Google LSA vs Facebook Ads for HVAC: Real Cost Per Lead

Every HVAC owner asks us the same question on the first call: “Should I run Google or Facebook?”

Wrong question. The right question: do you need jobs this week, or a pipeline this quarter? The answer decides which channel goes first. Here are the real numbers.

What each channel actually costs

Google Local Service Ads (LSA): $25–$85 per lead in most HVAC markets. Emergency repair leads in big metros run higher; maintenance leads in smaller markets run lower. You pay per lead, not per click.

Facebook lead ads: documented HVAC campaigns run $7.88–$12.90 per lead. One published case study hit $7.88 at a 27.83% conversion rate. Another Florida contractor sustained $12.90 all season.

So Facebook is 3–6x cheaper. Case closed? No — because a lead is not a lead.

The intent gap

An LSA lead typed “AC repair near me” while sweating in their living room. They are buying today, from someone. Close rates on qualified LSA leads run 30–50%.

A Facebook lead saw your $89 tune-up offer while scrolling. They have a real need — usually an aging system — but no urgency. Untouched, these leads close at 5–10%. Followed up within 2 minutes and nurtured properly, 15–25%.

Do the math on a $6,000 install:

• LSA: $60 lead × 40% close = $150 per booked job
• Facebook, no follow-up: $10 lead × 5% close = $200 per booked job
• Facebook, 2-minute AI follow-up: $10 lead × 20% close = $50 per booked job

Facebook only beats LSA when the follow-up system exists. That’s the entire trick, and it’s why agencies that just “run ads” fail with Facebook and then tell you the channel doesn’t work.

What LSA does that Facebook can’t

• Captures demand that already exists — you can’t create an emergency
• The Google Guaranteed badge does your trust-building for you
• You can dispute junk leads and get refunds (most owners never do — that’s 20–30% of budget recoverable)

What Facebook does that LSA can’t

• Creates demand before the breakdown: tune-ups, replacements, financing offers
• Scales past LSA’s inventory ceiling — there are only so many searches in your zip codes
• Fills the shoulder seasons when search volume drops

The answer for most owner-operators

Start with LSA plus a 2-minute follow-up system. It’s the fastest path to booked jobs and it proves the machine works. Add Facebook in month 2–3 to scale past LSA’s ceiling and smooth out seasonality.

That sequencing is exactly how our tiers are structured: Tier 1 is LSA + AI follow-up. Tier 2 adds Facebook. Not an accident.

The one-sentence version: LSA harvests demand, Facebook creates it, and neither works without follow-up speed — 78% of homeowners hire whoever responds first.