Research review and original analysis
What Research Shows About Contractor Prices and Quote Forms
A source-checked review of the published surveys and website research on contractor pricing and quote forms, with the dates, populations and denominators kept intact. It’s written for reporters, trade writers, agencies and contractor businesses who want to cite these numbers accurately or decide what to explain before someone asks for a quote.
The short answer: Homeowners in trade surveys say clear pricing makes them more likely to call. Fewer contractors say they actually show prices. And many contractor sites run at least one long quote form. But no source reviewed here measured whether prices or shorter forms produce more calls or booked jobs. The most useful move is to match the price information to the job: a known diagnostic fee for a repair visit, a range with stated assumptions for a replacement, and a clear path to the final written quote.
- 70% of surveyed homeowners said they were more likely to call an HVAC company that is transparent on pricing.
- 31% of surveyed HVAC contractors said they feature pricing on their websites, up from 20% the year before.
- 124 of 318 contractor brands with a captured form (39.0%) had a longest form with 11 or more visible fields.
Contractor pricing and quote-form findings at a glance
Every figure below comes from a named publisher. Each row keeps its own year, trade and population. Don’t add these rows together or average them: they come from different surveys and different methods, and none of them studied the same businesses.
| Finding | Value | Population and denominator | What was measured | Source and date | Limitation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC homeowners more likely to call a company transparent on pricing (2024) | 70% | 400 homeowners, 2024. Geography not reported | Stated likelihood to call | ACHR News, published Dec. 10, 2024. Fieldwork date not reported | Preference, not observed calls or purchases. Sampling method not reported | Supported |
| Same homeowner question, prior year (2023) | 71% | 400 homeowners, 2023. Separate sample | Stated likelihood to call | ACHR News, Dec. 10, 2024 chart | A different group of people each year, so this is not a change in the same households | Supported |
| HVAC contractors who say they feature pricing on their websites (2024) | 31% | 120 HVAC contractors, 2024 | Contractor self-report | ACHR News, Dec. 10, 2024 | Not a website audit. Geography and sampling not reported | Supported |
| Same contractor question, prior year (2023) | 20% | 104 HVAC contractors, 2023 | Contractor self-report | ACHR News, Dec. 10, 2024 chart | 20% to 31% is 11 percentage points. The article’s “up 11%” wording is imprecise | Supported |
| Brands whose longest captured form has 11 or more visible fields, three trades combined | 39.0% | 124 of 318 brands with a captured form (380 inspected). U.S. and Canada | Visible user-facing fields on each brand’s longest captured form | Fervor Studio, captured May 10 to 22, 2026. Publication date not stated | Not 39% of all 380 brands. Does not show required fields, shortest contact path or conversions | Qualified |
| Roofing brands, longest form 11 or more fields | 49.5% | 55 of 111 roofing brands with a captured form (130 inspected) | Same longest-form count | Fervor Studio, May 10 to 22, 2026 | No completion or conversion outcome measured | Supported |
| Remodeling brands, longest form 11 or more fields | 35.8% | 43 of 120 remodeling brands with a captured form (146 inspected) | Same longest-form count | Fervor Studio, May 10 to 22, 2026 | No completion or conversion outcome measured | Supported |
| HVAC brands, longest form 11 or more fields | 29.9% | 26 of 87 HVAC brands with a captured form (104 inspected) | Same longest-form count | Fervor Studio, May 10 to 22, 2026 | No completion or conversion outcome measured | Supported |
| Roofing homeowners more likely to call a roofer with pricing on its website | 65% (prior years 78% and 66%) | Nationwide U.S. homeowners or roofing decision influencers. Sample size not reported | Stated likelihood to call | Roofing Contractor, May 2026 issue. Study completed Oct. 2025 | Article frames it as 2026, but fieldwork was in 2025. $10 gift card incentive. Denominator not reported | Qualified |
| Roofing contractors’ self-reported website pricing | 37% starting prices or ranges; 30% specific-service pricing; 33% none | U.S. roofing contractors. Sample size not reported | Contractor self-report | Roofing Contractor, May 2026 issue, 2025 report | Not a website audit. Counts and fieldwork details not reported | Qualified |
On a small screen, swipe the table sideways to see every column. A CSV copy of this table is available in the methods section.
