companies regardless.
Side by side
The comparison
| Platform | Pricing model | Exclusivity | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angi / HomeAdvisor | Membership plus per lead | Shared with 3 to 5 companies | $50 to $300 per lead |
| Google LSA | Pay per verified lead | Not shared, but competitive | $20 to $100 or more |
| Organic search | One-time, optional retainer | Fully exclusive | $0 marginal per lead |
Cost per lead is the wrong number. Do the closed-job math.
Per-lead price tells you almost nothing on its own, because the three channels close at wildly different rates. Run the arithmetic on 20 leads a month using the ranges above and the picture changes completely.
- Angi. 20 leads at roughly $150 each is $3,000, before membership. At a 15 percent close rate that is 3 jobs, so about $1,000 per closed job, plus the membership fee that renews either way.
- Google LSA. 20 leads at roughly $60 each is $1,200. At a 25 percent close rate that is 5 jobs, so about $240 per closed job.
- Organic. The cost is the upfront project, not the leads. At a 50 percent close rate, 20 leads is 10 jobs, and the marginal cost of the next 20 is zero.
That is illustrative arithmetic using the ranges in this article, not a promise about your market. But the shape of it holds: the channel with the lowest sticker price per lead is often the most expensive per signed job.
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The cost that is not on the invoice
Membership and platform fees are charged whether or not the leads convert. Angi’s membership renews regardless of lead volume or quality.
Dispute processes on both platforms are narrower than most contractors expect. They generally cover clearly invalid contact information, not leads that were simply low-intent or price shopping. If a lead answers the phone and is real but was never going to buy, you paid for it.
Between the renewing fee and the leads that were technically valid but commercially worthless, the true cost per closed job on a shared-lead platform tends to be considerably higher than the sticker price suggests.
Putting it together
Which ones you should actually use
Starting out, need volume now
Google LSA is generally the stronger paid option. Better exclusivity and quality than Angi at a comparable or lower cost per lead.
Testing a new market
Angi can produce fast volume to validate demand in a new service area, as long as you go in understanding the close rate tradeoff from day one.
Building for the long term
Organic should be running in the background regardless of which paid channel you use, because it is the only one whose cost per lead falls over time.
Ready to cut paid spend
Once rankings mature, most roofing companies scale back Angi first, then LSA, as organic takes over a larger share of total lead volume.
Common questions
Cost per lead, answered
It can generate volume quickly, which has real value for a company that needs jobs immediately. The tradeoff is a shared lead model with lower close rates and membership fees charged regardless of lead quality. It works best as a short-term bridge rather than a long-term strategy.
LSA leads are not shared the way Angi leads are, but several LSA providers can still appear for the same search. So the homeowner may still be comparing companies, even though each lead you pay for is yours alone to follow up on.
Both platforms have dispute processes, but they are narrow. They generally cover clearly wrong contact information or obvious spam, not leads that simply did not convert. Most requests for low-quality but technically valid leads are denied.
LSA leads generally convert better than Angi leads, because the homeowner went through Google’s Guarantee vetting and is contacting a verified, insured business. Neither matches the close rate of a homeowner who found you organically and chose to call you specifically.
Many roofing companies do, especially early on. A common approach is running LSA for immediate lead flow, limiting or skipping Angi because of the shared-lead model, and building organic in the background so paid costs can be reduced once rankings mature.
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