THE SHORT ANSWER
Google Ads produces leads at roughly EUR 45 to EUR 110 once the account is mature, but it needs six to ten weeks and around EUR 1,500 a month to get there, and somebody has to manage it weekly. Buying exclusive leads costs roughly EUR 60 to EUR 150 and produces this week with no learning period. Start with whichever addresses your actual constraint: margin or time.
The comparison that matters
Cost per lead: EUR 45 to EUR 110 on mature Google Ads, EUR 60 to EUR 150 on bought exclusive leads
Time to first lead: days for both
Time to predictable volume: 6 to 10 weeks versus immediate
Learning cost: a few thousand euro versus none
Ongoing management: weekly attention versus none
Ownership: you keep the account, the data and the keyword learnings, versus you keep nothing
That last line is the strongest argument for running your own ads eventually, and it is the one most often left out of the unit-price comparison.
The learning cost nobody budgets for
A new search account spends its first four to eight weeks discovering which queries convert. That discovery is paid for in wasted clicks, and for most home-improvement accounts it costs a few thousand euro before cost per lead settles. Businesses that budget only the steady-state cost conclude the channel does not work, when what happened is they stopped during the expensive part.
The sequence that works for most businesses
Buy exclusive leads now, to keep teams busy and generate reviews, photos and close-rate data.
Use the close-rate data to establish what you can genuinely afford per lead, which is the number the ad account needs as a target.
Start search ads with a budget that can survive eight weeks of learning, not a trial budget that cannot.
Once the account is stable, keep a base volume of bought leads for the surges and the seasonal peak, where your own ads get expensive fastest.
When Google Ads is the wrong first move
When nobody will look at the search terms report weekly. When the monthly budget is under about a thousand euro, because the account cannot gather enough conversion data to optimise. And when you need jobs booked in the next three weeks, because the timeline simply does not fit.
How Flock Leads prices this
Flock Leads is often used as the bridge during exactly this ramp period:
Starter - 10 leads for EUR 750, which is EUR 75 per lead
Growth - 25 leads for EUR 1,750, which is EUR 70 per lead
Scale - 45 leads for EUR 2,925, which is EUR 65 per lead
Pro - 70 leads for EUR 4,340, which is EUR 62 per lead
Max - 90 leads for EUR 5,400, which is EUR 60 per lead
No retainer, no contract term, and no lead sent to a second business. Unused volume rolls over under the Flock Lead Promise.
Related answers
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Ads cheaper than buying leads?
Per lead, yes, once the account is mature: roughly EUR 45 to EUR 110 against EUR 60 to EUR 150. Including the learning period, the first two months usually are not.
How long does a Google Ads account take to become efficient?
Six to ten weeks with adequate budget. Under about EUR 1,000 a month it can take considerably longer because there is not enough conversion data.
Can I do both at the same time?
Yes, and it is usually the right answer. Bought leads cover the baseline while the ad account learns.
What is the biggest Google Ads mistake in home improvement?
Broad match keywords spending on queries with no purchase intent. It is invisible unless you read the search terms report every week.
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