PERTH TRADE LEAD COST INDEX.
What a trade lead actually costs, published every quarter from the live ad accounts Forge West manages. Figures as at 18 September 2026.
In the Spring 2026 edition, the Perth earthworks account Forge West manages produced 124 enquiries at an average of $11.33 each across its full account history to 18 September 2026, and a Perth painting account produced 15 enquiries at an average of $55.77 each between August and September 2026, which is a small sample flagged as early data. For context, WordStream's 2026 Facebook advertising benchmarks put the US median cost per lead for Home and Home Improvement at US$42.95, roughly A$60, and the all-industry median at US$27.39, roughly A$38. Every figure here is read from a live ad account, and an enquiry means a completed lead form, not a click or a view.
What a lead costs, from accounts that are running now.
Plenty of marketing companies tell tradies their leads will be cheap. Very few publish what a lead actually costs. This index does. The figures below come from live Meta ad accounts Forge West manages for Perth trade businesses: every dollar of spend in the period counted, including the ads that did not work, and nothing cherry-picked. It updates every quarter as more accounts come online.
Perth trade accounts managed by Forge West, figures as at 18 September 2026. The earthworks row covers that account's full history since it launched on 1 May 2026. An enquiry is a completed Meta lead form, not a signed job. Averages cover every dollar of spend in the period shown, including the ads that did not work.
| Trade and area | Enquiries | Average cost per enquiry | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earthworks, Perth north-east corridor | 124 | $11.33 | May to September 2026 |
| Painting, Perth metro | 15 | $55.77 | August to September 2026 |
The same account, two kinds of creative, very different costs.
The painting average carries two very different stories. Between August and September 2026, ads built from the client's own before-and-after job photos produced enquiries at $15.60–$25.07, while polished lifestyle creative in the same account cost $58–$172. Same trade, same suburbs, same budget. These are early figures from a small sample, and they will keep being reported as spend grows.
Cost per enquiry by creative type inside one Perth painting account, August to September 2026. Early data, 15 enquiries in total.
| Creative type | Cost per enquiry |
|---|---|
| Before-and-after job photos, shot by the client | $15.60–$25.07 |
| Polished lifestyle creative | $58–$172 |
Against the published industry benchmarks.
Industry figures are US medians from WordStream's 2026 Facebook advertising benchmarks, published in September 2026 and based on 452 US lead campaigns, converted at about 1.40 Australian dollars to the US dollar, the rate in September 2026. Home and Home Improvement is a broad category covering the whole home services sector rather than a single trade, so treat this as a directional comparison, not a like-for-like one. It is also US data, which is part of why this index exists. The Australian median Forge West cites elsewhere, about $50 an enquiry, comes from Australian Meta lead ad benchmarks and is a different measure again.
What Forge West would expect a Perth enquiry to cost.
These are Forge West working ranges for trades with no live data published yet, built from managing live Perth trade campaigns and from industry medians. They are estimates, labelled as such, and each one is replaced with live account data as those trades come online in future editions.
Forge West estimates, not live account data. Ranges assume a Meta lead campaign with a native lead form, creative shot on the job, and a defined Perth service area.
| Trade | Estimated cost per enquiry |
|---|---|
| Carpentry, decking and pergolas | $15–$30 |
| Concreting and paving | $15–$30 |
| Landscaping | $15–$35 |
| Plumbing, including hot water offers | $20–$45 |
| Electrical | $25–$50 |
Three things that change what a lead costs.
Job photos beat polish.
Swapping polished creative for the client's own before-and-after job photos cut painting enquiry costs by roughly two thirds. Homeowners stop scrolling for a job that looks like their own house, not for an ad that looks like an ad.
Small audiences burn fast.
Perth trade audiences are small. When an ad's frequency pushes past about 2.5 and cost per enquiry starts climbing, the ad is worn out, not the market. Fresh creative resets it. More budget does not.
Speed decides what a lead is worth.
An enquiry answered within minutes is a conversation with someone still looking at your ad. The same enquiry the next day is a stranger who has forgotten you. The cost per enquiry only matters if the enquiry gets answered.
How these figures are counted.
- What counts as an enquiry
- A completed Meta lead form: a name and a phone number. A click, a video view or a page like is not an enquiry and is not counted here.
- What the averages include
- Every dollar of ad spend in the period shown, including the ads that did not work, measured against every enquiry in that period. Averages are account-wide for the period, never a best week lifted out of a longer run.
- How small samples are handled
- Any account with a short run of data is flagged as early data in the same sentence as its figures. The painting account is the current example, at 15 enquiries.
- How clients are identified
- By trade and region only. Business names are withheld at the client's request, and the figures are published exactly as they appear in the account.
- How often it updates
- Quarterly. The next edition is Summer 2026, due in December, with new trades added as those accounts come online.
Perth Trade Lead Cost Index, Spring 2026 (Forge West). Live Meta ad accounts managed for Perth trade businesses: earthworks in the Perth north-east corridor, 124 enquiries at an average of $11.33 per enquiry across the full account history from 1 May 2026; painting in Perth metro, 15 enquiries at an average of $55.77 per enquiry, August to September 2026, flagged as early data. Figures as at 18 September 2026, published at forgewest.com.au/lead-costs.
The full case study behind the earthworks account, including its sources, the ad spend behind it and what the account does not prove, is on the results page. What Forge West charges to run these accounts is on the pricing page.
