Google Local Services Ads (LSA) and Facebook Ads are the two largest lead-gen platforms for contractors in 2025—but they're not competitors in the way most owners think. They operate on entirely different intent models, charge differently, and excel in opposite seasons. The choice isn't which one to pick; it's how to run both.
LSA pays per verified phone call from searchers actively looking for your trade right now. Facebook charges per click or lead form submission and requires you to do the filtering and follow-up yourself. For a small contractor, that difference controls everything: your monthly spend, your lead quality, and whether you're chasing seasonal ghosts or picking up the phone when it's ringing.
This breakdown compares real 2025 pricing, shows you concrete numbers for three trades, and tells you exactly when each platform stops working. We'll also show you the honest truth: when LSA is the wrong tool and when Facebook beats it cold.
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LSA Cost-Per-Lead: The Pay-Per-Call Model
LSA charges you only when a customer calls your business phone number. There's no cost-per-click, no impressions—just phone calls. The pricing varies wildly by trade and geography.
Real 2025 LSA rates:
- Roofers: $30–$65 per call (higher in peak spring/summer)
- Plumbers: $25–$55 per call (emergency calls cost more)
- HVAC: $35–$75 per call (heat pump season spikes these)
- Electricians: $20–$50 per call
- Painters: $18–$40 per call
- Landscapers: $15–$35 per call (seasonal; winter nearly $0)
A roofing contractor in Atlanta ran LSA for 90 days in March–May 2024 and paid $52 per qualified call; same contractor in November paid $8 per call because demand had collapsed 70%. LSA is a seasonal machine: it crushes in peak but withers in shoulder and off-season.
Google also charges a small platform fee (2–3% of your LSA spend), and if you hire a Google Premier Partner agency to manage it, add 10–20% to your monthly spend. Most contractors handle LSA themselves once they're verified.
Facebook Ads Cost-Per-Lead: The Click and Form Model
Facebook charges per click (CPC) or per lead form submission (CPL), depending on your objective. You pay regardless of whether the lead qualifies, calls, or even responds. The responsibility is yours to filter and follow up.
Real 2025 Facebook CPL ranges by trade:
- Roofers: $22–$55 CPL (varies by season and audience size)
- Plumbers: $18–$45 CPL
- HVAC: $25–$65 CPL
- Electricians: $15–$40 CPL
- Painters: $12–$30 CPL
- Landscapers: $10–$25 CPL
A roofing company in Phoenix spent $1,800 in May on Facebook and got 35 lead form submissions—$51 CPL. The same company spent $1,600 in December and got 64 submissions—$25 CPL. Winter traffic is cheaper because fewer people are browsing home-improvement ads when it's warm outside.
Facebook's advantage: you control every variable. You pick your audience (age, interests, behavior), your budget, your creative, and your follow-up. You also bear the cost of unqualified leads, form abandonment, and dead-end prospects. LSA shields you from that; Google qualifies the lead by the act of calling.
See our guide on cost-per-lead by trade 2025 for deeper seasonal breakdowns and Facebook CPL by trade for platform-specific benchmarks.
Head-to-Head: LSA vs. Facebook for Three Common Trades
Example 1: Plumber in Denver, March (peak season)
| Platform | Monthly Budget | Calls/Leads | Cost Per Lead | Qualified % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LSA | $1,200 | 28 calls | $43 | 89% (25 qualified) |
| $1,200 | 52 lead forms | $23 | 54% (28 qualified) |
LSA delivers fewer leads but all are phone calls from people actively searching. Facebook's cheaper CPL requires filtering and follow-up; you need to call 52 people to land 28 jobs. In peak season, LSA's immediacy and high qualification rate is worth the premium. The plumber using LSA takes 28 calls in March; the Facebook advertiser has to dial 52 people.
Example 2: Roofer in Houston, November (low season)
| Platform | Monthly Budget | Calls/Leads | Cost Per Lead | Qualified % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LSA | $600 | 72 calls | $8 | 61% (44 qualified) |
| $600 | 28 lead forms | $21 | 68% (19 qualified) |
In low season, LSA's advantage flips. Google's auction is thinner—fewer roofers are bidding—so you get massive volume for pennies. Facebook's CPL actually rises because demand for roofers (and all repair ads) is down; fewer people browse the feed for roofing services in November. However, LSA's low-season quality dips: of those 72 calls, only 44 are true leads (the rest are questions, price-checks, or wrong-number callers).
Example 3: HVAC contractor in Minneapolis, January (emergency season but low install demand)
| Platform | Monthly Budget | Calls/Leads | Cost Per Lead | Qualified % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LSA | $800 | 18 calls | $44 | 94% (17 qualified) |
| $800 | 38 lead forms | $21 | 76% (29 qualified) |
HVAC in winter shows a hybrid story: emergency calls (furnace repairs) are high-intent and expensive on LSA; new install leads (heat pump sales) are cheaper on Facebook because they're lower-volume searches and Google's auction thins out. If you're a service-only shop, LSA wins. If you sell installs too, Facebook scales the install pipeline while LSA handles the emergency overflow.
Verification, Setup, and Speed to First Lead
LSA has a barrier that Facebook doesn't: Google verification. Here's what that costs in time and money.
LSA setup timeline:
- Day 1: Create or claim Google Business Profile
- Day 2–7: Google mails a postcard or calls to verify your address
- Week 2–4: Await background check and service area review (Google checks your licensing, insurance, and rating history)
- Day 28+: LSA account goes live
Total friction: 4 weeks minimum. If you're a new contractor or moving to a new service area, LSA is a waiting game. Facebook is live in 24 hours.
Facebook setup timeline:
- Day 1: Create business account, add payment method, write ad copy
- Day 2: Ad review (typically 24–48 hours; instant for most service trades)
- Day 3: First leads arrive
Facebook is 3–4 weeks faster. If you need leads this week, Facebook is your only option.
Speed to conversion (call or meeting):
- LSA: 2–8 hours (caller is ready to book; you're just scheduling)
- Facebook: 12–48 hours (you initiate follow-up, rate of callback is 40–70%)
An electrician using LSA in Dallas fielded 18 calls on a Tuesday and booked 14 jobs by Thursday. The same electrician running Facebook got 28 leads but spent 4 days calling back; 11 didn't answer or had already hired someone.
When LSA Fails (The Honest Part)
LSA is not a magic bullet. It breaks in specific situations and costs you money if you don't see it coming.
LSA fails when:
1. Your service area has low search volume. If you're a plumber in Rapid City, South Dakota, there might be 200 searches per month for