TL;DR
You can buy HVAC leads from five kinds of vendors: shared-lead marketplaces (Angi/HomeAdvisor, Networx, Modernize), exclusive pay-per-call services (33 Mile Radius), Google's own Local Services Ads, list brokers, and "free leads" platforms like Thumbtack that charge per contact. Realistic 2026 costs run $15 to $100+ per lead depending on exclusivity, with install jobs at the top. The math that matters isn't cost per lead, it's cost per booked job: a $25 shared lead sold to four competitors and answered slowly costs more than an $80 exclusive call. Buying leads is renting demand. It works as a bridge and fails as a foundation, and the vendors' own pricing tells you why.
Disclosure before the vendor list: Skill Mammoth sells the alternative to buying leads (SEO, websites, and Local Services Ads management that make the phone ring under your own brand), so we have a horse in this race. We'll make the case with vendor-by-vendor specifics anyway, because plenty of shops should buy leads this quarter, and the ones that shouldn't deserve to know why. This is the purchase-side companion to our guide to generating your own HVAC leads.
The five ways to buy HVAC leads
Shared-lead marketplaces. Angi (which absorbed HomeAdvisor and, quietly, CraftJack, whose site now redirects straight to Angi's pro signup) plus Networx and Modernize. You pay per lead whether or not you win the job, the same homeowner is typically sold to three or four competing contractors, and speed decides everything. Reported HVAC lead prices run roughly $15 to $85 depending on service type and market, with replacement and install leads at the top. The full fee mechanics, credit-request fights included, are in our HomeAdvisor for contractors breakdown.
Exclusive pay-per-call. Services like 33 Mile Radius (now part of Ignite Visibility) send each lead to exactly one contractor as a live phone call, charge a flat rate per valid call, and say they don't bill for wrong numbers. They claim their contractors set appointments on 70 to 80% of leads. Pricing isn't published, which is the norm in pay-per-call; expect meaningfully more per lead than shared marketplaces, and expect it to be worth it, because exclusivity is the single biggest quality lever in this market.
Google Local Services Ads. Technically buying leads, except from Google directly, with the Google Guaranteed badge attached and your own brand on the listing. HVAC lead costs commonly run $25 to $90 depending on market and service. This is the first paid channel we recommend to almost every residential shop; run your numbers in our LSA cost calculator and see the setup details on our LSA management page.
Thumbtack and the pay-per-contact platforms. Fine for filling a slow week, brutal as a strategy: you're bidding against the lowest-priced pro in the market for a homeowner who messaged five companies. Our Thumbtack vs Angi comparison covers which platform fits which trade.
List brokers (aged leads, data lists) exist and we'll save you the paragraph: for a local service business, don't. Cold data is telemarketing, not lead buying.
The math the sales reps won't do with you
| Scenario | Lead cost | Real cost per booked job |
|---|---|---|
| Shared lead, 4 buyers, slow callback | $25 | $250+ (win ~1 in 10) |
| Shared lead, 4 buyers, first to call | $25 | ~$85 (win ~3 in 10) |
| Exclusive live call | ~$80 | ~$160 (win ~1 in 2) |
| Google LSA lead | $25 to $90 | $60 to $180 typical |
| Verdict | Exclusivity and answer speed decide the real price. A cheap shared lead answered in an hour is the most expensive lead you can buy. | |
Those win rates are illustrative, but the shape is what every contractor who's bought leads will recognize: the sticker price is a decoy. If you buy shared leads without an instant-response system, you're donating to your fastest competitor. That's the whole reason speed-to-lead automation exists, and it's built into every smart website we ship.
Buying leads and losing the race to the phone?
We wire missed-call text-back and instant lead follow-up into your website, so every lead you buy or earn gets answered in under a minute. Flat pricing, no contracts.
When buying leads is the right call
Honest list: a new market you just opened, a new crew you need to feed this month, shoulder season with idle techs, or year one of a company with no reviews and no rankings. Bought leads are a bridge with a toll, and bridges are useful. What they never become is a foundation, because the vendor owns the customer relationship, the price rises with demand, and the day you stop paying, the phone stops. The exit ramp is building your own channel while you buy: reviews, rankings, and a site that converts, which is the whole argument of our HVAC SEO guide and the reason the best lead vendors also sell marketing services.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I buy HVAC leads?
Five real options: shared marketplaces (Angi, which also absorbed HomeAdvisor and CraftJack, plus Networx and Modernize), exclusive pay-per-call services like 33 Mile Radius, Google Local Services Ads, pay-per-contact platforms like Thumbtack, and list brokers, which we recommend skipping. Exclusivity is the biggest quality difference between them.
How much do HVAC leads cost?
Roughly $15 to $100+ per lead in 2026. Shared marketplace leads commonly run $15 to $85 by service type, with install and replacement leads at the top; exclusive pay-per-call leads cost more per unit and convert better; Google LSA leads typically run $25 to $90 by market. The truer metric is cost per booked job, which depends mostly on exclusivity and how fast you answer.
Are shared HVAC leads worth it?
Only if you answer first. Shared leads are sold to three or four contractors, and the win usually goes to whoever calls within minutes. With instant-response automation they can pencil; with a voicemail box they're a donation to your competitors. Exclusive or LSA leads are the better default for most shops.
What's the best alternative to buying HVAC leads?
Owning the channel: Google Business Profile plus local SEO plus a review engine plus a website that converts, with Local Services Ads as the paid layer under your own brand. It takes 90 to 120 days to spin up and then compounds, where bought leads stay linear forever. Most healthy shops buy leads as a bridge while building exactly this.
Do free HVAC leads exist?
The closest real things are referrals, your Google Business Profile, and organic rankings, which cost work instead of per-lead fees. Platforms advertising free leads monetize you somewhere else, usually per contact or per booking. Nothing on Thumbtack is free by the time the job is won.
See what your own lead channel would cost.
The free LSA calculator shows your market's cost per lead from Google directly, and the website audit shows why leads bail before calling. Both free, both fast.