hipages alternatives for Australian tradies (2026): what each one really costs

Why tradies are looking for a hipages alternative right now

Two things changed in 2026. Oneflare — the second-biggest job board — was retired into Airtasker on 30 June 2026, so anyone who relied on it is choosing again. And hipages' pricing model, a monthly subscription plus credits per accepted lead with a six-month intro that rolls into a twelve-month auto-renew, is the model the ACCC forced changes to in 2023 and the one tradies complain about most: you pay for the plan, then pay again for each lead, and the same lead goes to other tradies.

This guide lays the options side by side with the price each platform or its reviewers publish, dated, so you can check them yourself. Where a figure is third-party-reported rather than on the platform's own page, we say so.

The comparison

All prices in Australian dollars. Subscription prices exclude GST unless stated. Lead-price ranges are what reviewers and members report, not a guarantee.

What a lead actually costs when you run your own ads

Australian agencies publish wide ranges because the trade and the city matter more than the platform. For plumbers, well-managed Google Search campaigns are reported at A$30–80 per lead in the suburbs and A$90–140 for emergency work in Sydney and Melbourne; electricians A$80–200 per lead with emergency clicks the dearest in home services at A$15–35 each; cleaners A$35–65. Meta lead-form campaigns for tradies are reported at A$25–85 per lead depending on the city.

Set that against hipages: a Premium plan at A$449 a month plus, say, ten accepted leads at A$50 is about A$950 for ten shared leads. The same A$950 in your own Google account at a A$60 cost per lead is fifteen or sixteen exclusive enquiries under your own name — and the account, the reviews and the search history stay yours if you stop.

Where hipages is genuinely better

Honesty cuts both ways. If you are brand new with no Google reviews, no website and no photos, hipages gives you a stream of requests on day one that your own ads will not until the account has some history. It is also the right choice if you only want a few jobs a month and do not want to think about marketing at all. The problems start once you have a reputation worth owning: at that point every shared lead is money spent building hipages' brand instead of yours.

What to check before you switch

Three questions settle it for most tradies:

• Who owns the ad account and the website if you leave? With GetFindable, you do — the Google and Meta accounts are opened in your business's name and stay with you.
• Is the lead exclusive, or is the homeowner comparing you with three others in the same hour?
• Is there a contract? hipages rolls into twelve months; GetFindable is monthly rolling.