The Yellow Pages alternative: leads that come straight to you.
The best Yellow Pages alternative for most tradies is a set of channels they own: a free Google Business Profile, Google Ads for exclusive enquiries now, and Local SEO for enquiries with no per-lead fee later. Keep the free Yellow Pages listing as a citation. Paid book ads run on a 12-month minimum term that renews automatically.
Yellow Pages is still running in Australia. It is published by Thryv Australia, the new name for Sensis since Thryv bought it in 2021, and it comes in two parts: an online directory at yellow.com.au with a free listing, and the printed Yellow Pages book, which still has 2026/2027 close dates.
Unlike Hipages or Airtasker, Yellow Pages is a directory, not a job marketplace: customers find your listing and contact you, rather than you quoting against other businesses on the same job. That makes it a closer cousin of your own channels than a lead platform. This page sets out, fairly, what Yellow Pages costs, where it still earns its place, and where the same money works harder on channels you own.
Yellow Pages vs owning your own channels
Is Yellow Pages still worth it for tradies?
The free listing is worth having. It costs nothing, it is one more place your business name, address and phone number appear consistently, and those consistent citations help Google trust your business for local searches. Your Local SEO should include it alongside True Local, Hotfrog and the other directories.
Paid Yellow Pages advertising is a harder call. Yellow Pages says 1 in 5 Australians use the book each year (its own figure, from a 2024 usage survey it cites). If your customers skew older or your area is one where the book still lands on doorsteps, a small print ad may still pay. For most tradies, though, the searches that turn into jobs happen on Google, and that is where the budget should go first.
How Yellow Pages charges
Online, the Free Ad is A$0 a month and covers your business details, contact details and opening hours. Thryv does not publish prices for paid online advertising: you get in touch and receive a quote. Paid online options include extra postcode targeting so your listing shows in more areas.
The book has published starting prices: line entries from A$2 a month, in-column ads from A$8, display ads from A$46 and awareness ads (front cover banner or back page) from A$53. Yellow Pages notes that prices vary by business location and industry. Book ads carry a 12-month minimum period, renew automatically every 12 months at the latest price until you cancel, and attract cancellation fees if you cancel inside the minimum period. Read the Thryv Australia terms before you sign.
Yellow Pages alternatives compared
There are two kinds of Yellow Pages alternative: another directory or lead platform, or a channel you own that sends enquiries straight to you.
- Google Business Profile: free, and the listing that puts you in the map pack for "[trade] near me" searches. The closest like-for-like replacement for a directory listing. See the Google Business Profile checklist.
- Google Ads: you pay per click for exclusive enquiries from people searching for your trade in your suburbs, usually live within days.
- Local SEO: suburb and service pages that earn enquiries with no per-lead or per-click fee once they rank. Slower to build, cheapest over time.
- Hipages and ServiceSeeking: lead platforms where the same job goes to several businesses. Fast, but shared. See the Hipages alternatives.
- Airtasker: customers post a task and businesses make offers, with a service fee on assigned tasks. Compared in Hipages vs Airtasker.
- Other free directories (True Local, Hotfrog, Yelp, StartLocal): worth claiming for citations, rarely a main lead source.
Owning the channel instead
A directory listing, free or paid, sits on someone else’s site and depends on customers going there to look. Your own Google Business Profile, Google Ads account and website sit where the search happens, and the reviews, rankings and data stay yours whatever a directory does next. The Oneflare closure in 2026 showed what happens when a channel you rely on is not yours.
- A Google Business Profile with steady reviews, so you show in the map pack.
- Google Ads in your name, targeting your suburbs and your highest-value jobs.
- Call and form tracking, so you can see which spend produced which booked job and cut the rest.
Keep the free Yellow Pages listing: it is a useful citation and costs nothing. Think hard before signing a 12-month print or paid online contract. For most tradies the same money does more on a Google Business Profile, Google Ads and Local SEO, which reach customers where they search, run month to month and stay yours.
Sources & method
Yellow Pages prices, terms and claims are quoted as Thryv Australia publishes them, checked November 2026. Thryv does not publish paid online prices, so we do not quote any. Scalepoint sells Google Ads and Local SEO, so we compete with Yellow Pages for a tradie’s marketing budget.
- Yellow Pages Book: plans and pricing: book prices from A$2 to A$53 a month, 12-month minimum period, automatic renewal, cancellation fees, free call tracking, the 1 in 5 usage claim (checked Nov 2026)
- Yellow Pages Online: plans and pricing: Free Ad at A$0 a month, paid online ads by quote, postcode targeting, quote requests on paid ads go only to you (checked Nov 2026)
- Thryv Australia FAQs: one free listing per business and address, free listings are not printed in the book (checked Nov 2026)
- Yellow Pages and White Pages book close dates: 2026/2027 book close dates published (checked Nov 2026)
- Sensis is now Thryv Australia: Thryv bought Sensis in March 2021 and rebranded it Thryv Australia on 1 September 2021 (checked Nov 2026)
Reviewed and updated 1 November 2026 by Will O’Byrne.
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Common questions
Is Yellow Pages still around in Australia?+
Yes. Yellow Pages is published by Thryv Australia, formerly Sensis, which Thryv bought in 2021. It runs the yellow.com.au online directory, including a free listing, and still prints the Yellow Pages book, with book close dates published for 2026/2027.
Is a free Yellow Pages listing worth it?+
Yes, for most tradies. It costs nothing and gives you one more consistent citation of your business name, address and phone number, which supports Local SEO. Thryv allows one free listing per business and address, and a free online listing does not put you in the printed book.
How much does Yellow Pages advertising cost?+
The online Free Ad is A$0. Paid online advertising is quoted on request. In the book, line entries start from A$2 a month, in-column ads from A$8, display ads from A$46 and awareness ads from A$53, varying by location and industry, on a 12-month minimum term that renews automatically.
What is the best alternative to Yellow Pages for tradies?+
A free Google Business Profile first, then Google Ads for exclusive enquiries straight away and Local SEO for enquiries with no per-lead fee once you rank. Together they put you where customers search for a tradie today, and you own all three.
How much does it cost to replace Yellow Pages with your own channels?+
At Scalepoint, Google Ads management is A$990/month plus ad spend and SEO starts from A$890/month (ex GST). Ad spend goes straight to Google with no mark-up, plans run month to month, and you can cancel with 14 days notice.
Keep reading
The full ownership argument
Learn more →The free channel to set up first
Learn more →Map-pack leads and citations
Learn more →Exclusive leads, fast
Learn more →Lead platforms compared
Learn more →What happens when a channel closes
Learn more →The channels to build, in order
Learn more →