Google Local Services Ads vs Angi (2026): Cost & Leads

Google (legacy Local Services Ads or migrated pay-per-lead Performance Max): you are buying the chance for your Google Business Profile–based listing to appear in Google’s local-services results when someone searches on Search or Maps. Targeting is keywordless—categories, service types, and service area—not keyword lists. The homeowner picks a provider card. You pay if Google assesses a valid lead (call, message, or booking per current Help). Google Verified is the current screening badge. Google Guarantee money-back for services booked after December 7, 2025 is discontinued. A valid lead is not a booked job.

Angi Leads: you are buying connections from homeowner Service Requests that can arrive via angi.com, the Angi app, homeadvisor.com, phone, or third-party sites (Pro Agreement). Angi may give you the homeowner’s contact info, give the homeowner yours, or facilitate the conversation. You pay per lead or via a subscription/package that prepays for discounted leads. You do not get to inspect-and-skip each name after it matches your tasks and geography the way Bark does. The Pro FAQ states you pay even if you do not win the job.

Angi Ads / directory advertising: you are buying increased visibility in Angi search, directory, and related Angi surfaces for Approved Pros who meet advertising criteria (Angi’s consumer FAQ: typically a 3-star average and other eligibility; “Angi Approved” is described as including paying to advertise). This is not priced as Google’s per-valid-lead event. Angi does not publish a national Ads rate card. Term, auto-renewal, and any early termination fee live in the Contract you sign—not on a public price table.

Typical Google path: “roof repair near me” → Search/Maps local-services results → homeowner evaluates the profile → call/message/booking → valid-lead assessment → you pay if charged. Typical Angi Leads path: homeowner describes a project in the Angi/HomeAdvisor ecosystem → Angi matches/distributes → you and often other approved pros receive a Lead → you compete to contact and close → you are charged for the lead even if another pro wins. Typical Angi Ads path: homeowner browses Angi directory/search → sees advertised/Approved profiles → contacts the business they selected → you paid for advertising presence, not (in the Ads product) a Google-style per-lead meter. Do not blend Leads and Ads into one journey.

Google: you see charges for valid leads. Prices vary by location, job type, lead type, and bidding. Legacy accounts set an average weekly budget. Migrated pay-per-lead PMax accounts get a daily average equal to historical weekly ÷ 7; monthly billing is capped at daily × 30.4. Google Ads Help: this specialized campaign type still charges for valid leads (calls, messages, bookings), not clicks, and still serves only Search and Maps—unlike standard Performance Max. Do not use a blog’s “average HVAC CPL.”

Angi Leads: Pro Agreement—pay per Lead, as part of a package, or via Subscription (prepay for discounted leads; term in the Contract). Guidance on how many leads you will get is an estimate. Angi Help credits expire in six months and do not apply to annual-subscription leads. Angi Inc. does not publish one national lead price.

Angi Ads: quoted advertising. Angi consumer FAQ describes paid advertising for eligible Approved Pros. Third-party monthly ranges are not BeltStack facts. Get line items: product name, geography, term, auto-renewal, ETF, what happens if you pause.

To compare equivalent scope: match a calendar window and CRM stages. Put Google charged-minus-credited spend next to Angi Leads spend after credits (and ETF/subscription if any) and Angi Ads spend if that is what you bought. Then booked jobs and gross profit. A $40 shared Angi Lead that loses to two other pros is not the same unit as a $40 Google valid-lead from a homeowner who tapped your card.

Vendor fact: neither Google nor Angi publishes your close rate or a national CPL. BeltStack illustrative model—replace every number.

Scorecard each channel: spend, leads (or ad-attributed contacts), qualified, estimates, booked jobs, revenue, gross profit, credits, cost per lead, cost per booked job, gross profit/spend.

Illustrative only—not vendor averages: 15 Angi Leads × $40 = $600. If the Pro Agreement’s shared-lead pattern holds and you book 2 jobs, CAC is $300 per booked job. 10 Google valid-leads × $70 = $700. If you book 4 jobs, CAC is $175. Invert close rates and the ranking flips. Shared-lead math is why CPL lies: you paid for a name that several approved pros also received.

Maximum affordable lead cost (planning framework, not a bid): gross profit per completed job × lead-to-job close rate × the share of contribution you will spend on acquisition. Example: $800 × 20% × 25% = $40. Substitute your jobs. If Angi Leads close at 10% in your shop, the same $800 and 25% share only supports $20.

You can run Google and Angi together if staffing and contracts allow. Tag sources. Deduplicate the homeowner who Googled you and also submitted an Angi request. Do not split budget 50/50 by habit. Do not use a generic 30-day test: cover your sales cycle, and if your Google account just migrated, Google is still learning automated bids.