hipages works. That is not the argument. It sends jobs, especially to new tradies who reply fast. The argument is how it works and what it costs over time: you pay $139 to $649 a month plus GST for credits, each lead is capped at three businesses, and when you stop paying the leads stop. A website costs a setup fee and a monthly fee, and every enquiry through it comes to you alone.
Plenty of tradies run both. This guide compares them honestly, with hipages' own published numbers, so you can decide where the balance should sit for your business.
hipages or your own website: which gets you more jobs?
In the short term, hipages usually gets a new tradie jobs faster, because the leads start arriving as soon as you pay. Over the long term, your own website usually gets better jobs for less, because the enquiries are not shared and do not cost credits. Most tradies do best using hipages to start and a website to grow.
Neither is a sure thing. hipages only pays if you win enough of the leads you buy. A website only works if it is set up properly, linked to your Google Business Profile, and given time to build. The rest of this guide shows where each one wins.
How hipages works
A homeowner posts a job. hipages sends it to tradies in the area whose trade and service area match. You spend credits from your subscription to accept the lead, and hipages says each lead is capped at three businesses. You pay those credits whether you win the job or not.
That is the model. You are not paying for a job. You are paying for a chance at a job.
The platform sets the rules. Its credits policy says the number of credits a lead costs depends on the trade, location, job size and demand, and can change until the job is marked as hired. New subscriptions start on a 6 month term and renew for 12 months. You do not control the price, the volume, or the competition.
What hipages actually costs
hipages' packages run from Starter at $139 a month plus GST to Platinum at $649 plus GST, according to its membership page in October 2026. hipages does not publish a dollar price per lead. 20 Minute Marketing's May 2026 analysis estimates $25 to $80 per lead for most categories.
The number that matters is cost per job won. Using a $40 lead, an example inside that range:
| You win | Leads paid for per job | Lead cost per job won |
| 1 in 3 | 3 | $120 |
| 1 in 5 | 5 | $200 |
| 1 in 8 | 8 | $320 |
The win rates come from the same 20 Minute Marketing analysis, which puts average performance around 1 in 5. Some months that works out. Some months you pay for ten leads and win two. We break the packages, credits and contract down in hipages cost for tradies.
You are renting access to homeowners. When you stop paying, the leads stop. There is no asset left over: no website that keeps working, and no pages that show up when someone searches for your trade in your suburb.
How a website works differently
A website does not charge you per lead. Once it is built and live, every enquiry through the quote form or the phone number goes to you and nobody else. There is no middle platform, no credits and no other tradies quoting on the same job. You pay a setup fee and a monthly fee, however many enquiries come through.
The homeowner searches "painter Brunswick Heads" or "electrician Point Cook", lands on your page, and contacts you directly. The difference is ownership. With hipages, you are renting a slot on someone else's platform. With a website, your domain, your words and your photos are yours. We explain exactly what you own in who owns your website.
The search side, without the promises
Nobody can promise rankings, and we do not. What a good website does is give Google something specific to show. A five-page site with one "Services" page does not tell Google what you do or where. A site with a page for every service and every suburb is structured to improve local search visibility.
That is how search works. The more specific the page, the more relevant it is to a specific search. That is the difference between "Services" and "Interior painting in Brunswick Heads".
A website also works best with a Google Business Profile, which puts you on Google Maps. Google says local results depend on relevance, distance and prominence, and that you cannot pay for a better local ranking. The profile and the website, with matching details, work as a pair. We cover the profile in Google Business Profile for tradies.
They are not mutually exclusive
This is not a "delete hipages" argument. Plenty of tradies run both: hipages for short-term work and a website for long-term enquiries they own. The question is where the balance should sit. If all your leads come from one platform, one price rise or one rule change hurts you badly.
Tradies who use platforms well usually treat them as a stepping stone. A tradie in an August 2025 r/AusRenovation thread said "most tradies in my field only use the services to get established and then dump them as soon as possible."
A website gives you a channel you control. It does not replace hipages overnight, but it reduces how much you depend on it. When Airtasker closed Oneflare on 30 June 2026, the tradies who relied on it had to find their work somewhere else overnight. A channel you own cannot be closed by someone else.
What a year costs, side by side
A year on hipages Starter costs $1,668 plus GST. An Ampliia Build costs $3,000 once-off, then $0 a month, every year after. hipages leads are shared with up to two other businesses. Enquiries through the website are yours alone.
| hipages Starter | Ampliia Build | |
| First year | $1,668 + GST | $3,000 once-off |
| Second year | $1,668 + GST | $0 |
| Leads shared with | Up to two other businesses | Nobody |
| Pay per lead | Yes, in credits | No |
| Contract | 6 months, then a 12 month renewal | None. Paid once |
| You stop paying | Leads stop | Nothing to stop. The site is 100% yours and stays live |
| Long-term asset | No | Yes |
hipages figures are from its membership page, checked October 2026. Higher hipages packages cost up to $649 plus GST a month.
