Hipages vs Airtasker for tradies: how the costs and the leads compare.

By Will O’Byrne·Last updated 25 October 2026

THE SHORT ANSWER

Hipages vs Airtasker comes down to when you pay. As of October 2026, hipages charges A$139 to A$649 a month + GST plus credits for each lead, shared with up to 3 businesses, on a 6-month then 12-month term. Airtasker is free to quote on and takes a 12.5% to 20% service fee (excluding GST) only on tasks you are assigned.

Since Oneflare closed on 30 June 2026 and started redirecting to Airtasker, hipages and Airtasker are the two big marketplaces left for Australian tradies, with ServiceSeeking behind them. They solve the same problem, getting a stranger who needs a job done in front of you, but they charge in opposite ways.

hipages charges you to compete: a monthly plan and credits to accept leads, whether or not you win the job. Airtasker charges you when you win: making offers is free, and a service fee comes out of the task price once you are assigned. Which one costs less depends on your win rate and your average job size, so the useful comparison is cost per won job, not the headline price. You can work out the hipages side with the hipages cost calculator.

SIDE BY SIDE

Hipages vs Airtasker, side by side (as of October 2026)

Compared on	Hipages	Airtasker
How you pay	Monthly plan: Starter $139, Advanced $249, Premium $449, Platinum $649 + GST a month.	Free to make offers. A service fee comes out of the task price when you are assigned.
Cost per lead or job	Credits per lead, set by hipages by trade, suburb, job size and demand. No dollar price published.	Service fee of 20% down to 12.5% of the task price, excluding GST, depending on your Tasker tier.
What the customer pays	Nothing: posting a job is free for the homeowner.	A connection fee of A$9.95 to A$59.95 including GST, by task price (waived for Airtasker members).
How many businesses compete	Each lead is capped at 3 businesses, then a waitlist.	No limit on the number of offers a customer can receive on a task.
Contract	6-month introductory term, then 12-month renewals. An early termination fee can apply outside the 7-day cooling-off.	No subscription for Taskers. You pay the fee per assigned task.
Commission on the job	None: hipages takes no cut of the job itself.	Yes: the service fee is a percentage of the task price.
Best for	Licensed trades doing larger jobs, where a fixed monthly cost beats a percentage of a big invoice.	Smaller, quick jobs and testing demand with no monthly commitment.

Where hipages is the better fit

hipages is built around home improvement and licensed trades. Because it takes no commission, the bigger your average job, the smaller the fee looks as a share of it. A builder or electrician winning several A$3,000 jobs a month can end up paying far less through hipages than a percentage-based fee would cost.

The cap of 3 businesses per lead also matters. On Airtasker a customer can collect as many offers as they like. On hipages you are one of three at most, which gives a good operator a fair shot at the job.

Where Airtasker is the better fit

Airtasker suits smaller, fast jobs: handyman work, assembly, minor repairs, removals, one-off cleans. You pay nothing to quote and nothing if you lose, so a slow month costs you time rather than a subscription. There is no 6-month or 12-month term to sit through if it does not work.

The trade-off is the percentage. At the top fee rate of 20%, a A$1,000 job costs A$200 in fees before GST. That is fine on a quick job and painful on a big one, and with no cap on offers you can be competing with many other businesses on price.

A worked example (illustrative)

Take a tradie on the hipages Advanced plan at A$249 + GST a month who accepts 7 leads and wins 1 in 4 of them. That is about 1.75 jobs a month, or roughly A$142 in hipages fees per won job. On Airtasker, the same A$142 is the fee on a job of about A$710 at the top 20% rate, or about A$1,140 at the lowest 12.5% rate.

So, roughly: below those job sizes Airtasker costs less per job; above them hipages does. Your own win rate and credit prices will move the line, which is why the numbers here are illustrative. Put yours into the hipages cost calculator.

What both have in common

Both are marketplaces. The customer relationship starts on the platform, your reviews live on your platform profile, and when you stop paying, or the platform changes its rules, the flow of work changes with it. Oneflare users found that out in 2026.

That does not make either one a bad choice. It means neither should be the only way customers find you. The businesses that grow steadily usually add channels they own: a Google Business Profile, Local SEO and Google Ads in their own name, so a share of the work arrives with no platform in between. More on that in can you rely on hipages leads?

THE VERDICT

Pick hipages if your jobs are large, you are licensed and you will quote quickly on every lead you accept, because a fixed monthly cost beats a percentage on big invoices. Pick Airtasker for small, quick jobs or to test demand with no contract. Whichever you choose, build at least one channel you own alongside it.

Sources & method

Fees and terms are quoted as each platform publishes them, checked October 2026. The worked example uses the published Advanced plan price with illustrative lead, win-rate and job figures. Scalepoint sells Google Ads and Local SEO, so we compete with both platforms for a tradie’s marketing budget.

hipages membership costs: plan prices + GST, credits, the 6-month then 12-month term and the cap of 3 businesses per lead (checked Oct 2026)
hipages job leads and credits policy: how credits per lead are set (checked Oct 2026)
hipages tradie terms, 27 Nov 2025: cooling-off period and early termination fee (checked Oct 2026)
Airtasker: What are Tasker tiers?: service fee 20% to 12.5% excluding GST, four tiers (checked Oct 2026)
Airtasker: What is the Connection Fee?: customer connection fee A$9.95 to A$59.95 including GST (checked Oct 2026)
Oneflare has retired (Airtasker support): closure on 30 June 2026, redirect to Airtasker and no limit on offers per task (checked Oct 2026)

Reviewed and updated 25 October 2026 by Will O’Byrne.

Ready when you are

Want leads you actually own?

No call required. Tell us your trade and your suburbs. We send back a written audit within 3 business days.

Get my free audit See pricing

FAQ

Common questions

Is hipages or Airtasker better for tradies?+

It depends on job size. hipages charges a monthly plan plus credits and takes no commission, so it tends to suit licensed trades doing larger jobs. Airtasker is free to quote on and takes a 12.5% to 20% service fee (excluding GST) only on jobs you are assigned, so it tends to suit smaller, quick jobs.

How much does Airtasker charge tradies?+

Airtasker says Taskers pay a service fee on each task they are assigned, from 20% down to 12.5% of the task price excluding GST, depending on their tier (Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum). Making offers is free and you pay nothing on tasks you do not win.

How much does hipages cost compared with Airtasker?+

As of October 2026, hipages plans cost A$139 to A$649 a month + GST, plus credits per lead, on a 6-month term that renews for 12 months. Airtasker has no subscription for Taskers. Which costs less per job depends on your win rate and average job size: use the hipages cost calculator to work out your side.

What happened to Oneflare?+

Oneflare closed on 30 June 2026. Its owner, Airtasker, retired the brand to focus on Airtasker, and the Oneflare website and app now redirect to Airtasker.

Do I need hipages or Airtasker if I run Google Ads?+

Not necessarily. Some tradies keep a platform to fill quiet weeks while their own Google Ads and Local SEO build up, then rely on it less as exclusive enquiries grow. The useful test is cost per booked job on each channel, measured side by side.