What HVAC and roofing pricing surveys actually measured
Two trade publications asked homeowners and contractors about online pricing. Both asked homeowners how they’d feel. Both asked contractors what they do. Neither one checked contractor websites directly, and neither tracked whether a price on a page led to a phone call.
The HVAC survey: preference on one side, self-report on the other
In an article published December 10, 2024, ACHR News reported two sets of answers.
- Homeowners: 70% of the 400 homeowners surveyed in 2024 said they were more likely to call an HVAC company that is transparent on pricing. Put plainly, about 7 in 10 respondents said open pricing would nudge them toward calling. The embedded chart shows 29% said it made no difference and 2% said it made them less likely. Those rounded figures add to 101%, which is normal rounding, not an error. In 2023, a separate group of 400 homeowners answered 71%.
- Contractors: 31% of the 120 HVAC contractors surveyed in 2024 said they feature pricing on their websites. That’s roughly 3 in 10. In 2023, 20% of 104 contractors said the same.
The move from 20% to 31% is an 11 percentage point increase. The article describes it as “up 11%,” which most readers would take as a relative change. Measured as a relative change, going from 20 to 31 is a 55% increase. Same data, very different sounding headline, which is why the unit matters when you quote it.
What the accessible article does not report: fieldwork dates, geography, how respondents were recruited, response rates or full question wording. Treat the figures as what this survey’s participants said, not as a national estimate.
Why the 71% versus 20% comparison needs year labels
You’ll often see “71% of homeowners want pricing, but only 20% of contractors show it.” Both numbers are real. Both are from 2023. The 2024 numbers in the same article are 70% and 31%. Quoting the older pair without a year makes the gap look current when the publisher’s own newer figure is 11 points higher on the contractor side.
There’s a second problem. The two numbers answer different questions from different people:
- The homeowner figure is a stated preference. People said what would make them more likely to call. That’s useful, but it isn’t a count of calls made.
- The contractor figure is a self-report. Contractors said whether they feature pricing. Nobody in this survey looked at their websites to confirm what “pricing” meant to each respondent. A coupon, a financing offer or a full price list could all prompt a yes.
A website audit is a different tool. It counts what’s actually visible on pages using a stated rule. So “70% want it, 31% do it” is not a measured shortfall in the market. It’s two separate survey answers placed side by side. That comparison can open a conversation. It can’t settle one.
The roofing survey: newer, but with fewer published details
The May 2026 issue of Roofing Contractor reports that 65% of homeowner respondents said they were more likely to call a roofer with pricing available on its website, and about 34% said pricing made no difference. The publication’s earlier figures were 78% the prior year and 66% two years before. The drop from 78% to 65% is 13 percentage points.
Read the date carefully. The article frames the results as 2026, but its editor’s note says the underlying 2025 Roofing Report and Homeowner study was completed in October 2025, with the survey circulated the previous summer. The article describes a nationwide U.S. sample with each region at roughly 25%, respondents who owned a home or influenced roofing decisions, a $10 gift card for participants and Owens Corning as research partner. It doesn’t publish the sample size, so a 13-point swing could reflect a real shift, a different mix of respondents or both. We can’t tell from the accessible page.
On the contractor side, about 37% of roofing contractors said they list starting prices or ranges, 30% said they list pricing for specific services and 33% said they list none. Again, that’s what contractors reported, not what an audit found. The same article says 66% of homeowners would gather three roofing quotes, which suggests many people expect to compare written quotes no matter what a website shows.
Keep the HVAC and roofing figures apart. They come from different publishers, trades, years and question wording. Averaging 70% and 65% into one “homeowner” number would describe no one.
What 380 contractor websites show about quote-form length
Fervor Studio inspected 380 contractor brands across roofing (130), remodeling (146) and HVAC (104) in the United States and Canada, capturing pages from May 10 to May 22, 2026. For each brand, it found the longest form it could capture and counted the boxes a visitor can see and fill in. Hidden fields didn’t count.
