Paid Solar Leads vs Your Own Ads: Which Is Worth It?

Paid solar leads can be worth it while you build your own pipeline, but they are usually shared with other installers, so you compete on price and speed. Running your own ads takes a few months to settle, yet the leads are exclusive and you control the message. Many installers use both, then shift the budget gradually.

The real question isn't which option is cheaper per lead. It is which one gives you more signed installs for the money and the time your team spends chasing. A cheap lead that five other installers also call is not cheap if you rarely win it. This guide shows how to compare the two fairly, using your own numbers.

How Bought Solar Leads Usually Work

Lead-generation companies run their own ads and comparison sites, collect enquiries from homeowners or businesses, and sell them to installers. The details vary a lot between suppliers, so ask about each of these before you buy:

• Shared or exclusive: is the lead sold to you alone, or to several installers? If shared, to how many?
• What counts as a lead: a form fill, a phone-verified enquiry, or a booked survey?
• Pricing: per lead, per appointment, a monthly retainer, or a mix. Many suppliers don't publish prices, so get them in writing.
• Returns: can you return leads with wrong numbers, outside your area or with no roof access, and how quickly?
• Where the leads come from: which sites and ads, and what the homeowner was promised, such as "free quotes" or "compare prices".

Compare Cost Per Install, Not Cost Per Lead

The number that matters is what you pay for each signed job. Work it out the same way for both options: total spend in a month, divided by the installs that came from it. For bought leads, spend is what you paid the supplier. For your own ads, it is ad spend plus any agency or freelancer fees, and the landing page and tracking you need to run them.

A hypothetical example, to show the method rather than real prices: Installer A buys 50 shared leads at £30 each (£1,500) and signs 2 jobs, so each install costs £750 in leads. Installer A's own ads cost £1,500 in the same month, bring 15 exclusive enquiries and 3 signed jobs, so £500 per install. Swap in your own numbers; the answer can easily go the other way.

Add your team's time too. Shared leads often need more calls, faster, to win against competitors, and more of them go nowhere. If your surveyor or sales lead spends half the week chasing leads that never answer, that cost belongs in the comparison.

When Bought Leads Make Sense

• You need work in the diary now and can't wait two or three months for your own ads to settle.
• You can reply within minutes during working hours, which is often what wins shared leads.
• You are testing a new area or a new product, such as batteries or commercial rooftops, before investing in your own campaigns.
• You track every bought lead to an outcome, so you know which supplier actually pays back.

When Running Your Own Ads Makes Sense

• You want leads that no one else is calling, and a brand that homeowners recognise in your area.
• You can commit to a few months of testing and a steady monthly budget.
• You have a landing page that answers the usual questions (cost, savings, installation time, accreditations, reviews) and makes enquiring easy.
• You can track every enquiry back to a campaign, including phone calls.

Google Ads usually captures homeowners already searching for solar in your area, while Meta Ads builds local awareness and suits seasonal pushes and retargeting. Our guide to Meta Ads vs Google Ads covers how to choose where to start.

Running Both: How to Compare Them Fairly

Most installers who move to their own ads keep some bought leads at first, then shift budget as their own campaigns prove themselves. To make that decision on evidence, keep one sheet with a row per lead: date, source (supplier name or campaign), shared or exclusive, first reply time, survey booked, quote sent, signed, and job value. After two or three months, compare cost per install and average job value by source.

If leads from either source rarely turn into surveys, the problem may be after the lead arrives. See why your leads aren't converting into sales for the checks to run.

What to Have in Place Before You Spend on Your Own Ads

• Tracking that counts every form, call and WhatsApp enquiry, once.
• A dedicated landing page per offer or area, not just your home page.
• Someone who can reply the same working day, ideally within the hour.
• A simple quote and follow-up process, so good enquiries don't go cold.
• A realistic test budget and a date to review it, agreed before you start.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are solar leads shared with other installers?
Often, yes. Many suppliers sell the same enquiry to several installers, and some offer exclusive leads at a higher price. Ask each supplier directly how many installers receive each lead, and get the answer in writing.

How much do solar leads cost in the UK?
Prices vary widely by supplier, region, product and whether the lead is shared, and many suppliers don't publish them. Rather than comparing price per lead, compare what each source costs you per signed install, using a few months of your own data.

Should solar installers use Google Ads or Meta Ads?
Google Ads suits homeowners already searching for solar; Meta Ads suits building awareness in your area and retargeting. Many installers start with one, chosen by budget and how much local search there is, and add the other later.

How long before my own ads bring steady enquiries?
Allow a few months. The first weeks are for testing areas, offers and ads, and fixing tracking. Judge the campaigns on cost per survey and per install once enough enquiries have come through, not on the first week's results.

What should a solar installer's landing page include?
A clear offer and area, typical questions answered (cost, savings, installation time, finance options), accreditations, reviews and real photos of your installs, and a short form plus a click-to-call phone number. Every enquiry route should be tracked.

Not sure which of your lead sources actually pays back? Our free Growth Diagnostic looks at where your enquiries come from, how they are tracked and where they drop out, and ends with the three things we'd prioritise. For running your own campaigns, see performance marketing, and for counting enquiries properly, read why GA4 isn't counting your enquiries.