Pay Per Lead vs. Pay Per Month: True Cost of Yelp and Thumbtack
Yelp and Thumbtack look expensive on the surface. But the real question isn’t what you pay—it’s what cost-per-acquired-customer you’re getting, and how automation changes that number.
This article breaks down the true cost structure of both platforms, where service businesses leak money without realizing it, and how $99/month in automation can dramatically improve your return on the advertising dollars you’re already spending.
How Yelp Charges Service Businesses
Yelp for Service Businesses operates primarily on a cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-contact basis:
CPC advertising: You pay each time someone clicks through to your Yelp profile from an ad. Typical CPC range: $5–$30 depending on your category and market.
Enhanced profile: Monthly flat fee ($200–600/month in most markets) for highlighted placement and additional features.
Request-a-Quote: When customers use Yelp’s quote request feature, businesses get included in the response list. Some Yelp programs have cost-per-lead charges here.
What you don’t control: How many of those clicks turn into actual messages, and what percentage of those messages turn into jobs.
How Thumbtack Charges Service Businesses
Thumbtack charges per lead—specifically, per customer you receive contact information for when they submit a quote request.
Per-lead pricing: Varies by category and market. Common ranges:
- Cleaning services: $10–25/lead
- HVAC: $20–50/lead
- Roofing: $30–70/lead
- Electrical: $20–45/lead
- Plumbing: $25–55/lead
The hidden cost: You pay for the lead whether or not you convert it. If your win rate is 20%, you’re effectively paying 5× the face value for each job you actually book.
The True Cost Per Job: A Reality Check
Scenario: HVAC company on Thumbtack
- Lead cost: $35/lead average
- Monthly lead volume: 25 leads = $875/month
- Win rate without fast response: 22%
- Jobs booked: 5.5/month
- Effective cost per job: $875 ÷ 5.5 = $159/job
Same company with NZLeads (60-second response, follow-up sequence):
- Lead cost: $35/lead (same)
- Monthly lead volume: 25 leads = $875/month
- Win rate with fast response: 50%
- Jobs booked: 12.5/month
- NZLeads cost: $99/month
- Total spend: $974/month
- Effective cost per job: $974 ÷ 12.5 = $78/job
Same advertising spend. Same platform. Same leads. Half the acquisition cost.
And at $78/job for HVAC work averaging $600/service call or thousands for a replacement, the ROI calculation is extremely clear.
Where Most Businesses Leak Money on Yelp and Thumbtack
Leak 1: Slow response destroys conversion rates You’re paying to be in front of the customer. If they don’t hear from you in 5 minutes, that advertising dollar is wasted. Every 20% improvement in conversion rate is effectively a 20% reduction in your acquisition cost.
Leak 2: No follow-up on cold leads Day-3 and day-7 follow-ups convert 25–40% of leads that didn’t respond initially. If you’re not running follow-up sequences, you’re leaving significant revenue uncaptured.
Leak 3: Manual data entry mistakes When leads aren’t automatically synced to your CRM, some fall through. That’s 100% wasted ad spend on those specific leads.
Leak 4: Missed after-hours leads Yelp and Thumbtack don’t sleep. If you only respond during business hours, you’re paying for the leads that arrive evenings and weekends but never capturing them.
The Platform Comparison: Which Is Better for Your Trade?
Yelp tends to work best for:
- Trades where customers research and compare (HVAC, roofing, remodeling)
- Businesses with strong review profiles (4.5+ with 50+ reviews)
- Markets where Yelp has strong user adoption (West Coast, urban markets)
- Emergency services where customers search organically
Thumbtack tends to work best for:
- Trades with shorter sales cycles (cleaning, handyman, lawn care, painting)
- Businesses newer to their market (Thumbtack shows you to customers proactively)
- Areas where Yelp adoption is lower
- Service types where customers comparison-shop on features and price
The smart approach: Run both, and use automation to ensure fast response on both. NZLeads handles Yelp and Thumbtack for $99/month each.
Break-Even Analysis: NZLeads at $99/Month
How many additional jobs per month does NZLeads need to generate to pay for itself?
| Avg Job Value | Additional Jobs Needed | Likely Actual Gain |
|---|---|---|
| $200 (cleaning) | 0.5 | 3–8 jobs/month |
| $350 (handyman/painting) | 0.3 | 2–6 jobs/month |
| $500 (plumbing/electrical) | 0.2 | 3–7 jobs/month |
| $800 (HVAC service) | 0.12 | 4–10 jobs/month |
| $2,000 (roofing/major systems) | 0.05 | 1–4 jobs/month |
Break-even is a fraction of one job per month. The real question isn’t whether NZLeads pays for itself—it does in the first week for almost every service business. The question is how much additional revenue you want to capture.
The Full ROI Model: 12-Month Projection
Service business baseline:
- Monthly Yelp + Thumbtack ad spend: $800
- Monthly leads: 35
- Current win rate: 23%
- Jobs booked: 8/month
- Average job value: $450
- Monthly Yelp/Thumbtack revenue: $3,600
With NZLeads ($198/month total, both platforms):
- Same ad spend: $800
- Same leads: 35
- New win rate: 51%
- Jobs booked: 18/month
- Monthly revenue: $8,100
- Monthly gain: $4,500
- Annual gain: $54,000
Total NZLeads cost for the year: $2,376 Revenue generated by NZLeads in the year: ~$54,000 ROI: 22×
Questions? Email support@nzleads.com
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