The result: 124 of 318 brands with a captured form had a longest form with 11 or more visible fields. That’s 39.0%. Roofing stood out, with about half its captured brands over that line. HVAC was lowest, at roughly 3 in 10.
| Trade | Brands inspected | Brands with a captured form | Longest form 11+ fields | Share of captured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roofing | 130 | 111 | 55 | 49.5% |
| Remodeling | 146 | 120 | 43 | 35.8% |
| HVAC | 104 | 87 | 26 | 29.9% |
| All three | 380 | 318 | 124 | 39.0% |
The denominator is 318, not 380
The source’s headline language says 39% “of the 380 contractor websites” ran a form with 11 or more boxes, then immediately says “124 brands of 318.” Those two statements don’t match. The trade table resolves it: each trade’s denominator is “brands with a captured form,” and those add to 318. If you divided 124 by all 380 inspected brands, you’d get 32.6%, not 39%.
So the accurate sentence is: 39.0% of the 318 brands with a captured form had a longest captured form with 11 or more visible fields. The other 62 inspected brands are simply outside that percentage. This page doesn’t know why their forms weren’t captured, so it makes no claim about them.
Why a longest-form count cannot show the minimum a visitor must enter
Fervor’s rule is clear and repeatable, and it answers one question well: how complex does the heaviest form on a site get? It cannot answer a different question that matters more to a homeowner: what’s the least I have to do to get a callback?
Here’s a plainly hypothetical roofing site to show why. It has a 14-field “full replacement estimate” form on one page, a 3-field “request a callback” box in the header and a tap-to-call phone number. The longest-form method counts that site as 14. But a visitor could reach the company with three fields or one tap.
Three more gaps follow from the method:
- Visible is not required. The count includes boxes a visitor can see and fill in. Some may be optional. The source doesn’t report which fields were mandatory.
- One form per brand. Shorter forms elsewhere on the same site aren’t reflected in the figure.
- No outcomes. Nothing here measures how many people started, abandoned or finished a form, or what happened to the leads.
None of this makes the research weak. It makes it specific. A long questionnaire can be the right call for a kitchen remodel consultation, where the contractor needs room counts, finish choices and timing before a useful meeting. A short callback request suits a leaking water heater. The longest-form figure tells you how often heavy forms exist. It doesn’t tell you whether they’re the only door in.
Should contractors put prices on their website?
The surveys suggest many homeowners want some price information before calling: 70% of surveyed HVAC homeowners in 2024 and 65% of roofing respondents in the 2025 study said it would make them more likely to call. Those are stated preferences. No source here measured actual call volume, booked jobs or close rates before and after a business added prices.
So the honest answer is “usually some, but not necessarily a single number.” The better question is which pricing question the visitor needs answered at that stage. A homeowner with a dripping pipe wants to know what the visit costs. A homeowner pricing a new roof wants to know the rough territory, what changes it and how the final figure gets set. Those are different answers, and one company might need both.
Other website audits look at this question from the page side. Flare Built’s October 5, 2026 audit found none of the 18 contractor websites it reviewed in four Sacramento-area counties showed a price for their own work. That’s a small, regional sample, and the publisher sells contractor websites, but its method is clearly described. Tono reports that 1,501 of 2,000 contractor homepages showed no pricing information under its rule, though the reviewed page didn’t show a capture date and its dollar-sign rule can count coupons and financing as prices. Neither is part of this page’s core evidence table.
What to explain before a homeowner requests a quote
ISF editorial framework: reasoning and recommendations, not a measured result
Our conclusion: match the price explanation to the job, not the trade
The research above shows interest in pricing and a lot of variety in quote forms. It doesn’t show which type of pricing works best. Our reasoning fills that gap with judgment, not data, and we’ve labeled it that way.
Here’s the core idea. “Pricing” on a contractor site can mean at least seven different things, and they aren’t interchangeable:
- A known service-call or diagnostic charge. A set amount for a visit, with a clear description of what it covers.
