What’s the difference?
Hipages connects you with customers through its marketplace. Your own ads promote your business directly. We’re using Google Search ads as the comparison here.
| Compare | Hipages | Your own ads |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | Subscription with lead credits | Ad spendAllow for campaign setup and management too. |
| How enquiries start | Customers post a job request | Customers find your ad and contact you |
| What you choose | Trade categories, service area and leads to accept | Keywords, locations, budget and ad message |
| Work on your side | Review leads, respond and quote | Manage ads and website, respond and quote |
What you pay for
- Hipages
- Subscription with lead credits
- Your own ads
- Ad spendAllow for campaign setup and management too.
How enquiries start
- Hipages
- Customers post a job request
- Your own ads
- Customers find your ad and contact you
What you choose
- Hipages
- Trade categories, service area and leads to accept
- Your own ads
- Keywords, locations, budget and ad message
Work on your side
- Hipages
- Review leads, respond and quote
- Your own ads
- Manage ads and website, respond and quote
Hipages subscriptions include lead credits; top-ups can cost extra. See current packages. Google’s CPC bidding charges for clicks, which may not turn into enquiries.
Hipages leads can be shared with other tradies, including through its waitlist. A customer who contacts you through your own ad may also shop around. Neither route guarantees the job. How hipages leads work.
Compare the work you actually win
- Add up the full cost. Include subscriptions or ad spend, top-ups, management, website and setup costs. Use the same GST basis and keep one-off costs separate. Record your responding and quoting time too.
- Follow each enquiry through. Record the source, job type, quote and whether it became a booked job. Compare enquiries from the same period and give quotes time to turn into work.
- Check the value of those jobs. Look at completed work, revenue and delivery costs. A busy diary is only useful if the jobs suit your crew and leave a margin.
You can use both
Hipages may suit you if you want job requests to review without managing an ad campaign. Your own ads give you choices over the services and message you promote, with campaigns and a website to look after.
If a channel brings suitable, profitable work, there’s no need to drop it just to try another. Set a test budget you can afford, keep follow-up consistent and review what happened. Check subscription terms and management fees before committing.
Our Google Ads page explains the campaign work, and reporting covers how we review enquiries and outcomes.
Sources and last checked date
Platform information checked 2 October 2026. Costs and terms can change; confirm them with the provider. This guide does not claim that either option will be cheaper for your business.
Want to review your lead sources?
Bring your current costs and an idea of the work you want more of. We can talk through where your website, follow-ups and advertising need attention.