PRICING MODELS
Pay Per Lead vs Monthly Retainer: Which Suits a Contractor?
Pay per lead charges for each lead delivered, often shared with other contractors, with credit rules that decide what you get back. A monthly retainer charges a flat fee for the work, whatever the volume, and the leads are yours. Pay per lead is quick to start: “At Networx, we do not require a contract.” Retainers build something you keep, but terms vary from no contract to a 12-month commitment. Compare them on cost per won job, not price per lead.
THE MODELS
What is the difference between pay per lead and a retainer?
Every lead source charges in one of two ways: per result, or per month for the work. The difference is not just the bill. It decides who owns the customer, how many other contractors get the same lead, and what you have left if you stop paying.
| Model | You pay for | Exclusivity and ownership | Typical terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay per lead | Each lead delivered: a form or a call | Often shared with other contractors; credit rules decide what you get back | Start and stop quickly; cost tracks volume |
| Pay per call | Each inbound call that meets the seller’s rules | Depends on the seller: ask whether a call can go to other contractors | Some sellers set a minimum order |
| Pay per appointment | Each booked estimate appointment | Depends on the seller: ask | The seller does the booking; you pay per appointment, not per job |
| Monthly retainer | The work: website, SEO, ads management, outreach | Leads come to you and are yours alone | Flat fee whatever the volume; terms range from month-to-month to 12 months |
PUBLISHED TERMS
What do lead sellers and agencies actually charge?
Here is what each kind of vendor actually publishes. These are the terms that decide your real cost: minimums, contract length and the rules for getting money back on a bad lead.
| Company | Model | Published price | Contract and credit terms | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Networx | Pay per lead | $10 to $100+ per lead; “A single Pay Per Lead will go to up to 4 contractors in total and are delivered in real-time via text message and email.” | “At Networx, we do not require a contract.” Credit requests closed after 14 days: “You contact us more than 14 days past the date on which the lead was received.” | Networx Help Center, ; checked |
| Angi | Pay per lead | $15 to $85 per lead, reported by Housecall Pro; Angi publishes no price list | “The lead must be less than 45 days old. You should have attempted to call the homeowner within 24 hours of being sent the lead.” “If you have an annual subscription, you can report leads, but credits are not offered for those leads.” | Angi Help Center, ; checked ; Housecall Pro, ; checked |
| All Service Leads | Pay per call | $150 per call, 5-call minimum | “All Service Leads' minimum orders are $450 and $750, the same price in every state, with no contract, subscription or setup fee.” | All Service Leads; checked |
| biddable | Pay per appointment | $399 per exclusive appointment; no contracts | “$399 per exclusive appointment · No contracts” | biddable, ; checked |
| 99 Calls | Pay per lead (organic), plus monthly plans | Roofing: $54.99 per lead flat rate; painting: $33.99 per lead flat rate | No long-term contracts: “At any tier — cancel anytime.” | 99 Calls pricing; checked |
| Footbridge Media | Monthly retainer | $249 per month | “Just $249/Month. 90-Day Money-Back Guarantee. No Contracts. No Risk.” | Footbridge Media; checked |
| Roofing Revenue Marketing | Monthly retainer | $1,545 per month ($18,540 annual) for its first tier | “12-MONTH COMMITMENT *Ad Budget Not Included. 15% MGMT Fee After Cap” Ad spend on top: “each location needs to budget at least $1,500 per month for each ad channel you run” | Roofing Revenue Marketing; checked |
Two patterns show. Most pay-per-lead sellers in the table require no contract, but their credit windows are short and their leads are often shared. Retainers range from no contract with a money-back guarantee to a twelve-month commitment with ad spend on top. Read the cancellation and credit pages before the pricing page. Google sells leads too: see what Google Local Services Ads cost contractors, and for paying by the click instead, Google Ads costs for roofers. For the full picture on two marketplaces, see our review of Angi Leads for contractors and review of Networx leads.
THE MATH
Which is cheaper per job: pay per lead or a retainer?
The price per lead is the wrong number to compare. What matters is the cost per job you sign, and that depends on how many other contractors got the same lead and how fast the source grows.
Example inputs, not quotes: put in your own numbers.
| Step | Example |
|---|---|
| Shared pay per lead: 20 leads × $60 | $1,200 a month |
| Shared leads signed (1 in 10) | 2 jobs |
| Cost per won job, shared leads | $1,200 ÷ 2 = $600 |
| Exclusive pay per lead: 10 leads × $120 | $1,200 a month |
| Exclusive leads signed (1 in 4) | 2.5 jobs |
| Cost per won job, exclusive leads | $1,200 ÷ 2.5 = $480 |
| Monthly retainer | $2,000 a month |
| Leads in month 2, while the work builds | 4 leads, 1 job: $2,000 per won job |
| Leads in month 9, once pages rank | 16 leads, 4 jobs: $2,000 ÷ 4 = $500 per won job |
The pattern holds with your own numbers. Shared leads look cheap and close poorly. Exclusive leads cost more and close better. A retainer is expensive per lead at first and gets cheaper only if the work keeps adding leads, which is why the contract length matters. Run your own figures in the lead economics calculator.
FIT
When does pay per lead make sense, and when does a retainer?
| If this is you | Lean toward | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You need work this month | Pay per lead or pay per call | They start in days and stop when you stop. |
| You can call every lead within minutes | Shared pay per lead | Shared leads go to whoever calls first. |
| Your crew sells better in the home than on the phone | Pay per appointment | The seller books the estimate; you pay most per unit. |
| You want leads that are yours alone, and cheaper over time | Monthly retainer | The website, rankings and reviews keep working after month one. |
| You sell to property managers and facilities teams | Retainer or outreach | Lead marketplaces are built for homeowners, not commercial buyers. |
Many contractors run both: a pay-per-lead source to fill the schedule now, and a retainer building leads they own. The mistake is staying on shared leads for years and owning nothing at the end.