- A starting price with a defined minimum scope. “Starts at” only helps if the page says what the starting job includes.
- A project budget range with inclusions and exclusions. Useful when every job differs but most fall into a predictable band.
- The factors that push cost up or down. Size, access, materials, condition and code work, explained in plain terms.
- An interactive estimate based on disclosed inputs. Only as good as the assumptions it shows.
- A monthly financing payment. By itself, this doesn’t state a total project price.
- A final job-specific quote. Written after the inspection or specification the job actually needs.
The same company often needs several of these. A plumbing company handles drain calls and water heater replacements. A roofer fixes flashing and replaces whole roofs. So classify the job, not the business.
Fee names and credit policies vary by company. Some charge a trip fee and a separate diagnostic fee. Some roll both into one service-call charge. Some credit it toward the repair. The page should explain that business’s actual policy instead of borrowing someone else’s terminology.
| Job situation | Useful pricing information | Assumptions to state | What needs checking | Appropriate next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbing diagnosis (leak or clog with an unknown cause) | The service-call or diagnostic charge, what it covers and whether it’s credited toward the repair | Normal hours versus after-hours policy, how long the visit covers, when the charge applies if the customer declines the repair | The actual cause, access to pipes, parts needed | Short callback request or booking, then a repair price on site before work starts |
| HVAC replacement | A budget range by system type, with inclusions, exclusions and the factors that move it. Financing shown alongside the total it applies to | Equipment class, a standard installation, removal of the old unit, which items cost extra (duct changes, electrical upgrades, permits if billed separately) | System sizing, existing ductwork, electrical capacity, equipment location | In-home assessment, then a written quote. An estimate tool can help if its inputs and assumptions are shown |
| Electrical repair | The diagnostic or service-call charge, or a starting price for a clearly defined small task | What the minimum scope includes, and that panel or wiring problems found on site are priced separately | Cause of the fault, code compliance, panel capacity, permit needs | Callback or booked visit, with a price confirmed before additional work |
| Roof replacement | A project range with inclusions and exclusions, plus the factors that push cost up or down | Number of existing layers removed, underlayment and flashing included, how decking repairs are handled and priced if found | Measurements, pitch, decking condition, ventilation | Inspection, then a written quote. Separate the replacement page from small-repair pricing |
| Painting project | A starting price tied to a defined scope, or a range per room or area with what’s included | Prep level, number of coats, whether ceilings, trim and doors are included, who supplies paint | Surface condition, repairs needed, color changes, access and height | Photos or a walkthrough, then a written quote |
| Kitchen or bathroom remodel | Budget tiers or ranges with inclusions, exclusions and finish allowances explained | What an allowance covers, which selections are standard versus upgrades, whether design and permits are included | Layout changes, conditions behind walls, plumbing and electrical relocation, permits | A detailed questionnaire or consultation, design and specification, then a final quote |
Swipe sideways on a small screen to see all five columns.
Three hypothetical examples
These examples are invented to illustrate the framework. They don’t describe real businesses, and they deliberately leave out dollar amounts.
- The allowance that prevents an argument. A remodeler’s bathroom page explains that its range includes a tile allowance for standard selections, and that picking a premium tile raises the total. The homeowner who falls for handmade tile isn’t surprised later. The range did its job without promising a fixed price.
- The fee that answers the real question. A plumbing company’s drain page states its diagnostic charge, what it covers and that it’s credited if the customer approves the repair that day (if that’s the company’s actual policy). The visitor with a backed-up sink doesn’t need a remodel-style questionnaire. They need to know what showing up costs.
- The payment that isn’t a price. An HVAC page advertises a monthly payment in large type. A visitor still can’t tell the total, the term or what conditions apply. Adding the total amount, the term and a link to the financing terms turns a teaser into usable information.
