HVAC leads: where to buy them, and how to need fewer

Each row is a place HVAC leads come from, how it charges and our read on the fit for HVAC companies.

All lead sources compared lists each platform's published prices next to Koira's, with the same columns.

Google lists "HVAC (heating or air conditioning)" among the categories eligible for Local Services Ads, so HVAC companies can run them once they pass Google's screening. On Local Services Ads you are billed per lead tied to your services, not per click. Google does not publish a price list; it says lead prices depend on your location, the job type, the type of lead and your bidding mode.

For HVAC companies, the call that matters is no heat on a freezing night or no cooling in a heat wave. Even a call you miss can be billed: Google's help page says a missed call in business hours counts when the caller waits more than 20 seconds. Google reviews leads for 30 days and credits the ones it finds to be poor quality, duplicate or invalid.

Google ranks Local Services ads by your bid and profile quality: rating, number of reviews, response time, photos and the verification checks you completed. Google recommends 5 or more reviews, and says some business types need 5 reviews to show. For the rules in full, see Google Local Services Ads for contractors and the setup guide.

Lead volume follows the season. For HVAC companies it peaks around the first heat wave and the first cold snap and drops in the mild weeks of spring and fall, which changes what a paid lead is worth from month to month.

Expect families who wait until the system quits, then call whoever can come today, along with property managers, small office landlords and restaurant owners and referrals from home inspectors, realtors and electricians.

Angi's 2025 annual report says pros pay lead fees for consumer matches whether or not they end up doing the job. Bark prices each lead in credits, set by the service, how much the job is worth and how many pros are chasing it locally.

Thumbtack says you control your pricing and budget for leads, and that budget determines how many leads you get. It does not publish lead prices on that page.

What decides shared HVAC leads is speed. Your customers are families who wait until the system quits, then call whoever can come today. If you reply hours later, you paid for an introduction to a customer who already booked someone else. Thumbtack vs Angi puts the two biggest side by side.

Ignore the price per lead for a moment and look at the price per booked job: a month's spend divided by the jobs that source actually produced. Then compare it with what you keep on a seasonal tune-up or a full system replacement. If the booked job costs more than it leaves you, the source is losing money however busy it feels.

Run your own numbers through the free cost per lead calculator; it also shows the close rate where a source breaks even. The missed call calculator shows what calls that go to voicemail cost you before any lead fee.

• Reviews. Ask everyone, right after they pay, with a link straight to the review form. Google says offering incentives, like free or discounted goods or services, in exchange for reviews is strictly prohibited. Koira's review engine sends the ask and drafts each reply.
• A price on your site. A seasonal tune-up priced from your own list, day or night, with booking on the same page (instant quotes).
• The street around each job. A new condenser on a clean pad with the old unit gone. Neighbor postcards go to the likely homes around the job the next morning.
• Referrals. From happy customers and from home inspectors, realtors and electricians (referrals).
• Repeat work. A twice-a-year tune-up plan, reminded before the season and sold on the first visit (campaigns, maintenance plans).
• Commercial buyers. Three short emails to property managers, small office landlords and restaurant owners near you, then stop (commercial outreach).

On a call about no heat on a freezing night or no cooling in a heat wave, the customer rings down the list until someone picks up. It does not matter whether the lead came free or cost you a fee. Koira's receptionist answers on your number and texts missed callers back in about a minute with three open times for a seasonal tune-up or a look at a full system replacement. Grow costs $249 a month plus usage at cost, meaning texts, call minutes and emails with nothing added. See the HVAC answering service guide for live and AI options and their published prices.