How much an HVAC company should spend on marketing in 2026

No government source we found sets a marketing budget for HVAC companies. The best HVAC-specific figure comes from a trade association survey. The 10% figure on ACCA's blog comes from a marketing agency. Government data measures something narrower. Each number answers a different question, so it helps to know which one you are looking at.

I'm Joel Keith, CEO of ASP. Budget questions come up often in my work with HVAC companies. This article lays out what each source says, who published it and what it measures. My own opinions are labeled as opinions.

How much does the average HVAC contractor spend on marketing?

The average is 6% of annual revenue, according to a recent ACCA survey. The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) partnered with Farmington Consulting Group to survey more than 1,000 HVACR contractors across the country. Farmington president TJ O'Connor presented the first findings in a December webinar, and ACCA posted them on December 10, 2025. ACCA's post says, "The average contractor spends 6% of annual revenue on marketing and advertising."

The public post does not give the survey's method details. These include survey dates, how many answered the marketing question and how marketing spend was defined. The full report is for ACCA members only.

The survey summary names top lead sources, in no ranked order. They include Google Business profiles, company websites, paid digital ads, and outbound calling and text messaging.

ACHR News, a trade publication, reported the same survey on February 2, 2026. It said ACCA data indicates HVAC contractors "should have a 10% net profit to maintain sustainable growth." It reported a national average net profit of 6% in the survey. The residential average was 5% and the commercial average was 9%. Small companies, with fewer than five trucks or vans, and mid-sized companies, with five to nine, both averaged 5%. Large companies, with 10 or more, averaged 8%.

Does spending 12% or more on marketing make an HVAC company more profitable?

The survey shows a link, not a cause. ACCA's post says, "Contractors who invest at least 12% see their net profits jump from 5% to 9%." The post does not show that spending more caused the higher profit. More profitable companies may simply have more to spend.

ACHR News went further in its wording. It wrote, "ACCA recommends that at least 12% of revenue should go toward marketing and advertising." ACCA's own December 10, 2025 post does not use the word "recommends." It reports only the link between spending and profit. The research for this article found no study showing that higher marketing spend causes higher profit for HVAC contractors.

My take is to treat 12% as a fact about which companies spend more, not as a target. A company with thin margins that jumps to 12% has no evidence it will earn the profit of the companies already there.

Is the 10% marketing budget rule from ACCA?

The 10% advice on ACCA's blog came from a marketing agency, not from ACCA's survey. Cornerstone Advertising, an ACCA Strategic Partner, wrote a December 2, 2025 post on ACCA's blog. It drew on a webinar by its founder and principal, Tracy Paul. Cornerstone serves contractors, so this is vendor advice hosted by ACCA.

The post says, "If you're looking for growth, plan to invest 10% of gross revenue in marketing." It splits that 10% into 25% for prospect and customer direct mail, 35% for digital, 20% for traditional media and brand building, and 20% for strategy and production support. It says the 10% should be "calculated on the revenue you want to achieve rather than current revenue." It also says, "These percentages vary based on market maturity and business stage."

The post covers seasons too. It says to "front-load 60-70% of marketing spend into peak 4-6 months when customer acquisition costs are lowest, not evenly across 12 months." The post gives no data to support the claim that costs are lowest in peak months.

Does the SBA recommend a marketing budget percentage?

No. The SBA figure that owners sometimes quote describes past spending, not advice. A July 9, 2019 post on SBA's blog was written by guest author Rieva Lesonsky, CEO of GrowBiz Media. It says, "There's no hard and fast answer to how much your marketing budget should be." It says many businesses use a percentage of revenue as a guide, and startups can use projected revenue.

The post cites Web Strategies, which reported that average marketing spending in 2018 was 7.9% of revenue. It gave 6.3% for B2B product companies and 6.9% for B2B services companies. That was a 2018 average across businesses, not a figure for contractors.

The research for this article did not find a 7% to 8% recommendation on sba.gov. SBA's marketing and sales business guide states no budget percentage. The 2019 post suggests you "contact your industry trade association or read industry trade publications to see if they offer any benchmarks for setting a budget."

What do IRS and Census figures show HVAC companies spend on advertising?

Government data shows a much smaller share, but it counts a narrower line. These figures cover plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors together.

IRS Statistics of Income data for tax year 2022 covers 85,508 corporation returns in that industry. They reported $227.8 billion in business receipts and deducted $1.646 billion for advertising. That works out to about 0.72% of receipts, calculated by The HVAC Standard from IRS figures. It covers corporations only, not sole proprietors or partnerships.

The 2022 Economic Census counted 112,088 firms in the same industry, with $297.6 billion in revenue in 2022. Those businesses spent $1.853 billion on advertising and promotional services. That is about 0.62% of revenue, calculated by The HVAC Standard from Census figures. The Census Bureau says these summary statistics cover firms with paid employees.

Both government figures count a narrower advertising expense line than ACCA's survey of marketing and advertising spending. They are not the same measure, so one does not cancel out the other.

Should you judge marketing by cost per lead or cost per booked job?

In my opinion, cost per booked job is the better test. A lead that never books still costs money. For how search ads and Local Services Ads charge, and one published click-cost benchmark, see our comparison of Google Ads and Local Services Ads. How fast you answer is part of that math too. Our article on speed to lead covers what the research does and does not show.

Cornerstone says spending should follow the seasons. Cornerstone's advice to put 60% to 70% of spending into the peak 4 to 6 months is one vendor's view. I would test it against your own booked jobs by month before adopting it.

How should an HVAC owner set a 2026 marketing budget?

None of these sources gives you a number that fits every company. Here is how I would use them, as my own opinion:

1. Start with your own revenue, net profit and booked jobs by lead source.
2. Compare your spending with ACCA's 6% average, knowing the survey's method is not public.
3. If you use Cornerstone's 10% growth rule, remember it is a vendor's advice and is based on target revenue.
4. Plan spending by season, and check it against when jobs book.
5. Review cost per booked job by source every month and move money toward what books.

If you want a starting point to test, ASP has a marketing budget calculator. Some owners also bring in a fractional CMO to own the plan and the reporting. Whatever tool you use, the SBA post's advice to check trade association benchmarks still holds, and ACCA's survey is the closest HVAC benchmark this research found.

For more on running the business side of an HVAC company, see the Owner's Desk.