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A monthly retainer is a fixed cost that you pay whether or not leads arrive. Pay-per-lead is a variable cost that follows your results. For most small trades businesses watching cash flow, pay-per-lead is the lower-risk option. A retainer makes more sense when you want to own long-term assets such as your website, ad account and SEO, and can carry the cost in slow months.
Disclosure: Leads For Tradies is a pay-per-lead agency, so we have a view. We have tried to describe both models fairly, and the worked examples below are illustrative numbers, not promises.
01How each model works
Monthly retainer
You pay an agency a fixed monthly fee to manage your marketing, usually plus your Google Ads spend, which goes direct to Google. Some add a one-off setup fee, particularly if a website is included. The agency's fee does not change with how many enquiries you get.
- NZ price
- Roughly $345–$840/month + GST, before ad spend
- Slow month
- Same invoice
Pay-per-lead
You pay a set price for each qualified enquiry, with no monthly management fee. Your cost rises and falls with the work coming in.
- NZ price
- Generally $50–$250 per qualified lead
- Slow month
- Smaller invoice, $0 if no leads
At Leads For Tradies, under We Fund It we fund the ads and build the website, and you pay generally $50 to $250 per qualified lead plus a one-off signup fee from $500 + GST. Free trials may be available, depending on your trade, city and availability. Under You Fund It you fund the ads on your own Google and Meta ad accounts, and pay us generally $50 to $150 per lead plus a setup fee from $1,000 + GST. Either way there is no monthly retainer.
02A worked example
Say a retainer costs $600 a month plus $1,000 of ad spend, so $1,600 in total. Compare that with a pay-per-lead price of $120 a lead.
Illustrative only. Below roughly 14 leads a month pay-per-lead is cheaper; above it, the retainer wins on cost per lead.
The retainer wins on cost per lead once it produces roughly 14 or more leads a month in this example. Below that, pay-per-lead is cheaper, and in a month with no leads it costs nothing. The numbers will differ for your trade and city, but the shape does not: a retainer rewards a campaign that performs strongly, while pay-per-lead protects you when it does not.
03Which one suits you
- You want to own the website, ad account and tracking from day one.
- You are investing in SEO, which compounds over many months.
- You can absorb a few slow months while a campaign matures.
- You want broader work such as branding, social content or a full website rebuild.
- You have been burned by paying an agency a fixed fee and getting few or no enquiries.
- You want cash flow that tracks your results.
- You do not have a website yet and do not want to pay for one up front.
- You want to test a new trade or city with limited risk.
04The risks of pay-per-lead, and how to check for them
- Lead quality. Ask for a written definition of a qualified lead. At Leads For Tradies it is a genuine homeowner enquiry, a call, quote request or message, from someone in your service area looking for the type of job you do.
- Shared leads. Marketplaces send the same job to several tradies who compete on price. Ask whether each lead goes only to you. Our We Fund It model works with one business per trade per city.
- Disputes. Check you can challenge leads that are not relevant, such as the wrong service or a duplicate. Genuine enquiries that simply do not convert into a job are normally still billable.
- Ownership. Ask who owns the website, ad account and phone numbers if you leave. Under our We Fund It option we own and host them, and under You Fund It they are yours.
- Lock-in. Look for a month-to-month agreement with no penalty to stop.
05The hybrid option
You do not have to pick one for ever. Some tradies start with We Fund It to get enquiries flowing without upfront spend, then move to You Fund It on their own account once they have an established brand in their city.
We fund the ads and website. Leads flow with no upfront ad spend.
Your own ad accounts and website. Everything in your name, lower fee per lead.
Because there is no retainer, switching does not mean exiting a fixed-term contract.
For a wider comparison of the agencies available, see our comparison of marketing agencies for NZ tradies. For lead prices by trade and city, see how much a lead costs for tradies in NZ, or read the full lead generation pricing.
06Frequently asked questions
Is pay-per-lead cheaper than a retainer for a tradie?
Not always per lead, but it is lower risk. With a retainer you pay the same fee whether you get five leads or none. With pay-per-lead your cost rises and falls with the enquiries you receive, so a slow month costs less. A retainer can work out cheaper per lead if the campaign performs well and you value owning the assets it builds.
What are the downsides of pay-per-lead marketing?
The main ones are lead quality, ownership and control. Check how a qualified lead is defined, whether you can dispute irrelevant leads, and who owns the website and ad account if you leave. Some pay-per-lead models send the same lead to several tradies, which lowers your chance of winning the job.
How much is a typical pay-per-lead price in NZ?
It varies by trade and city. Leads For Tradies generally charges $50 to $250 per qualified lead under We Fund It, or $50 to $150 per lead plus ad spend under You Fund It. Other NZ agencies publish Google Ads cost-per-lead figures from about $25 to $80 under retainer models.
Can I switch from a retainer to pay-per-lead later?
Usually yes, provided you own your ad account, website and phone numbers. Check your current contract first, because some agencies keep ownership of the assets they built.
