Electrician leads: what they cost, and how electrical contractors get project work
Electrician leads are customer contacts an electrical contractor pays for through a lead platform or search ads. LocaliQ puts the median search-ad cost per lead for electricians at $93.69. Electrical contractors also get project work with no fee per lead from referral partners: custom home builders, luxury remodelers, solar installers, pool builders and HVAC companies.
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By Imad Haq, founder. Last updated 10 October 2026.
The cost
What electrician leads cost
In LocaliQ's 2025 study of US search ads, the median cost of one lead in its "Electricians & Electrical Contractors" category was $93.69. Across all home services it was $90.92.
LocaliQ also found electricians paid one of the highest costs per click of any home service, at $12.18.
That is the cost per lead from your own ads. Pay per lead platforms publish no price list, so see what contractors report in Angi Leads reviews (Angi now includes HomeAdvisor) and Thumbtack reviews from pros.
For the two side by side, read Angi vs Thumbtack for pros. For one platform's pricing, read what Thumbtack charges for a lead.
Google Local Services Ads charges per lead too, and its price moves with your location and the job type. See the lead generation companies we compared.
How a bought electrical lead goes
Most electrician leads, and most electrical contractor leads a platform sells, are small: a fixture, an outlet, a panel question. The fee does not shrink with the job.
One electrician on Thumbtack's own forum wrote that a lead for a $75 light install cost him $102. That is paying $27 to go to work.
Service calls like that suit an owner with one van. If you run crews, you need whole houses, service upgrades and wiring packages, and those are let by other companies.
The math: 20 electrician leads at $93.69 is $1,873.80. Win two and each job cost you $936.90 before you pulled a wire.
For a fixture swap that is absurd. For a service upgrade it may be fine. The 20 and the 2 are example numbers, so put your own in.
| Leads bought | 20 |
|---|---|
| Cost per lead | $93.69 |
| Lead bill | $1,873.80 |
| Jobs won | 2 |
| Cost per job won | $936.90 |
Three numbers matter more than the lead price.
Close rate
Shared leads and exclusive leads bill you for the fixture swap as much as the service upgrade. Count how many become a booked estimate, and how many of those are jobs worth a crew.
Lead quality
Small electrical jobs draw tire kickers with a question, and price shoppers who want the outlet done for less than the lead cost you.
Ticket size
A rewire or a service upgrade is a big ticket, so the homeowner collects quotes. A builder asks the electrician they already use.
Run your own month in the lead cost calculator It takes a minute and it is usually an unpleasant one.
The alternative
Lead generation for electrical contractors: the referral partner route
A referral partner is a local business that already has your customer and does not do your trade. Here is the full definition.
Your work is a required part of other people's projects. A custom home needs the full package.
A high-end remodel needs lighting and panel work to the designer's plan. A solar installer needs a service upgrade before it can connect.
A pool needs bonding and a sub-panel. An HVAC change-out needs a new circuit.
Each of those companies has to call an electrician. It may as well be you.
Word of mouth, with a system
A solar installer tells the homeowner who does the service upgrade. That is word of mouth with a permit waiting on it.
Preferred vendor
Pass inspection first time on one custom home and you become that builder's preferred vendor.
Repeat work
Every house a builder starts and every array an installer sells needs an electrician. That is repeat work without a lead fee.
Which businesses send electrical work
- Their own projects
Custom home builders
Rough-in, trim and service on every house, with inspections the builder cannot move. A builder whose electrician is behind is open to a second one.
You work as a trade partner, and the partner is your customer.
- Their own projects
Luxury remodelers
Lighting plans, panel upgrades and dedicated circuits for kitchens and baths, all drawn by someone else and needing a licensed hand.
You work as a trade partner, and the partner is your customer.
- Their own projects
Solar installers
The array is sold, and the house needs a main panel upgrade before it can be connected. Many installers sub that out.
You work as a trade partner, and the partner is your customer.
- Their own projects
Pool builders
Bonding, a sub-panel, pump and lighting circuits, all inspected before the pool can be filled.
You work as a trade partner, and the partner is your customer.
- Either kind
HVAC companies
A heat pump or a new air handler needs a circuit the house does not have. The HVAC crew cannot finish without it.
It depends on how they run their projects.
The service
What we do for electrical contractors
We list the custom home builders, luxury remodelers, solar installers, pool builders and hvac companies in your metro and build your network from them. Each partner is assigned to you alone.
We contact them for you
We contact each business for you and introduce the ones who reply.
Every partner call gets answered
If you are inside a panel when a partner calls, an AI receptionist takes the lead and alerts you, so speed to lead does not wait on you.
Partners stay in touch
We send the follow-up that keeps each partner in touch.
A quiet partner gets replaced
A partner who sends nothing in 90 days is replaced, as long as you answer referred customers within one business day and bid within three.
Our lead generation service, how it works, what you get, and leads for other trades.
Hiring, not selling? Find a electrical contractor for your project. There is a page each for builders, property managers and commercial buildings.
Leads for the trades next to yours
These trades turn up on the same jobs as electrical contractors.
Questions about electrical leads
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How much do electrical leads cost?
LocaliQ puts the median cost of a electrical lead from search advertising at $93.69, in its "Electricians & Electrical Contractors" category, based on US campaigns that ran from April 2024 to March 2025. Lead platforms such as Angi and Thumbtack do not publish one price, and the price changes with the job type and the market.
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How do electrical contractors get work without buying leads?
Electrical contractors get work without buying leads from referral partners: local businesses that already have the customer and do not do electrical work themselves. For electrical, those are custom home builders, luxury remodelers, solar installers, pool builders and hvac companies.
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How do electrical contractors get work from home builders?
Electrical contractors get work from home builders by asking about one house that needs an electrical bid and then meeting the builder's inspection dates. A builder needs rough-in, trim and service on every house and cannot close without passing electrical inspection. Keeping the schedule is how an electrician gets the next house.
Sources
- LocaliQ, "2025 Search Ad Benchmarks for Home Services", read 8 October 2026. Median figures from 3,211 US search advertising campaigns that ran from April 2024 to March 2025.
- Google, Local Services Help, "How leads work", read 8 October 2026.
Check if an electrical place is open in your metro
Each partner goes to one contractor, so a metro can fill up for a trade. Checking costs nothing.