The tradeoffs worth admitting
Publishing a range can anchor expectations, and some homeowners will treat the low end as a promise. Publishing nothing can send price-sensitive visitors to a competitor who explains more. A long form can screen out tire-kickers and prepare a better consultation. It can also lose the homeowner who just wanted a callback. There’s no universal answer in the evidence. What’s defensible is offering a short contact path for everyone and a detailed path for people who are ready for it, with the pricing explanation that fits the job on each page.
One claim we’ve left out on purpose: that AI assistants or search engines penalize contractors who don’t publish prices. We found no direct, applicable platform evidence for that. Clear, readable information helps people, and that’s reason enough.
What we still do not know
- Whether showing prices changes behavior. No reviewed source measured calls, booked jobs or close rates before and after a business added pricing.
- Whether self-reports match websites. No source compared what contractors said about their sites with what those same sites displayed.
- Local pricing behavior. The HVAC survey doesn’t report geography, and Fervor reports the U.S. and Canada together. Nothing here breaks results down by metro area or state.
- The best form length for any given business. Fervor counted visible fields on the longest form. It didn’t identify required fields, the shortest contact path or completion rates.
- Other trades. Plumbing, electrical and painting don’t have trade-specific survey figures in this review.
- Why the roofing figure fell from 78% to 65%. Without published sample sizes, a real shift can’t be separated from sampling differences.
Methods, limitations and source notes
What this page is. A review of published research plus original editorial analysis. InstantSalesFunnels.com did not survey homeowners or contractors, audit contractor websites or count form fields. Every statistic belongs to the publisher credited beside it. The job-situation matrix and examples are ISF’s editorial framework.
How sources were chosen. The review started from supplied source leads and kept those whose figures, dates and populations could be checked on the publisher’s own page: ACHR News, Fervor Studio and Roofing Contractor. Two competing website audits (Flare Built and Tono) were read for context and are described with their limits, but they aren’t in the core evidence table. Research was deliberately bounded to a small set of pages.
Calculation rules.
- Percentages are reported as each source published them, with the source’s own denominators where available.
- The combined Fervor share was recalculated as 124 divided by 318, rounded to one decimal place (39.0%). The alternative 124 divided by 380 (32.6%) is shown only to explain the denominator issue.
- Differences between survey years are stated in percentage points. One relative change (20% to 31% is a 55% increase) is shown only to explain the unit.
- Figures from different sources, years or populations are never added, averaged or pooled.
- Where a source doesn’t report a detail, this page says “not reported” rather than estimating it.
Review date. Sources were checked on October 25, 2026. Publishers may update their pages after that date.
Main limitations. The ACHR article doesn’t report fieldwork dates, geography or sampling. The Roofing Contractor article doesn’t report sample sizes, and its “2026” framing describes a study completed in October 2025. Fervor’s headline and table use different denominators, and its method counts visible fields on one form per brand. No source measured conversions.
Suggested citation
Orban, J. (2026, October 25). Contractor Quote & Website Pricing Research: What Research Shows About Contractor Prices and Quote Forms [Research review]. InstantSalesFunnels.com. https://instantsalesfunnels.com/contractor-quote-pricing-research/ (Underlying statistics: ACHR News, 2024; Fervor Studio, 2026; Roofing Contractor, 2026.)
When you quote a statistic, please credit the original researcher and include its year and population. A link back to this review is welcome but not required.
Frequently asked questions
Should contractors put prices on their website?
Often yes, but the useful version is rarely one fixed number. In ACHR News’s 2024 survey, 70% of 400 homeowners said they were more likely to call an HVAC company that was transparent on pricing. Roofing Contractor’s 2025 homeowner study put the matching roofing figure at 65%. Those are stated preferences, though, not measured calls or sales. They show what people say they want, not proof that prices produce more booked jobs.
The practical answer depends on the job. A known diagnostic charge is easy to publish. A roof replacement or kitchen remodel usually calls for a range, the assumptions behind it and the factors that move it. If a business chooses not to publish prices, it can still explain why and what the customer will learn at the visit. If it publishes a range, it should say what’s included and what would change it.
What counts as useful online pricing information?
