This page compares what a lead costs in security guard on Yelp, Angi, Google Ads and Top Organic Leads (TOL). Costs are shown as ranges, never a single number, because the figures come from vendor blogs and agencies rather than from the platforms themselves. Where we found no sourced number, the table says so. We do not fill gaps with estimates.
What a lead costs in security guard
Your buyers are mostly property managers, business owners and event organizers, and you want guard and patrol contracts. The table shows the sourced range for each platform, whether the lead is exclusive to you or shared with other companies, and where the figure came from. Every figure is a vendor claim and the year is not stated by the source.
| Platform | Cost per lead (range) | Exclusive or shared? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yelp | $30 to $150+ (effective cost per lead from click spend; not a per-lead product) | Not confirmed | Vendor claim, year not stated |
| Angi | No sourced figure | Shared (standard Angi leads go to several pros) | None found |
| Thumbtack | $20 to $100+ (a second vendor claim says $40 to $120+ for security services including systems) | Often shared, per the source | Vendor claim (7ten.marketing), year not stated |
| Google Ads (Local Services Ads, if eligible) | $40 to $90+ | Exclusive | Vendor claim (impeladv.com, attribution uncertain), year not stated |
| Google Ads (Search) | $75 to $150+ (calculated from a $8 to $32+ cost per click and a 5 to 10% conversion rate) | Exclusive (your own site) | Vendor claim (adturbo.ai, derived estimate), year not stated |
| Top Organic Leads | $40 to $150+, the same range as the exclusive-lead benchmark (Google LSA and Search combined) | Exclusive | Owner benchmark rule |
Guard services may not be an eligible Local Services Ads category everywhere, so the LSA row applies only where Google allows it. Guard contracts are large and recurring, which is why the number of leads matters less than whether each one is a real buyer.
TOL is shown in the same range as the exclusive-lead benchmark for this industry. That keeps the comparison honest: exclusive to exclusive. Angi standard leads are sold to several pros (3 to 4, per the vendor sources), so they are shared leads. Comparing a shared Angi lead to an exclusive lead is not apples to apples, because a shared lead means you race other companies for the same job.
Why exclusive leads cost more than shared leads
A shared lead is sold to several companies at once, so each one pays a smaller price and each one has a smaller chance of winning the work. An exclusive lead is sent to one company only, so the price is higher and the chance of closing is better, because you are not racing three or four competitors who are all calling the same person within minutes. One vendor source reports Angi exclusive leads at 2.5x to 3.5x the shared price. The cheapest lead on paper is not always the cheapest lead per job won.
Google Ads cost per lead vs TOL cost per lead
Google Ads reports a cost per conversion. Google counts every call, form and SMS as a conversion, including spam, wrong numbers, vendors selling something and existing customers calling about a job already underway. That makes the number Google shows look better than what a business owner experiences. TOL verifies every lead before it is billed.
Here is an illustration of the verification gap, not a Google Ads measurement. In one TOL client's Despora.ai dashboard, 74 calls, forms and SMS produced 24 qualified leads, about 32%. The formula is:
Cost per qualified lead = reported cost per lead x (all contacts / qualified leads)
At 74 contacts and 24 qualified leads, that is about 3.1x the reported figure. If a dashboard says a lead cost a given amount, the real cost of a qualified lead in a case like this one would be roughly three times that. Your own ratio will differ, and the only way to know it is to verify each contact.
How Despora.ai verifies, values and flags each lead
Despora.ai is the lead platform TOL uses. Its AI monitors, qualifies and values each lead, flagging spam, vendors, wrong numbers and repeat callers, so you are not billed for them. You can always review a lead and dispute it if the AI makes a mistake. The AI is usually right, but the final say stays with you. You pay only for the qualified leads you approve.
A Despora.ai client dashboard, October 18 to 30, 2026. Client names and contact details are redacted. 74 total leads, 24 approved.
Cost per lead over time
No dated series was found for this industry. The research found no year-by-year cost-per-lead data, and the figures above do not carry a publication year, so we do not draw a trend line. A chart of one or two undated points would mislead you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Local Services Ads available for security guard companies?
The research could not confirm it. The $40 to $90+ figure applies only where the category is eligible, so check Google for your region.
Why does the Google Search range look higher than Thumbtack?
Search leads are exclusive to your site, and the figure is derived from cost per click and conversion rate. Thumbtack leads are often shared with competitors.
Is there a sourced Angi price for security guards?
No. We did not find one, so the table says so.
What does Top Organic Leads cost?
You pay only for qualified leads you approve. TOL also backs the work with a 45-day performance guarantee.
Sources
All figures below are vendor claims. None states a publication year, and the direct page URLs could not be resolved, so treat them as unverified until checked against the original pages.
- 7ten.marketing (Thumbtack $20 to $100+), vendor claim, year not stated, direct URL not resolved.
- Unnamed vendor claim (Thumbtack security services $40 to $120+; Yelp effective cost per lead $30 to $150+), year not stated.
- impeladv.com (Google LSA $40 to $90+, attribution uncertain), vendor claim, year not stated.
- adturbo.ai (Google Search $75 to $150+, a derived estimate from cost per click and conversion rate), vendor claim, year not stated.
Next steps
Read how we work with this industry on the Security Guard lead generation page, or see how the Pay-Per-Lead SEO model works: you pay only for qualified leads you approve.
