The 2026 Contractor Marketing Benchmark Report
By Joseph Lopez & Parker Lindsey, Co-Founders of Reno Rise
Across 50+ contractor clients, Reno Rise books qualified estimates for roughly $60 per showed appointment. High-ticket trades like kitchen remodeling (a $40,000 average job) close 3–4 of every 10 qualified appointments, while lower-ticket trades like tree service close 5–6 of 10. Most clients book their first appointment within 1–3 days of launch — sometimes within 24 hours.
Most contractors have no real benchmark for what marketing should cost or return. This report shares real, aggregated data from the 50+ contractor clients we've run client acquisition for over the past three years — what it costs to book a qualified appointment, how often those appointments close by trade, and the return a contractor can realistically expect.
About this data: Figures are rounded averages across 50+ Reno Rise contractor clients over 3+ years, and vary by trade, market, season, and budget. A "showed appointment" is an estimate where both the contractor and homeowner attend. Job values represent gross project revenue to the contractor, not profit.
Key findings at a glance
What it costs to book a contractor appointment
On average, it costs about $60 to produce one showed appointment — a qualified estimate where both the contractor and the homeowner show up. Because we cover the ad spend ourselves, that figure is the all-in cost to put a real, booked, qualified homeowner in front of a contractor. Compared to the value of a single job in nearly any trade, that cost is small — which is the entire point of the numbers that follow.
Average job value by trade
| Trade | Average job value |
|---|---|
| Kitchen remodel | $40,000 |
| Bathroom remodel | $12,000 |
| Tree service | $1,000 |
Job values vary widely by market and project scope; these are averages from the trades in this dataset.
How often qualified appointments close
Close rates vary by ticket size — higher-ticket projects involve longer consideration and more decision-makers, so they close at a lower rate, while lower-ticket services are faster decisions that close more often.
| Trade type | Close rate (of qualified appointments) |
|---|---|
| High-ticket (kitchen, bathroom) | 3–4 of 10 |
| Lower-ticket (tree service) | 5–6 of 10 |
The real ROI, by trade
Here's what the numbers mean in practice. At ~$60 per showed appointment, ten qualified appointments cost about $600 to produce. Here's what that typically turns into:
| Trade | Cost of 10 appts | Jobs closed | Avg job value | Booked revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchen remodel | $600 | 3–4 | $40,000 | $120,000–$160,000 |
| Bathroom remodel | $600 | 3–4 | $12,000 | $36,000–$48,000 |
| Tree service | $600 | 5–6 | $1,000 | $5,000–$6,000 |
Even the tightest trade in this data — tree service, at a $1,000 average job — turns roughly $600 in booking cost into $5,000–$6,000 in booked work. For high-ticket remodelers, a single closed job can return that booking cost many times over. (These figures reflect gross booked revenue to the contractor, not profit, and assume average close rates — actual results vary.)
How fast contractors see results
Speed is one of the biggest differences between paid client acquisition and slower channels like SEO. In our data, clients often book their first qualified appointment within the first 24 hours of going live — campaigns can launch the same night a contractor signs on — and on average the first booked appointment lands within 1–3 days.
What this means for contractors
Three takeaways stand out from the data. First, across every trade we work with, the cost to book a qualified appointment is small relative to the value of the work — the lever isn't finding cheaper leads, it's booking qualified appointments that actually close. Second, the metric that matters most isn't cost per lead; it's close rate × job value, which is where the real return lives. Third, results can come fast — within days, not months. This is exactly why our system is built around booked, qualified appointments and a pay-per-showed-appointment model. See how the system works or our results.
Trade-specific breakdowns of these numbers: marketing for remodeling contractors and marketing for tree service companies.
Methodology
This report reflects aggregated averages across more than 50 Reno Rise contractor clients over three-plus years of running client acquisition. Cost per showed appointment represents the all-in advertising cost to produce a booked estimate where both parties attend. Close rates are averages of qualified appointments that convert to sold jobs. Job values are gross project revenue to the contractor and exclude the contractor's own material and labor costs. All figures are rounded averages and vary by trade, market, season, and budget.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to book a contractor appointment?
In Reno Rise's data across 50+ clients, a showed appointment — where both the contractor and homeowner attend — costs roughly $60 to produce, with ad spend included. It varies by trade, market, and budget.
What's a good close rate for contractor appointments?
It depends on ticket size. Higher-ticket trades like kitchen and bath remodeling close about 3–4 of every 10 qualified appointments, while lower-ticket trades like tree service close around 5–6 of 10.
How fast can contractor marketing produce results?
Paid client acquisition can produce booked appointments quickly. Reno Rise clients often book their first appointment within 24 hours of launch, and within 1–3 days on average.