Anything that helps a visitor predict the kind of money involved and what happens next. In our editorial view, useful forms include a known service-call or diagnostic charge with what it covers, a starting price tied to a defined minimum scope, a project range with inclusions and exclusions, a plain explanation of what pushes cost up or down, an estimate tool that shows its inputs and assumptions, and financing terms shown next to the total they apply to.
A dollar sign on a page isn’t automatically useful. A coupon, a financing teaser or “prices from” with no defined scope can leave a visitor no wiser. Good pricing information also says when the number becomes firm, which is usually after an inspection or a written specification. This list is ISF’s framework, not a measured finding.
How should a business explain service-call and diagnostic fees?
State the business’s actual policy in plain words: what the charge is called, the amount, what it covers and when it applies. Fee names and policies vary. One company charges a trip fee and a separate diagnostic fee. Another uses one service-call charge. Some credit the fee toward an approved repair, and some don’t. Don’t present these as universal categories that every company uses.
The details that prevent disputes are the edge cases. Does the fee change after hours or on weekends? Does it still apply if the customer declines the repair? How much time on site does it include? When is it paid? A visitor with a broken furnace doesn’t need a long essay, just a short block that answers those questions before they book.
Does an online estimate have to be a final quote?
No. An online estimate and a final quote do different jobs. An estimate helps someone understand the likely range before contact. A final quote commits to a price for a defined scope after the contractor has checked what needs checking, such as measurements, access, existing conditions or design choices.
The key is labeling. Call an estimate an estimate, show the inputs it uses and state the assumptions behind it. Then say what would change the number and how the final price gets set. A homeowner who sees “planning range based on a standard installation; final price after an in-home assessment” knows exactly where they stand. Confusion starts when an estimate looks like a promise.
How many fields should a contractor quote form ask for?
No source reviewed here establishes a best number. Fervor Studio’s May 2026 capture found that 39.0% of the 318 roofing, remodeling and HVAC brands with a captured form had a longest form with 11 or more visible fields: 49.5% in roofing, 35.8% in remodeling and 29.9% in HVAC. It didn’t measure which fields were required, how many people finished the forms or what happened to the leads.
A sensible approach is to match the form to the job. A callback request needs very little. A detailed remodel consultation can reasonably ask for more because the answers make the first meeting useful. Many businesses offer both: a short contact path for everyone and a longer questionnaire for visitors who are ready. Marking optional fields clearly also helps people see the minimum they need to enter.
Is a monthly payment enough pricing information?
Not by itself. A monthly payment depends on the amount financed, the term, the rate and approval, so it doesn’t tell a visitor the total project price. Two offers with the same monthly figure can have very different totals.
If a business promotes financing, it helps to show the payment next to the total it applies to, the term, any conditions and a link to the full terms. That way, the visitor can compare options honestly. Financing advertising can also carry disclosure requirements, so the business’s lender or financing provider is the right place to confirm what must be shown.
Does showing prices guarantee AI visibility or higher rankings?
No. None of the sources in this review measured search rankings, AI assistant answers or visibility. We also found no direct, applicable platform evidence that search engines or AI tools penalize or refuse to mention contractors who don’t publish prices. Predictions and vendor anecdotes aren’t the same thing as a platform rule.
What clear pricing information can do is help the person reading the page. A visitor who understands the fee, the range or the next step can decide faster whether to call. Plain, accessible explanations may also be easier for any system to read and summarize, but that’s a reasonable expectation, not a guarantee of placement.
How should repair and replacement jobs use different pricing explanations?
Repair work usually starts with an unknown cause, so the most useful information is what the visit costs, what it covers and how the repair price will be confirmed before work begins. Replacement work usually has a known goal but variable conditions, so a range with stated inclusions, exclusions and cost factors fits better, followed by an inspection and a written quote.
The same company often does both. A plumbing company might explain its diagnostic charge on its drain-cleaning page and a replacement range with assumptions on its water heater page. A roofer might keep small-repair pricing separate from full replacement ranges. Classifying the job, not the trade, keeps each page honest and keeps visitors from comparing a repair fee to a replacement range.