Is hipages worth it? Lead sites compared fairly with owning your own leads

hipages charges tradies a recurring subscription that includes lead credits, and those credits are used when a business claims a job, which hipages calls a connection. Its FY26 investor presentation shows recurring revenue at 98% of group revenue, 36.4k subscription businesses and average subscription revenue of $2,475 per business, up 9%.

That $2,475 is an average across every plan, trade and area, not a price list. Get the monthly fee, number of credits, minimum term and what happens to unused credits in writing before you sign.

Australian connections came to 2.579 million in FY26, down 3%, which the company linked to subdued consumer confidence.

ServiceSeeking costs from $129 a month including GST for most members, charged as a membership only, with no commission and no per contact fees. Since its June 2025 price update, ServiceSeeking says price "mostly depends on the number of leads we expect to send you", and it also varies by industry and location.

Members get unlimited categories and pick a coverage tier: Standard covers 10km, Plus 20km and Pro 50km. Paying quarterly saves 20% and paying annually saves 40%, according to the same update. Check the current terms on ServiceSeeking's own site before you join, because pricing can change.

Oneflare closed on 30 June 2026, and its website and app now redirect to Airtasker. Leads that used to come through Oneflare have stopped, and Airtasker's help centre explains what changed for former users. Airtasker says more than 38,000 tasks are posted on its platform each week, so read its current fees and terms before treating it as a direct swap.

The closure is a reminder of the main risk with any rented channel. When a platform changes its model or shuts, the profile and lead flow you built on it can change or disappear with it.

With a lead site you rent access to customers through the platform, while your Google Business Profile, website and referrals are channels you control. They do different jobs.

Cost per won job is everything a channel costs you in a month divided by the number of jobs you actually won from it.

1. 1Add up the month's spend on the channel: subscription, extra credits and any ads.
2. 2Add the time you spent claiming, calling and quoting, at what an hour of your time is worth.
3. 3Count the jobs you won from that channel that month, not the leads.
4. 4Divide total cost by jobs won, compare it with the profit on an average job, and track it for three months before deciding.

Before you sign up to any lead site, check the term, the pricing and how leads are shared, and get the answers in writing.

• The minimum term and the notice needed to cancel
• What a lead or credit costs in your trade and area, and whether unused credits roll over
• How many other businesses can see or claim the same job
• Whether your coverage area and categories match the work you actually want
• Recent reviews of the platform from tradies in your own trade and region

Lead sites can be worth it for filling gaps, while owned channels build an asset that keeps paying back, so the smart move is usually to use both on purpose. A platform makes sense when you are new, moving into a new area or filling a quiet month fast.

A Google Business Profile is free, and Google says there is no way to pay for a better local ranking, so it comes down to relevance, distance and prominence. The guide to ranking on Google Maps shows how to work on all three.

A website and SEO for tradies give every customer, review and referral somewhere to land. A standard SuccessWithMark trade website is $999 to $2,500 one off plus GST, with hosting and maintenance at $60 a month. To see how your current mix stacks up, try the free 15 second lead score quiz.