What a lead costs, answered by trade.
The questions Perth trade businesses ask about these figures, answered from the accounts above. Every answer carries the dates its figures cover.
What does a trade lead cost in Perth?
In the Spring 2026 edition, the Perth earthworks account Forge West manages produced 124 enquiries at an average of $11.33 each across its full account history to 18 September 2026, and a Perth painting account produced 15 enquiries at an average of $55.77 each between August and September 2026, which is a small sample flagged as early data. For context, WordStream's 2026 Facebook advertising benchmarks put the US median cost per lead for Home and Home Improvement at US$42.95, roughly A$60, and the all-industry median at US$27.39, roughly A$38. Every figure here is read from a live ad account, and an enquiry means a completed lead form, not a click or a view.
What does a lead cost for a painter in Perth?
On the Perth painting account Forge West manages, enquiries averaged $55.77 each across 15 enquiries between August and September 2026. That is a small sample and early data. Inside the same account the creative made most of the difference: ads built from the client's own before-and-after job photos produced enquiries at $15.60–$25.07, while polished lifestyle creative, in the same suburbs on the same budget, cost $58–$172 per enquiry.
What does an earthworks lead cost in Perth?
On the earthworks account Forge West manages in the Perth north-east corridor, enquiries averaged $11.33 each across 124 enquiries, covering its full account history to 18 September 2026 from launch on 1 May 2026. Earthworks sits at the low end of what Perth trade enquiries cost, helped by a narrow service area and creative shot on site. It is one account in one trade, so treat it as evidence that the number is achievable, not as a price list.
How much should a Perth tradie expect to pay for a lead?
Most Perth trade enquiries land between roughly $15 and $80 each, depending on the trade, the offer and the creative, though a narrow service area and strong creative can beat that: the earthworks account in this index averaged $11.33 across its full account history to 18 September 2026, and the painting account $55.77 between August and September 2026. For trades Forge West has not published live data for yet, the working estimates are $15–$30 for carpentry, decking and pergolas, $15–$30 for concreting and paving, $15–$35 for landscaping, $20–$45 for plumbing and $25–$50 for electrical. Those ranges are Forge West estimates, not account data, and each is replaced with live figures as those accounts come online. What Forge West charges to run the campaigns is set out on the pricing page.
Are Perth trade leads cheaper than the industry average?
On these two accounts, yes, though the margin varies. WordStream's 2026 Facebook advertising benchmarks, published in September 2026 and drawn from 452 US lead campaigns, put the median cost per lead for Home and Home Improvement at US$42.95 and the all-industry median at US$27.39. Converted at about 1.40 Australian dollars to the US dollar, the rate in September 2026, that is roughly A$60 and A$38. The earthworks account, at $11.33 across its full account history to 18 September 2026, sits well under both. The painting account, at $55.77 between August and September 2026, sits just under the Home and Home Improvement median and above the all-industry one, on a sample of 15 enquiries. The comparison is directional only: those are US medians across a broad category, not Perth figures for a single trade, which is part of why this index exists.
Why does a painting enquiry cost more than an earthworks enquiry?
Three reasons, in order of size. The creative: the painting account ran both job-photo ads and polished lifestyle ads, and the average of $55.77 carries both. The sample: 15 enquiries between August and September 2026 is early data, and cost per enquiry moves around before it settles. The trade: painting is considered, quoted work rather than urgent work, so a homeowner takes longer to act. None of this means painting leads are always dearer than earthworks leads.
What does a plumbing lead cost in Perth?
Forge West has not published live plumbing account data yet, so the honest answer is a working estimate rather than a figure: $20–$45 per enquiry, including hot water offers. Plumbing sits at the dearer end of the estimates in this index because much of the work is urgent, which puts it in competition with search advertising as well as social. The estimate is replaced with live account figures in the edition after a plumbing account has a full quarter behind it.
What does a landscaping lead cost in Perth?
The working estimate is $15–$35 per enquiry, which is an estimate rather than published account data. Landscaping tends to sit at the cheaper end because before-and-after photographs of finished work are the strongest creative there is for it, and demand is seasonal enough that budget can be concentrated when homeowners are actually looking. It is replaced with live figures once a landscaping account has a full quarter of history.
What counts as an enquiry in this index?
A completed Meta lead form with a name and a phone number. Clicks, video views and page likes are not counted. Figures cover full account history and full ad spend for the period shown, including the ads that did not work, and averages are account-wide rather than a best week. Enquiries are not signed jobs: what an enquiry turns into depends on how fast and how well it is followed up.
How often is the Perth Trade Lead Cost Index updated?
Every quarter. This is the Spring 2026 edition, with figures as at 18 September 2026. The next edition is Summer 2026, due in December, and it adds new trades as those accounts come online. Each figure carries the dates it covers, so a number that moves between editions can be read against its period. If a published figure is later corrected, the correction is made on this page and noted rather than applied silently.
Which Perth trades does the index cover?
Live account data currently covers earthworks in the Perth north-east corridor and painting across Perth metro. The full earthworks case study, with its sources, is on the results page. Working estimates cover carpentry, decking and pergolas, concreting and paving, landscaping, plumbing and electrical, and the trades Forge West markets for are listed on the trades page. The estimates are labelled as estimates, and each one is replaced with live account figures as Forge West takes those trades on.
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