BEFORE YOU SIGN
What should you ask before you sign either one?
- Is each lead or appointment sold to me alone, or to other contractors too? How many?
- What exactly counts as a billable lead, call or appointment?
- How long do I have to request a credit, and what is excluded?
- Is there a minimum order, a deposit or a setup fee?
- How long is the contract, how do I cancel, and how much notice is needed?
- On a retainer: who owns the website, the domain, the Google Business Profile and the ad accounts?
- On a retainer: is ad spend included, or billed on top, and is there a management fee?
WHERE SOURCI FITS
Where Sourci fits
Sourci is on the retainer side: a flat monthly fee for the work, no per-lead fees, and the leads go to you alone. Here are the plans exactly as published.
- Inbound (website fixes, SEO and AI-search visibility; residential and commercial): Foundation $1,950 a month plus $1,000 onboarding, Growth $3,450 a month plus $1,500 onboarding. Inbound details.
- Outbound (researched email outreach to property managers, facilities teams and commercial owners; commercial accounts only): Foundation $2,950 a month, Growth $4,450 a month. Outbound details.
Plans are month-to-month; cancel with 30 days’ notice. No per-lead fees, and your leads are never shared. Ad spend and paid directory placements are not part of either plan.
SOURCES
Where these facts come from.
- Networx Help Center, Do you have a contract? (). Checked . Quoted: “At Networx, we do not require a contract.”
- Networx Help Center, How much do leads cost? (). Checked . Quoted: “You can expect to find leads in the Pay Per Lead plan to range between $10 to $100+ dollars”
- Networx Help Center, Pay Per Lead (). Checked . Quoted: “A single Pay Per Lead will go to up to 4 contractors in total and are delivered in real-time via text message and email.”
- Networx Help Center, Lead Credit Policy (). Checked . Quoted: “You contact us more than 14 days past the date on which the lead was received.”
- Housecall Pro, What Is Angi's List and How Does It Work for Contractors? (). Checked . Quoted: “Angi Leads Pay for each matched lead $15–$85 per lead”
- Angi Help Center, How to Request a Lead Credit (). Checked . Quoted: “The lead must be less than 45 days old. You should have attempted to call the homeowner within 24 hours of being sent the lead.” “If you have an annual subscription, you can report leads, but credits are not offered for those leads.”
- All Service Leads, How Much Do Roofing Leads Cost in 2026?. Checked . Quoted: “$150 per Roofing Inbound Call, 5-call minimum ($750 to start)” “All Service Leads' minimum orders are $450 and $750, the same price in every state, with no contract, subscription or setup fee.”
- biddable, Roofing Lead Cost Benchmarks 2026 (). Checked . Quoted: “$399 per exclusive appointment · No contracts”
- 99 Calls, Roofing Leads. Checked . Quoted: “$54.99 Organic SEO · per lead flat rate”
- 99 Calls, Painting Leads. Checked . Quoted: “$33.99 Organic SEO · per lead flat rate”
- 99 Calls, Pricing. Checked . Quoted: “At any tier — cancel anytime.”
- Footbridge Media, Roofer Marketing & SEO. Checked . Quoted: “Everything we do costs you just $249 per month.” “Just $249/Month. 90-Day Money-Back Guarantee. No Contracts. No Risk.”
- Roofing Revenue Marketing, Roofing Marketing & SEO Pricing. Checked . Quoted: “$ 1,545 / mo $18,540 Annual Billed Monthly At 12 Months” “12-MONTH COMMITMENT *Ad Budget Not Included. 15% MGMT Fee After Cap” “each location needs to budget at least $1,500 per month for each ad channel you run”
Every outside figure on this page links to the page it came from, checked on . Prices and terms change; confirm them with each company before you sign.
QUESTIONS
Pay per lead and retainers, answered.
What is pay per lead marketing?
You pay for each lead a vendor delivers, such as a form or a call, instead of paying for the marketing work. Leads are often shared: a Networx Pay Per Lead goes to up to 4 contractors.
What is pay per appointment lead generation?
The vendor books an estimate appointment and charges for each one. biddable, for example, publishes $399 per exclusive appointment with no contracts.
Do pay-per-lead services require a contract?
Many do not. Networx says it does not require a contract, and All Service Leads lists no contract, subscription or setup fee, with minimum orders of $450 and $750.
Can I get money back for bad leads?
Usually through credits with strict windows. Networx closes credit requests after 14 days; Angi requires the lead to be less than 45 days old and offers no credits on annual subscriptions.
Are marketing retainers locked into long contracts?
Some are. Roofing Revenue Marketing works on a 12-month commitment; Footbridge Media advertises no contracts and a 90-day money-back guarantee.
How does Sourci charge?
A flat monthly fee with no per-lead fees. Inbound starts at $1,950 a month plus $1,000 onboarding. Plans are month-to-month; cancel with 30 days’ notice.
FREE CHECK
Which contractors get recommended
in your city?
When a customer asks ChatGPT or Google AI who to hire, it names a few contractors. Tell us your trade and city. We send you which contractors get named, and whether you are one of them.
What you get
- We ask ChatGPT, Google AI and Perplexity the buyer questions from our 24-question method, set to your trade and city.
- We record which companies each assistant recommends or cites, and whether yours appears.
- We reply with what we found and the first gaps worth fixing.
How the free check works, with a sample result
Result: A Dallas commercial painter grew revenue 234% and website visitors 657% in six months of SEO and AI-search work with Sourci. The owner asked us to keep the company name private. Read the Dallas case study