How Much Do Leads Cost in the UK?

What is a cost per lead?

Cost per lead - often shortened to CPL - is the amount you pay to acquire a single potential customer. For trades businesses in the UK, this is one of the most important numbers to track. Whether you are a roofer, a plumber, or a dental practice, your CPL tells you how efficiently your marketing spend is turning into real enquiries. It is not just about what you pay upfront - it is about how much each new opportunity actually costs when you factor in time, competition, and conversion rates.

Understanding your CPL helps you compare platforms, set realistic budgets, and avoid overspending on leads that never convert. A low CPL means nothing if the leads are fake, shared, or unresponsive. What matters is the cost per lead that actually turns into a paying customer - and that is where most platforms fall short.

How much do leads cost on different platforms?

The table above gives a realistic picture of what trades businesses can expect to pay across the most common lead generation platforms in the UK. Prices vary depending on your trade, location, and the platform's pricing model - some charge per lead, others per credit or monthly subscription. The key difference is not just the price but what you actually get for your money. Shared leads mean you are competing with other businesses for the same customer, which drives your effective cost per acquisition much higher. Affly is the only platform on this list that delivers every lead exclusively to one business and verifies each one with OTP confirmation before you pay.

Why cheaper leads aren't always better

It is tempting to go for the cheapest leads available. A platform advertising leads at £10 each sounds like a bargain - until you realise that same lead has been sent to four other businesses at the same time. Suddenly you are not paying £10 for a customer. You are paying £10 for a one-in-five chance. Factor in the time spent calling, quoting, and following up with people who have already chosen a competitor, and that £10 lead has cost you far more than £50 in real terms.

Then there is the problem of fake enquiries. On platforms with weak verification, a significant portion of leads are bogus - wrong numbers, people who never submitted a form, or duplicate submissions from the same person. You end up paying for contact details that go nowhere. Every dead lead costs you money and time that could have been spent on a genuine customer.

The real question is not "how much does a lead cost?" but "how much does a customer cost?" A £40 exclusive, verified lead that converts at 30% is far better value than a £15 shared lead that converts at 5%. When you measure cost per actual job won, verified exclusive leads almost always come out cheaper.

What makes a lead worth paying for?

Not all leads are created equal. The four things that separate a valuable lead from a waste of money are exclusivity, verification, genuine intent, and an audit trail. Exclusivity means the lead is sent to your business and your business only - no race to respond, no competing quotes. Verification means someone has confirmed the lead is real before you pay for it. Genuine intent means the person actually wants the service you offer, in your area, right now. And an audit trail means there is evidence of every step - so if something goes wrong, you can see exactly what happened.

This is where Affly takes a fundamentally different approach. Every lead passes a 6-layer verification process that includes phone validation, OTP confirmation, duplicate detection, VPN and fraud analysis, intent confirmation, and lead scoring. You only pay for leads that clear all six layers. Each lead comes with a full timestamped verification log, so you always know exactly what you are paying for. You can learn more about the process on our how it works page.

The result is a higher conversion rate and less wasted time. When every lead is exclusive and verified, you spend less time chasing dead ends and more time closing jobs. That is what makes a lead worth paying for - not the sticker price, but the return on your investment.

Lead costs by industry

Lead costs vary significantly depending on the industry, the average job value, and the level of competition in your area. Here is what typical costs look like on Affly across some of the most popular trades and services.

Roofing leads

Roofing leads on Affly typically cost between £14 and £25 per verified lead. Roofing is one of the most competitive trades for lead generation, and shared leads in this space are particularly wasteful because homeowners often go with the first roofer to respond. With exclusive delivery, you are the only business that customer hears from. See our roofing leads page for more detail on how it works for roofers.

Boiler replacement leads

Boiler replacement leads range from £15 to £30 on Affly. These are high-intent leads - people who need a new boiler are usually ready to book quickly, which makes exclusivity even more valuable. A verified lead with a confirmed phone number and genuine intent can convert the same day. Learn more about boiler leads and how Affly delivers them.

Dental leads

Dental leads on Affly cost between £15 and £35 per verified lead. Whether it is cosmetic dentistry, implants, or general practice enquiries, dental leads have a high lifetime value. That makes verification especially important - paying for fake enquiries or tyre-kickers is expensive when the average patient is worth thousands over their lifetime. Visit our dental leads page for more information.

Personal injury leads

Personal injury leads are at the higher end, typically £30 to £60 on Affly. This reflects the high case values in personal injury law and the intense competition for qualified claimants. Verification is critical here - the difference between a genuine claimant and a time-waster can be worth thousands of pounds. See how Affly handles personal injury leads with full verification and exclusive delivery.

How to reduce your cost per lead

The most effective way to reduce your cost per lead is to be specific about what you want. Define clear criteria for the leads you are willing to pay for - the service type, the job size, the location radius. The tighter your targeting, the higher your conversion rate, and the lower your effective cost per customer. Broad targeting might generate more leads, but if half of them are outside your area or looking for a service you do not offer, you are paying for nothing.

Location targeting is one of the biggest levers you can pull. A plumber in Manchester does not need leads from London. On Affly, you set your service area down to the postcode level, so you only receive leads from customers you can actually serve. This alone can dramatically reduce wasted spend and improve your return on every pound you invest in lead generation.

Finally, use a platform that verifies leads before you pay. This is the single biggest factor in reducing your true cost per lead. If you are paying for unverified, shared leads, a large percentage of your budget is going to waste. A platform like Affly that confirms every lead with OTP verification, checks for duplicates and fraud, and delivers exclusively to your business means you are only paying for genuine, contactable prospects. That is how you get your cost per lead down - not by finding cheaper leads, but by finding better ones.