Get a Budget Built for Your Company
Bring your revenue, your crews and your average job. On a quick call we'll show you what a realistic monthly budget looks like for your trade and your market.
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Trusted by 300+ partners
Contractor Marketing 🚀
How Much Should a Contractor Spend on Marketing in 2026?
Monthly budgets by revenue stage, cost per lead by trade, agency fees and tools, with sources for every number.
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Short answer
Most home improvement contractors spend 5% to 15% of revenue on marketing, and 10% is the most common target for a company that wants to grow. For a $1M company, 10% is about $8,300 a month for ads, agency fees, tools and website combined. Where you land in that range depends on how busy your crews are, how much you want to grow and what your average job is worth.
Contractor marketing budget by revenue stage
Published guidance lands in the same range:
- Hook Agency (2026) sees home service budgets between 5% and 15% of revenue.
- Cornerstone Advertising, writing for ACCA in December 2025, recommends 10% of gross revenue, calculated on the revenue you want to reach, not the revenue you have today.
- SBA guidance reported by the Houston Chronicle suggests 7% to 8% of gross revenue for businesses under $5M in sales.
- In the Remodeling 550 survey, large replacement contractors averaged about 10%, with 42% of them between 6% and 15%.
Here is what those percentages look like per month. These are simple calculations, not quotes.
Annual revenue | Typical company | 5% per month (hold steady) | 10% per month (grow) | 15% per month (push hard) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
$500,000 | Owner plus 1 or 2 crews | about $2,080 | about $4,170 | about $6,250 |
$1,000,000 | 3 or 4 crews, owner still selling | about $4,170 | about $8,330 | about $12,500 |
$2,000,000 | Office manager, 1 salesperson | about $8,330 | about $16,670 | about $25,000 |
$5,000,000 | Sales team, several service lines | about $20,830 | about $41,670 | about $62,500 |
$10,000,000 | Multi-location | about $41,670 | about $83,330 | about $125,000 |
Using the "target revenue" rule: a $1M company aiming for $1.3M next year would budget 10% of $1.3M, which is $130,000 a year or about $10,800 a month.
Which column fits you?
- Crews booked solid for 6+ weeks: stay near 5%. Put money into follow-up, reviews and referrals rather than more ads.
- Gaps in the schedule, or adding a crew this year: plan on 10% for at least two quarters.
- New company, new trade or new city: 15% or a fixed dollar budget. Small revenue makes percentages too small to fill even one crew. Start with what one crew needs (see the math below).
What your marketing money pays for
A budget has four parts. Comparing quotes only works when you compare the same parts.
Cost | What it covers | Public 2026 range |
|---|---|---|
Ad spend | Paid directly to Meta, Google, Local Services Ads | About $1,000 a month at the low end, $5,000+ in competitive markets (Hook Agency) |
Agency or management | Strategy, ads, creative, reporting | Retainers $2,500 to $10,000 a month; Google Ads management alone $500 to $2,500 a month (Hook Agency). Percentage pricing usually 10% to 20% of ad spend (OuterBox) |
SEO | Website content, local rankings, Google Business Profile | $1,000 to $3,500 a month (Hook Agency) |
Tools | CRM, call tracking, texting, reviews | $200 to $600 a month (Hook Agency); GoHighLevel $97 to $497 a month (Apexure); CallRail from $55 a month (Capterra) |
Website | Site or landing pages | Basic template builds start around $3,000 to $5,000 (Hook Agency) |
Hook Agency also puts a typical starter budget for a new home service business at about $2,500 to $4,000 a month and a growth budget at $8,000 to $15,000 a month, all in.
One question to ask every agency: "Does this number include ad spend?" A $3,000 quote with ad spend included and a $3,000 quote with ad spend on top are very different budgets.
Cost per lead by trade
Your budget buys leads, and leads cost very different amounts by trade and channel.