When hipages is the better choice
hipages is the better choice when you are brand new and need work this month, when you can reply to leads within minutes, when your jobs are big enough that a lead cost is a small part of the profit, and when you win a good share of the quotes you send.
It also helps when you have no reviews yet. Every job won is a chance at a review, on hipages and on Google. A commenter on r/australia in October 2022 described two brothers who built "a very successful business by using Hipages until they could no longer keep up with the workload". That is the platform working well. We go through the trade-offs in is hipages worth it?.
When your own website is the better choice
Your own website is the better choice when you are established, want better jobs at better prices, work in a crowded trade where shared leads become a race to the bottom, or are tired of paying for leads you do not win. After the once-off price it costs $0 a month, whether you get five enquiries or fifty.
It is also the better choice for trust. Homeowners look tradies up before they call, and a site with your services, suburbs, photos, reviews and licence details answers their questions before you have spoken. A tradie in an August 2026 r/tradies thread said a website makes it "easier to justify your quotes too when the other guys just have a mobile number on their ute."
See what a full Build looks like for your trade on websites for painters, websites for plumbers or websites for builders, or the live Maxson Painting Build.
How to move from hipages to your own enquiries
Do it gradually. Keep hipages running while you set up your Google Business Profile, ask every customer for a Google review, and get a website with service and suburb pages. Track where each job comes from. When enough work comes in directly, drop to a smaller hipages package before the renewal date.
A simple order to follow:
- Month 1. Claim your Google Business Profile, hide your home address, list every service, and start asking every customer for a review.
- Month 2. Get your website live with a page for each service and suburb, linked from your profile.
- Months 3 to 6. Track every new job's source. Compare your hipages cost per job won with what comes in directly.
- Before renewal. Decide whether to keep, downsize or drop your package. hipages says it will tell you before your plan renews.
For other ways to get work while you build, see hipages alternatives for Australian tradies and Airtasker vs hipages for tradies.
Frequently asked questions
Is hipages worth it for tradies?
It does send work, especially when you are starting out. The catch is that you pay for every lead, the same lead goes to other tradies, and the enquiry belongs to the platform rather than to you. It works as a short-term filler. Your own website brings in enquiries that come to you alone.
Can I use hipages and my own website at the same time?
Yes, and plenty of tradies do. The usual pattern is to keep hipages running while the website builds up, then cut back platform spend once enough work comes in directly. That way there is no gap in jobs while you move across to owning your own enquiries.
How does the cost compare over a year?
hipages Starter costs $1,668 plus GST a year, and leads are shared. With Ampliia it is $3,000 once-off, then $0 a month, so the second year costs nothing. At the end of a year on hipages you own nothing. The website and its pages are still there.
Does hipages take a percentage of my jobs?
No. hipages says it takes no commission on jobs. You pay through your monthly subscription and the credits you spend accepting leads. That means you pay to see a lead whether or not you win it, but nothing extra when you do win the job.
Will a website get me as many leads as hipages?
Nobody can promise a number, and a new website takes time to build up. hipages leads start straight away. A website with a page for every service and suburb, linked to your Google Business Profile, is structured to improve local search visibility over time, and every enquiry it brings is yours alone.
Sources
- hipages membership costs: packages, the three business cap, the 6 and 12 month terms, renewal notice and no commission, checked October 2026.
- hipages job leads and credits policy: how credit amounts are set.
- 20 Minute Marketing: Is HiPages Worth It for Tradies in 2026?, May 2026: the $25 to $80 per lead estimate and win rates.
- Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking: relevance, distance and prominence, and no paid local ranking.
- r/AusRenovation, "Hipages vs. Airtasker vs. Other Listings", August 2025: using platforms to get established.
- r/australia, "do any tradies use hipages to find work?", October 2022: the two brothers.
- r/tradies, "Are websites worth it for tradies", August 2026: the mobile number on the ute.
Related reading
- Lead cost calculator for tradies
- hipages cost for tradies in 2026
- Is hipages worth it? A tradie's honest answer
- hipages alternatives for Australian tradies
- Airtasker vs hipages for tradies
- Lead generation for tradies: what actually works
- What a tradie website costs in Australia
- See Builds we have done
What Ampliia charges
$3,000 once-off, then $0 a month. The $1,000 Deposit starts the Build. You see the finished 30+ page site within 72 hours (3 business days) of the Deposit and your details, and the $2,000 Balance is only due on Approval, when it goes live. Hosting is included at $0 a month, and you own the site outright: code files, domain, copy and brand assets.
Based in Geelong, Victoria. Built 30+ websites for Australian tradies, including painters, electricians, fencers, concreters and auto businesses.
About Edris →Ready for a proper tradie website?
$3,000 once-off, then $0 a month. $1,000 Deposit starts the Build. 30+ pages, service and suburb pages, quote form on every page. Full preview in 72 hours (3 business days).
15-min call first · Preview 72 hrs after deposit · $0/month