Google Lead Costs Rose Up to 69% in a Year: What the Same Home-Service Calls Pay Publishers

MUNDELEIN, Ill. - Sept. 5, 2026 - PRLog -- Lead Smart Inc, a pay-per-call affiliate network for home services founded in 2008, has published a refreshed public payout file covering 296,513 live ZIP-code and service combinations across 41,259 US ZIP codes, 28 verticals and 53 state codes. The median qualified phone lead pays $42.00 to the publisher who generates it, up from $32.50 in the network's August file. The mean is $71.71, the top decile pays above $189.50 and the ceiling has set a new high at $507.00.

The refresh lands one day after 99 Calls reported that Google Local Services Ads costs across its managed campaigns rose 11 to 69 percent year over year by trade, including appliance repair from $20.33 to $34.35, roofing from $73.62 to $106.87 and water damage from $171.64 to $215.31.

Lead Smart's median payouts by vertical are: water damage $213.00, biohazard $210.50, fire damage removal $193.00, roofing cost-per-lead $130.00, siding $115.50, personal injury attorney $99.00, solar $73.50, mold removal $65.50, plumbing cost-per-lead $48.00, pest control $42.50, roofing pay-per-call $42.00, HVAC $38.50, gutters $32.50, electrical $24.50 and appliance repair $14.00.

Against the August 24 extract, a solar vertical opened in 496 ZIP codes at a $73.50 median, personal injury coverage grew from 344 to 963 ZIP codes at a $99.00 median, water damage set a $507.00 ceiling, and appliance repair's median more than doubled from $6.33 to $14.00 while its coverage nearly halved.

"The number everyone quotes is the average cost of a lead. The number that decides whether a campaign works is what a lead is worth in one ZIP code, in one trade, this week," said Seth Pikus, chief executive officer of Lead Smart Inc.

The public tool is at https://affiliate-bid-coverage.leadsmartinc.com and requires no login. Figures are minimum expected payouts as of September 5, 2026.