Trade | Google Search ads (per lead) | Local Services Ads (per lead) | Meta ads (per lead) |
|---|---|---|---|
Home improvement, all trades | $90.92 (WordStream/LocaliQ) | $53 blended (SearchLight Digital) | No public benchmark found |
HVAC | about $128 (LocaliQ) | $51 (SearchLight Digital) | No public benchmark found |
Roofing and gutters | about $228 (LocaliQ) | Not in the SearchLight data | No public benchmark found |
Plumbing | about $129 (LocaliQ) | $57 (SearchLight Digital) | No public benchmark found |
Insulation | No public benchmark found | No public benchmark found | $21.18 to $52.49 in our published case studies (full table) |
Painting, flooring, epoxy | No reliable public benchmark found | No reliable public benchmark found | We don't publish case studies for these trades yet |
Google Search data from LocaliQ covers April 2024 to March 2025 (trades) and April 2025 to March 2026 (all home improvement). SearchLight Digital data covers February 2026 across 888 contractors. They come from different years, so use them as a range, not an exact price.
Lead marketplaces are priced differently. Blue Grid Media (2026) reports an average cost per booked job of about $250 on Thumbtack and $542 on Angi, and Angi leads are often sent to several pros at once (Housecall Pro, 2026).
How much does it take to fill one crew?
Work backwards from the jobs you want. Here is the chain with one of our published case studies, Metro Insulation, as the example. Swap in your own numbers.
Step | Example | Your number |
|---|---|---|
Cost per lead | $29.57 | From your ad account |
Leads that book an estimate | 32.94% | Booked divided by leads |
Estimates that sign | 14.29% | Signed divided by booked |
Ad spend per signed job | about $628 | Cost per lead divided by both rates |
Jobs needed per month for one crew | Your crew capacity | Ask your installer |
Monthly ad spend | Jobs needed × ad spend per job |
At about $628 per signed job, 8 extra jobs a month needs about $5,000 in ad spend, plus management and tools. Closing rate swings this the most: our published accounts ranged from about 7% to 25% of booked estimates, which can make the same lead cost several times more per job. 1 Clean Air, a duct and carpet cleaning company, reported $157.85 per acquisition on 136 closed jobs, a reminder that lower-ticket services need a much lower cost per job.
Run your own numbers: cost per lead calculator, cost per booked job calculator, marketing ROI calculator.
Timing your budget across the year
Most trades have busy and slow months. Cornerstone Advertising (ACCA, 2025) recommends putting 60% to 70% of the year's spend into your peak 4 to 6 months. Keep a smaller budget running the rest of the year so your ads and pages keep their history, and use slow months for reviews, referrals and SEO.
How to avoid wasting your budget
- Get the split in writing: ad spend, management, tools, setup.
- Judge on cost per signed job, not cost per click or lead.
- Give a channel 60 to 90 days. Estimates take time to close.
- Own your ad accounts and contact list.
- Don't buy more leads than your crews can install. Past capacity, cost per job only goes up.
🚀 Why Us?
Why Contractors Plan Their Budget With Us
Budgets From Your Numbers
We start from your crews, your average job and your area, not a package.
Published Results
Every result we quote links to a full case study, with ad spend, leads and revenue.
Every Dollar Tracked
Leads, booked estimates and signed jobs are tracked in your CRM, so you see cost per job, not just cost per click.
Clear Split
Ad spend goes to your own Meta and Google accounts, separate from our fee.
Trusted by 300+ partners
📍 How It Works
How We Set Your Marketing Budget
From your crews and your average job to a monthly budget you can track to signed jobs.
Sized to Your Crews
We size spend to the jobs your crews can install. Past capacity, cost per job only goes up.
Ad Spend in Your Accounts
Ad spend is paid directly to Meta and Google from accounts in your name, and the split between ad spend, management, tools and setup is in writing.
Judged on Cost per Signed Job
Leads, booked estimates and signed jobs are tracked in your CRM, so budget goes where jobs close, not where clicks are cheap.
Planned Around Your Season
More of the budget goes into your peak months, with a smaller budget the rest of the year so your ads and pages keep their history.
1
Map your capacity
Crews, average job, closing rate and season.
2
Set the target
The cost per booked estimate and per signed job your margins can carry.
3
Launch and adjust
Start at a test budget, then raise spend as cost per job holds, up to what your crews can install.
Our Target Market
Who This Budget Guide Is For
Home improvement contractors who want a marketing budget built from their own numbers.
