Methodology
The 2027 Contractor Marketing Pricing Index is built from direct interviews with marketing agencies that specialize in roofing, HVAC and remodeling contractor clients. Each agency is asked a consistent set of questions covering pricing models, contract minimums, setup and onboarding costs, contract length, and typical client retention. Interviews are ongoing ahead of the Q1 2027 publication date, and the final sample size and methodology notes will be disclosed alongside the published data.
How Contractor Marketing Agencies Charge
Four pricing structures cover almost every agency serving roofing, HVAC and remodeling contractors. Each one moves the risk to a different place.
| Model | How it works | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Flat monthly retainer | A fixed fee regardless of ad spend or results | Most predictable. The agency’s pay doesn’t move when your spend moves, which removes the incentive to push your budget up |
| Percentage of ad spend | Typically 10–20% of what you spend on ads, usually with a minimum fee floor | The agency earns more when you spend more, regardless of what that spend returns. Ask what happens to their fee if they cut your budget in half |
| Performance / per lead | A base fee plus a per-lead or per-appointment charge, or a share of closed revenue | Sounds like aligned interests. The detail that matters is the definition of a qualified lead and who decides |
| Hybrid | A base retainer with performance incentives layered on | Most common at the larger agencies. Ask for the two components separately or the real cost is impossible to compare |
The Mistake That Costs Contractors the Most
The management fee and the ad spend are two different numbers, and quotes frequently blur them.
An agency quoting $1,500 a month while running $3,000 of Google Ads is costing you $4,500 a month, not $1,500. Ad spend goes to Google or Meta. The fee goes to the agency. When you compare two proposals, separate those two figures before anything else — otherwise you’re comparing numbers that don’t mean the same thing.
Ask directly: what is your fee, and what do I pay the platforms?
Published Ranges as of 2026
These figures come from published industry guides and pricing surveys, not from our interviews. They’re a starting reference. The Index will replace them with figures reported directly by agencies.
| Item | Published range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Full-service retainer, roofing | $2,500–$8,000/month | Agency fees only, separate from ad spend |
| Full-service retainer, HVAC | $5,000–$12,000/month | Larger multi-division operations reported higher |
| Total marketing investment, growth mode | $5,000–$20,000/month | Fees plus media combined |
| Percentage-of-ad-spend fee | 10–20% of spend | Usually with a minimum monthly fee |
| Per-qualified-lead pricing | $300–$800 | Varies widely by definition of “qualified” |
| Website build | $3,000–$10,000 | Typically one-time, often excluded from the retainer |
| Marketing budget as share of revenue | 5–10% under $1M, 8–12% at $1–3M, 10–15% above $3M | Published benchmarks; actual practice varies |
| Reported cost per lead, 2025 | HVAC around $128, plumbing around $129, roofing around $228 | LocaliQ data; roofing runs high because job values are high |
Why these ranges are so wide: almost nobody publishes their pricing, so most figures in circulation are estimates written by agencies describing their own market. That gap is why we’re building the Index.
What’s Usually Billed on Top
Most quoted monthly fees cover strategy and campaign management. These are commonly separate, and each one should be confirmed in writing before signing:
- Ad spend — nearly always separate from the management fee
- Website or landing page build — usually a one-time charge
- Call tracking software — often billed as a pass-through
- Creative production — photography and video are frequently quoted per project
- Early termination fees — check what leaving costs before you’re in a position to want to
Ten Questions to Ask Before You Sign
- What is your fee, and separately, what will I pay the ad platforms?
- Is there a minimum ad spend, and what happens if I go below it?
- How long is the contract, and what does it cost to leave early?
- Are the leads exclusive to me, or shared with other contractors?
- How do you define a qualified lead, and who decides when one doesn’t count?
- What is included in the monthly fee, and what is billed separately?
- Who owns the website, the ad account, the phone numbers and the data if we part ways?
- What is your average client tenure in my trade?
- Can I speak to two clients my size who joined in the last year?
- What happened with the last client who left, and why?
See how your agency pricing compares
Question 7 is the one most often skipped and most expensive to get wrong. If the agency owns your ad account and your call tracking numbers, leaving means starting from zero.
What the Index Will Add
Everything above is drawn from what’s publicly available. The problem with public figures in this market is that most of them are written by agencies describing their own pricing.
The Index reports what agencies tell us directly, under a consistent set of questions: actual pricing models, contract minimums, setup fees, what’s excluded, average client retention, and the most common reasons contractors leave. Participating agencies see the dataset before publication. Nobody pays to be included or positioned.
Publishing Q1 2027.
Independence Statement
The Index is not affiliated with any agency and does not sell marketing services.
The Index does not accept payment for placement or ranking. Agencies cannot pay to be included, excluded, or favorably positioned in any published data.
Looking for an agency? We’ll match you against the data.
Tell us what you’re paying now and what you’re looking for. We’ll use the pricing and terms data collected through the Index to identify agencies that fit your budget and requirements — and you’ll get the full dataset when it publishes, ahead of general release.
No cost. We don’t sell marketing services, and agencies cannot pay for placement.