A shared lead is a form sent to several contractors who then compete to call the homeowner back. A pay-per-call lead is a phone call transferred to one contractor while the homeowner is still on the line. Shared leads cost less per unit and close at a lower rate; pay-per-call costs more per unit and closes higher. Which is cheaper depends entirely on your close rate, so the only number worth comparing is cost per booked job.
Almost every argument about lead pricing is really an argument about two different products being quoted in the same units. Comparing $30 a lead with $90 a call and concluding the first is cheaper is like comparing a lottery ticket with a bus ticket on price.
This page sets out what each model actually is, does the arithmetic that decides between them, and is explicit about when shared leads are the better buy — because for some contractors they genuinely are.
The two models
A shared lead marketplace collects a homeowner's details through a form and makes them available to several contractors. You are charged for receiving the details. Whether you ever speak to that homeowner is your problem, and so is the fact that three other companies are calling them.
A pay-per-call service advertises, answers the homeowner itself, qualifies the job on the phone and then transfers the live call to a contractor. You are charged for the conversation, not for the introduction, and the homeowner is on the line when you pick up.
| Shared leads | Pay per call | |
|---|---|---|
| What arrives | A form or quote request | A ringing phone with the homeowner on it |
| Who else gets it | Several contractors, competing | One contractor at a time |
| What triggers the charge | Delivery of the details | The call reaching a minimum length |
| Who makes first contact | You, by calling them back | They did, already |
| Typical unit price | Lower | Higher |
| Typical close rate | Lower | Higher |
The arithmetic that actually decides it
Cost per booked job is the price divided by the share you convert. That is the whole comparison, and it usually reverses the ranking that sticker price suggests.
Take a shared lead at $30 that you close one time in twelve, because you are the fourth call the homeowner has taken and two of the others quoted first. That is $360 a booked job. Take a transferred call at $90 that you close one time in four, because you were speaking to them while they still had the problem in front of them. That is $360 a booked job. Identical — at those rates.
So the question is never which is cheaper. It is which way your own close rates actually diverge, and that is a number you already have and we do not. Pull your last hundred leads from each source and divide.
- Cost per booked job = price per lead ÷ share of leads you convert.
- A 3× price difference is neutral if the close rate differs by 3×.
- Count your time answering and chasing as a cost — it is not free, and it differs sharply between the two.
- Count leads you never reach at all. They still cost what you paid for them.
When pay per call is the better buy
The mirror image. Pay-per-call earns its higher unit price when speed and exclusivity are worth something to you specifically.
- Urgent work, where whoever answers first books the job.
- You are on the tools and cannot chase — a ringing phone converts, an email does not.
- Your close rate on live conversations is materially better than on callbacks.
- You would rather pay more for fewer, better conversations than sort through volume.
Where PatchLead sits
PatchLead is pay-per-call. Calls cost $60 to $150 each in Canadian dollars, billed only once the conversation passes a minimum length — 60 seconds for plumbing, 60–90 for heating and air conditioning, 120 for roofing — so short calls and wrong numbers are free.
Each call is exclusive: it rings one contractor at a time and the same conversation is never sold to two companies at once. If you do not pick up it moves on to another contractor, because the homeowner is waiting.
We are honest about the limits. Calls are placed Monday to Saturday, 9am to 7pm, and not on Sundays, so this is not an after-hours service. Coverage today is Etobicoke, in west Toronto, for plumbing and heating and air conditioning. If you are outside that, a shared lead marketplace with national coverage will serve you better today than we can, and that is the honest answer.
Common questions
Are pay-per-call leads better than shared leads?
Not inherently — they are a different product at a different price. Pay-per-call costs more per unit and closes higher because the homeowner is on the phone and only one contractor is charged. Shared leads cost less and close lower because several contractors receive the same enquiry. Compare cost per booked job, not price per lead.
How do I work out which is cheaper for my business?
Divide the price by the share you actually convert. A $30 shared lead closed one time in twelve costs $360 per booked job; a $90 call closed one time in four costs the same $360. Run that sum on your own last hundred leads from each source, including the ones you never managed to reach, because you paid for those too.
What does exclusive actually mean when buying leads?
It should mean the same enquiry is not sold to several contractors at once. Ask specifically what happens if you do not answer: with PatchLead the call moves on to another contractor, because the homeowner is waiting, but it is never split between you and three other shops. Ask any vendor to state that distinction plainly.
What should I ask a lead vendor before buying?
How many contractors receive the same enquiry, what exactly triggers the charge, whether short or failed contacts are billable, what the dispute window is and whether money comes back as cash or account credit, and which specific postal areas they actually operate in today rather than plan to. Vague answers to any of those are the answer.
Is pay per call the same as pay per lead?
No. Pay per lead charges for the delivery of contact details, which you then act on. Pay per call charges for a phone conversation that is already happening. The distinction matters because the failure modes differ: an unreachable lead still costs you money, whereas a call that never connects properly does not.
How much does pay per call cost in Canada?
With PatchLead, $60 to $150 per connected call in Canadian dollars, set by trade and job type, with no setup fee, subscription or minimum spend. Rates across the category vary widely by trade and by how much qualification happens before the transfer, so compare what is actually confirmed on the call before you compare prices.