Buying leads vs generating your own: HomeStars, Angi and Google LSA compared

Buying leads gets your phone ringing this week, without building anything. Generating your own takes longer but leaves you with something you own: a website that ranks, a Google profile full of reviews, and a customer list. For most contractors and cleaning companies, the sensible answer is both for a while: use a lead platform or Google Local Services Ads to fill the calendar, measure your cost per signed job on each one, and move budget toward the channels you own as they start producing. The rest of this article shows how each platform charges and how to do that math.

How the three options work

HomeStars

HomeStars is the main Canadian home services marketplace. It has been part of the Angi group (formerly ANGI Homeservices) since February 2017. Homeowners post a job; HomeStars matches it to pros in that trade and area.

The official "HomeStars for Pros" app listing describes the model this way: you sign up for free, browse leads and express interest for free, see the lead price upfront, and pay a one-time fee for the homeowner's contact details only when the homeowner shortlists you. The listing also says there are no joining or subscription fees. Contractors and third-party reviews have described paid membership options in the past, so ask your rep exactly what you'll be charged and when before you commit.

The key point: a homeowner request is matched to several pros. You're competing for the same job from the first minute.

Angi

Angi is the group's main US brand. In Canada, the Angi group operates through HomeStars, so if you only work in Canada, HomeStars is the one that matters. If you also work in the US, Angi's own lead service is the equivalent.

Angi doesn't publish a lead price list. Third-party analyses report that prices vary with the trade, the market and the estimated job value, and that the same lead is often sold to more than one provider. You pay for the lead whether or not it turns into a job.

Google Local Services Ads (LSA)

Local Services Ads appear at the top of Google for searches like "plumber near me", with a Google badge and your reviews. They work differently from regular Google Ads: you pay per lead, not per click.

Google's help pages spell out what counts as a charged lead:

• calls you answer, or calls you return that reach the customer
• missed calls during business hours where the caller stays on the line past 20 seconds
• messages and voicemails
• booking requests (in the US and Canada)

If the same customer contacts you again within 15 days, you're not charged again. You set an average weekly budget, and you choose a bidding mode that controls the most you'll pay per lead. In Canada, you can dispute a charged lead you believe is invalid within 30 days, and Google also credits some low-quality leads on its own. Google no longer credits leads for job types or areas you don't serve, so set your services and service area carefully.

LSA is only open to certain service categories, and the list varies by country. Check eligibility for your trade and city in the Local Services sign-up flow before planning around it.

Unlike a marketplace, an LSA lead is a customer contacting you directly. Nobody else receives that call.

Side-by-side comparison

Work out your real cost per signed job

The lead price is the wrong number to compare. What matters is what you pay for each job you actually win.

Cost per signed job = total spent on the channel ÷ jobs won from that channel

Track it for at least two or three months per channel, because a single big job can distort one month.

Here's an example with made-up numbers, just to show the method:

Then compare each cost per job to your average gross margin per job. A $240 acquisition cost is fine on a $15,000 renovation and painful on a $400 repair.

Two numbers usually move this math more than the lead price does:

1. Your close rate. On shared leads, the first contractor to call often wins the site visit. If you answer in an hour instead of the next morning, your cost per job can drop sharply without changing anything else. (We cover the research in speed to lead.)
2. The job size. Leads for small jobs cost less but rarely carry the margin to pay for themselves. Filter by job type where the platform allows it.

When buying leads makes sense

• You're new or in a new area. You don't have reviews, a ranking website or referrals yet. Paying per lead buys time while you build those.
• You have open crew time. An idle crew costs money every day. A lead that fills a slow week can be worth more than its cost per job suggests.
• Your trade fits LSA well. Emergency trades (plumbing, locksmiths, HVAC repair) get urgent calls from people who pick the first name that looks trustworthy.
• You can answer fast. If you can't call back within the hour, shared leads will mostly go to someone else.

When it doesn't

• Your margins are thin. Shared leads plus discount-seeking customers can turn into busy weeks with little profit.
• You get most of your work from referrals. Paying for leads you'd have won anyway is money spent twice.
• You can't track results. If nobody records which lead came from where, you can't tell whether the platform pays off.
• Your whole pipeline depends on one platform. A price change, a ranking change or a suspended account can empty your calendar overnight.

Building your own lead flow

The channels you own take longer to start, and they keep working after you stop paying.

• Google Business Profile. Complete every field, post real job photos, and ask every happy customer for a review. This is where many local searches end.
• A website that converts. Clear service pages per trade and area, a phone number you can tap, and a short quote form. Without this, every other channel leaks.
• Search ads on your own terms. Regular Google Ads let you choose keywords, areas and hours, and send traffic to your own page.
• Past customers. A short check-in after a job and a reminder at the right season bring repeat work and referrals.

None of this is free. A website, ads and a CRM all cost money and time. The difference is what's left when you stop: with a platform, you keep nothing; with your own channels, you keep the reviews, the rankings and the customer list.

Reduce your dependence step by step

1. Record the source of every lead in your CRM or spreadsheet, including platform leads.
2. Bring every customer into your own list once a job is booked: their contact details, the job, and the date.
3. Ask for Google reviews after each completed job, whatever the lead source, within the rules of the platform you used.
4. Set a target share. For example, aim for platform leads to supply less than half of your won jobs within a year, and review it every quarter.
5. Cut the worst channel first when your own channels start covering the gap.

How PNE fits in

Our lead generation service builds the part you own: landing pages per service and area, lead capture that drops every enquiry into your CRM, and source tracking so you can compare your own channels with the platforms you pay. We don't tell clients to stop buying leads on day one. We help them measure, then shift spending once the numbers say it's safe.

Sources

• HomeStars for Pros (App Store listing) — Apple
• ANGI Homeservices organization note (10-K exhibit) — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
• Is Angi Leads worth it? — EcoHome
• How Local Services Ads charges work — Google Ads Help
• Lead disputes for Local Services Ads — Google Local Services Help
• Troubleshooting invalid leads — Google Local Services Help
• Local Services Ads eligibility — Google Ads Help