What's the Average Cost Per Lead for Solar Companies on Google Ads?

Solar companies pay between roughly $80 and $300 per lead on Google Ads search campaigns in 2026, with reported averages clustering around $104-$200 depending on the source and market. Local Services Ads run notably cheaper, averaging around $53 per lead.

Why the published averages vary so much

Solar lead costs are unusually sensitive to geography, which is why different benchmark sources land on different averages. Google Ads CPC for solar campaigns runs roughly $8-$45 per click, and with typical landing page conversion rates that translates to a CPL range of $80-$300. High-penetration solar markets — California and Texas chief among them — see costs run 30-50% higher than emerging solar markets, because installer competition for the same searches is far more intense.

Google Ads versus Local Services Ads

• Google Ads search campaigns: average around $104 per lead in 2026, per current industry tracking, inside a broader $80-$300 range
• Local Services Ads: average around $53 per lead — roughly half the cost of standard search, since Google pre-qualifies the searcher and charges per accepted lead rather than per click
• High-competition metros (CA, TX): 30-50% above the national average for both formats

A cheap cost per lead is not the same as a cheap cost per sale. Solar has one of the longest and most expensive sales cycles in home services — blended customer acquisition on Google Ads leads runs around $2,465 per closed sale, since only a fraction of leads convert to a signed installation contract.

Where solar CPL is heading

Industry-wide acquisition costs are actually rising going into 2026 for reasons unrelated to ad platforms: residential solar customer acquisition cost is projected to jump roughly 40%, to about $0.84 per installed watt, after hitting a five-year low of $0.60 in 2025. That increase is being driven by the expiration of enhanced federal tax incentives and intensifying competition among installers, not by Google Ads auction dynamics specifically — but it will pull blended CAC up even if per-lead costs on the ad platform stay flat.

Why Local Services Ads runs cheaper

Local Services Ads charges installers per accepted lead rather than per click, and Google pre-screens the homeowner's basic details before the lead reaches the installer. That upfront filtering is why the format's average cost comes in around half of standard search — installers are paying for a lead Google has already partially qualified, rather than for a click that may or may not turn into a real conversation. It also means Local Services Ads leads tend to arrive further along in the buying process, which is worth factoring in alongside the raw cost-per-lead comparison against standard search.

Bottom Line

Budget $80-$300 per lead for solar on Google Ads search in 2026, with Local Services Ads as the lower-cost option worth testing first at roughly $53 per lead. Track cost per closed sale, not just cost per lead — with a sales cycle this long and a close rate this variable, per-lead cost alone will understate what solar customer acquisition actually costs your business.