Is hipages Worth It for Concreters? (2026 Cost Breakdown)

Executive Summary

The honest maths on hipages for a concreter

You spend credits when you accept a lead (declining is free), and up to three concreters in total can accept the same job, so you are quoting against at most two others
The number that matters is cost per booked job, not cost per lead
Concreting bites harder than most trades: you often need a site visit to quote, so every shared lead can cost you a real measure-up
It can make sense early or in a quiet patch, and stops paying once you are renting leads you could win for free
The alternative: own your concreting pipeline so the quote requests come straight to you

This is the concreter-specific version. For the full breakdown see is hipages worth it for tradies. To get found without paying per lead, see SEO for concreters, or get a free Google listing audit to see the calls you already rank for.

hipages is a lead marketplace where a concreter pays a monthly subscription that includes a credit allowance, then spends credits to accept a job a homeowner posts, declining costs nothing 6. Up to three concreters in total can accept and connect with the same customer, so you are quoting against at most two others 6. It can put work in front of you fast. The catch: accepting a lead is not winning it, you share the job with whoever else accepted, and the moment you stop paying the work stops.

Concreters feel this sharper than a lot of trades. A plumber can often price a blocked drain over the phone. A concreter usually cannot give a firm number until they have stood on the site, measured the area, checked truck and pump access, and looked at the slope and the existing surface. So accepting a hipages lead often costs you a real site visit, not a two-minute phone call, and you are doing that against the up to two other concreters who also accepted the same job.

A few numbers worth knowing:

About 75% of concrete driveway and path jobs are quoted per square metre, at an average of roughly $97/m², because area, access and slope all move the price 3.

hipages' own cost guide puts a plain, flat driveway of around 18m² at about $2,600 4.

Trade prices more broadly rose 6.2% in the year to March 2024, so the job values you are quoting keep moving 4.

The ACCC found hipages misled subscribers about automatic 12-month renewals and cancellation terms between 2018 and 2022, and made the platform give a court-enforceable undertaking to fix it, worth knowing before you lock in 2.

How hipages Works for a Concreter

Two costs stack up:

A monthly subscription, published in four tiers plus GST: Starter at $139 for 155 credits in 1 postcode, Advanced at $249 for 310 credits in 3 postcodes, Premium at $449 for 595 credits in 5 postcodes, and Platinum at $649 for 810 credits in 10 postcodes 5
Credits, spent when you accept a lead, not when you merely respond to or view it. Declining a lead costs nothing. hipages does not publish a flat dollar price per lead: its matching engine sets the credit cost by job type, size, urgency and location, and that cost can move daily, weekly or monthly 7

When a homeowner posts "concrete driveway in Penrith" or "shed slab in Gosford", lead invitations go out to matching concreters, and up to three concreters in total can accept and connect with that customer 6. Accept and you spend credits, whether or not you go on to win the job. Because a concrete quote needs a look at the site, accepting often costs you a trip out, not just a text back.

Action: Before you subscribe, ask hipages for typical lead volume and credit costs in your exact category and postcodes. Driveways in inner Sydney are not the same market as rural shed slabs.

The Real Cost Per Booked Concreting Job

Cost per lead is the wrong number. The number that matters is what each job you actually win costs you.

Say you accept four leads to win one job. That is credits spent on the three you lost, plus the one you won, before your subscription, and before the fuel and hours you burned quoting the three you lost. On a small path or a slab patch worth a few hundred dollars, that can wipe out the margin. On a decorative driveway worth several thousand, it is far easier to wear.

So the maths comes down to your job mix:

Small, low-ticket work (paths, footings, minor slab repairs): often price-shopped, and the credits spent accepting it plus a site visit eat the margin fast
Bigger decorative and exposed-aggregate driveways: exposed-aggregate work averages around $135/m² and starts from $45/m² for simpler jobs 8, so a mid-size driveway easily clears four figures, and one booked job absorbs the credits comfortably

There is a twist on the big jobs. Decorative work is judged on finish, and homeowners compare photos before they ring, so the concreter with a real gallery tends to win, not the fastest to reply to a lead. That is closer to how your own Google presence wins work than how a shared marketplace rewards speed. The high-ticket jobs that make the credits worth spending are also the ones your own site is best placed to win for free.

Action: Track your real numbers for a month. Total credits spent accepting leads, divided by jobs actually booked from them. That is your true cost per job. Count the site visits you did not win, because those cost you too.

When hipages Makes Sense for a Concreter

It is not all bad. hipages can be a reasonable tool when:

You have just gone out on your own and have no Google presence yet
You hit a quiet patch between big pours and need to fill next week
You are breaking into a new area where nobody knows your work
You chase the bigger driveway and slab jobs and skip the low-value paths where the credits and a site visit are not worth it

Used like that, a tap you turn on when you need work and off when you are booked out, it has a place. Concreting is weather-dependent too, so a rained-out fortnight can leave a hole that a few marketplace jobs help plug.