Insulation, painting, flooring, epoxy, HVAC and roofing contractors with 5 to 50 employees
Owners setting next year's budget
Companies comparing agency quotes
Contractors spending on ads without knowing their cost per job
New companies, or contractors entering a new trade or city
Trusted by 300+ partners
📈 Proven Results
What Real Budgets Produced
Our published case studies are insulation contractors. Ad spend only; fees and tools are extra.
- How Midwest Insulation Signed a $7,000 Job in Its First Month: $456.20 ad spend, 13 leads, 1 job, 15.34x return on ad spend.
- How Masterseal Insulation Built a $55K Pipeline in 2 Months: $1,862 ad spend, 50 leads, 27 booked, 4.46x return on ad spend.
- How Qute Insulation Built a $110K+ Pipeline in 2.5 Months: $2,892.46 ad spend, 84 leads, 29 booked, 3.02x return on ad spend.
See how we work by trade: contractor marketing agency, painting, flooring, epoxy, insulation.
FAQ
How much should a contractor spend on marketing?
Most home improvement contractors spend 5% to 15% of revenue. About 5% holds your volume, about 10% grows it, and 15% fits a new company or a new market. ACCA's 2025 guidance suggests calculating 10% on the revenue you want to reach.
How much do contractors spend on marketing per month?
In dollars, 10% of revenue is about $4,200 a month for a $500,000 company and about $8,300 a month for a $1M company. Hook Agency puts a typical starter budget at $2,500 to $4,000 a month and a growth budget at $8,000 to $15,000 a month.
How much do marketing agencies charge contractors?
Public 2026 data puts home service retainers at $2,500 to $10,000 a month and Google Ads management at $500 to $2,500 a month, with ad spend on top. Percentage pricing usually runs 10% to 20% of ad spend.
What is a good cost per lead for contractors?
It depends on trade and channel. Public data shows about $91 per lead on Google Search across home improvement and $53 on Local Services Ads. Our insulation accounts on Meta ran $21.18 to $52.49. What matters most is cost per signed job compared with your average job value.
Is marketing worth it for a small contractor?
Yes, if the numbers work: track leads, booked estimates and signed jobs, and compare ad spend per job with your profit per job. Midwest Insulation spent $456.20 in its first month and signed a $7,000 job.
Should I buy leads from Angi or run my own ads?
Marketplaces are quick to start, but leads are often shared and Blue Grid Media reports about $542 per booked job on Angi. Your own ads take setup but the leads are yours alone. See the contractor lead generation guide.
Sources
- Growth Partner case studies (ad spend, leads, booked and signed jobs, revenue as reported by each account): growthpartner.ca
- Hook Agency, "Digital Marketing Costs for Home Service Businesses in 2026", edited September 1, 2026 (5% to 15% of revenue; retainers; Google Ads management; SEO; tools; websites; starter and growth budgets). hookagency.com
- Cornerstone Advertising (Tracy Paul), ACCA HVAC Blog, "Smart spending: How to allocate your 2026 marketing budget for maximum ROI", December 2, 2025 (10% of target gross revenue; 60% to 70% in peak 4 to 6 months). hvac-blog.acca.org
- Houston Chronicle, Small Business, SBA guidance (7% to 8% of gross revenue under $5M in sales). smallbusiness.chron.com
- Journal of Light Construction, Remodeling 550 survey, 2018 (replacement firms average 10% of revenue on marketing). jlconline.com
- OuterBox, PPC management pricing 2026 (10% to 20% of ad spend). outerboxdesign.com
- WordStream/LocaliQ benchmarks, cited by Ryn Digital (home improvement $90.92 per lead; HVAC $127.74, roofing and gutters $228.15, plumbing $129.02). ryndigital.com
- SearchLight Digital, Local Service Ads cost per lead, February 2026 (888 contractors; $53 blended, HVAC $51, plumbing $57). searchlightdigital.io
- Blue Grid Media 2026 (Thumbtack about $250 and Angi about $542 per booked job), cited by NowBooked Marketing. nowbookedmarketing.com
- Housecall Pro, "What is Angi?", updated August 18, 2026 (leads sent to multiple pros). housecallpro.com
- Apexure, GoHighLevel pricing, September 2026. apexure.com
- Capterra, CallRail pricing. capterra.com
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