When hipages Stops Paying

It stops being worth it when:

You are paying for leads you could be winning for free off your own Google listing
You are burning site visits competing on price against up to two other concreters for the same driveway
The subscription is a fixed monthly cost whether the leads convert or not
You have built no asset of your own, so if you stop paying, you are back to nothing

That last point is the big one. Every dollar into hipages rents you a lead. The same effort into your own Google presence builds something you own, and for a concreter that means a gallery of real finishes doing the selling while you are on the tools.

The Alternative: Own Your Concreting Pipeline

When someone searches "concreter near me" or "exposed aggregate driveway Newcastle", you want to be the concreter who shows up on the map and gets the call directly, with no lead fee and nobody else sharing it.

For a concreter that comes from three things working together: a complete Google Business Profile, a steady flow of reviews, and a website with a gallery and a page for each job you do, driveways, slabs, paths, and decorative work. Concrete is judged on finish, so photos of your real pours do more selling than any per-lead race.

It also lets you show the thing that wins trust and keeps you legal: your licence. In New South Wales, residential concreting valued over $5,000 in labour and materials needs a contractor licence or qualified supervisor certificate, backed by a Certificate III in Concreting (CPC30320) or an equivalent qualification, and it is administered by Building Commission NSW through Service NSW 1. If you have read older articles that call this "NSW Fair Trading", that is the same function under its previous name. Putting your licence number on your own site is a trust signal a shared lead never gives you.

Most smart concreters run light on hipages early, then lean on their own Google presence as it grows, and turn the platform down.

Action: Build the pipeline you own. Full plan: SEO for concreters. Want it built for you? See websites and marketing for concreters.

Want Someone to Review Your Concreting Leads?

The quickest way to know whether you even need to pay for leads is to see where you already rank.

Free Google listing audit: we check whether you appear on the map for concreting searches in your suburbs, and what is costing you the free calls. PDF in 24 hours.
Free website audit: if you have a site, we check whether it turns searches into quote requests, gallery, licence, service pages and all.

No call required for the report. If you would rather talk it through, book a call and we will show you what owning your pipeline looks like instead of renting every lead.

What a concreter website costs

Core Multi-Page$1,999
core site, About, Reviews, Contact + a page per service
Max Multi-Page$2,999
everything in Core + 10 local suburb pages
Pro Multi-Page$6,498
everything in Max + 10 more suburb pages, GBP optimisation and 30 directory listings

Maintenance: optional, from $50/month.

Free strategy call →

A 20-minute call and a plan for more leads. No sales pitch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is hipages worth it for concreters?

It depends on your job mix. For bigger decorative or exposed-aggregate driveways, a booked job can absorb the credits spent accepting the lead comfortably. For small paths and slab repairs that get price-shopped, the credits plus a site visit often eat the margin, especially since up to three concreters in total can accept the same job, so you are quoting against at most two others. Work out your real cost per booked job first.

How much does hipages cost a concreter?

Expect a monthly subscription that includes a credit allowance, published in four tiers from $139 to $649 plus GST a month. Credits are spent whenever you accept a job, not when you decline it or merely view it. hipages does not publish a fixed dollar price per lead: the credit cost is set dynamically and can change daily, weekly or monthly. The cost that matters is per booked job: the credits spent across every lead you accept to win one, plus the site visits you did not convert.

Why do shared leads hurt concreters more than some trades?

Because a concrete quote usually needs a site visit. Unlike a plumber who can often price a blocked drain over the phone, a concreter has to measure the area, check truck and pump access, and look at the slope before giving a firm number. So accepting a shared hipages lead can cost you a real trip out, against the up to two other concreters who also accepted it.

Do I need a licence to take concreting work in NSW?

For residential concreting valued over $5,000 in labour and materials, yes. New South Wales requires a contractor licence or qualified supervisor certificate, backed by a Certificate III in Concreting (CPC30320) or an equivalent qualification, administered by Building Commission NSW through Service NSW. Older articles may still call this "NSW Fair Trading", the same function under its former name. Licensing thresholds and bodies differ in other states, so check your own.

Is SEO better than hipages for a concreter?

They do different jobs. hipages gives instant but paid, shared leads. Your own Google listing and website take longer to build, but the calls come straight to you, with no lead fee, and a gallery of your finishes does the selling. Since concrete is judged on the look of the finished job, that portfolio often beats being the fastest to respond.

Should a new concreter use hipages?

It can be a reasonable way to fill the diary when you have no Google presence yet, as long as you chase the bigger driveway and slab jobs and treat it as a tap you turn off once your own pipeline works. Start building your Google listing and a gallery site in parallel from day one.

How do I stop relying on hipages?

Build your own pipeline: complete your Google Business Profile, get a review after every job, and put up a website with a gallery and a page for each service and the suburbs you cover. As your own calls grow, turn the platform down. Full plan: SEO for concreters.

References:

This is the concreter-specific version. For the full tradie breakdown, see is hipages worth it for tradies.

Published by Made 4 Tradies. Built by online experts who understand tradies. Serving Sydney, the Central Coast, Newcastle, and the Hunter.

Is hipages Worth It for Concreters? (2026 Honest Review)