Last updated 16 October 2026
Window tinting leads, and the ones you can't legally fit.
Nobody in the UK sells car tinting leads at a printed price. The work comes through WhoCanFixMyCar, where drivers compare quotes from tint garages, and through Bark's vehicle tinting category, which you pay for in credits. Buy the click yourself and a car tinting search costs £0.55 to £2.07.
This guide is for tint shops and mobile tinters working on cars, with a short section further down on home and office film. Replacing the glass itself is covered in windscreen leads, and valeting and ceramic coating in car valeting leads.
The line on gov.uk tinters skip
"It's illegal to fit or sell glass (or a vehicle already fitted with glass) that breaks the rules on tinted windows."
That's gov.uk, and it puts the fitter in the frame, not only the driver. The front windscreen must let through 75% of light and the front side windows 70%. So when a lead asks for limo tint all round, part of that job is one you can't do.
Where we stand
We don't sell window tinting leads. We help you get your own.
This guide is the honest version of what buying window tinting leads costs, and who else gets them. What we do instead is build tint shops and mobile tinters a website that turns visits into calls, and run Google Ads in an account in your own name, so every lead that comes in is a customer who found you, and nobody else was sold it.
Who is searching
In the UK, "window tinting" mostly means the windows of cars.
Four plain car searches ("car window tinting", "car window tinting near me", "car tinting near me" and "car tinting") add up to about 21,500 UK searches a month. The four house and office ones ("home window tinting", "residential window tinting", "office window tinting" and "commercial window tinting") come to about 4,520. The biggest search of all, "window tinting near me" at 14,800 a month, doesn't say which, but Google answers it with car tinters, car forums, Checkatrade and WhoCanFixMyCar, and every question it suggests underneath is about car tint law.
"window film" gets 14,800 searches a month too, at £0.86 a click. That price, the lowest on the building side, reads like people buying a roll of film to put up themselves rather than looking for a fitter. If you do house and office film, it gets its own section below, because the buyer, the job and the click price all work differently.
What the job pays
A rear set of windows and a conservatory don't carry the same lead.
Since no seller prints a per-lead price for tinting, the fairest yardstick is what a lead from your own ad costs on the search that brings each job in. Here it is against four published prices, if you win one quote in 3.
| Job | Published price | Search and lead cost | Cost of a win |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rear three windows, small car | £89 | "car window tinting near me", about £24 | £72, 81% of the job |
| Tinting a car, great value to premium | £120 to £245 | "car window tinting near me", about £24 | £72, 39% of the job |
| Film on one house window | £200 to £400 | "residential window tinting", about £34 | £102, 34% of the job |
| Film on a medium conservatory | £700 to £1,500 | "conservatory window film", about £23 | £70, 6% of the job |
The rear-window price is DAPAA Tints' "from" figure for the back three windows of a three-door Mini, and the car range is Bark's great-value to premium spread. Job prices are from Checkatrade's house window tinting guide (July 2026) for the two building rows. Ranges are worked at their middle. Winning one quote in 3 is MyJobQuote's figure for its own trades; nobody publishes an independent UK figure. Lead costs assume 7.33% of clicks get in touch.
As a rough rule, winning a job should cost about 10 to 15 percent of what it pays. A cheap rear set doesn't get near that: the win costs 81% of an £89 job. A full car at Bark's middle price is 39%, a house window 34%, and a conservatory 6%.
If you mostly do rear sets
The tint is quick work (WhoCanFixMyCar puts a car at two to four hours), so the cost of finding the customer is the part that hurts. Repeat trade, dealers and a good spot in Google Maps carry these jobs better than paid clicks do.
If you sell the dearer films
Bark's premium band for a car is £245, about double its great-value £120, while "ceramic window tint" costs only £0.90 a click. The top end of the range is where a paid lead earns its keep on a car.
Your numbers
What can you spend to land one tinting job profitably?
Pick a tinting job, say how many quotes you usually win, and put in what a lead costs you, whether that is a Bark credit spend or your own ad. It starts on a whole car at Bark's middle price. Flip to the rear set and then the conservatory and watch the share move.
WHAT CAN YOU PAY FOR A TINTING LEAD?
Pick a job, or type in what yours are worth
Starts on one in three, the figure MyJobQuote tells its own trades to expect. Put in yours.
You can pay up to about
£9
a lead, winning one in 3
- Healthy range, per won job
- £18 to £27
- Which per lead is
- £6 to £9
Put a seller's price in the last box and this will tell you what each won job would cost you.
The 10 to 15 percent band is a rule of thumb, not a measured figure.
Who sends the work
Two platforms send car tinting work. The usual lead sellers skip it.
Here is everyone we found sending tinting jobs, plus the two directories that list house film. Each line is in the firm's own words, and where a price isn't published we say so.
| Who | Covers | How you pay | In their words |
|---|---|---|---|
| WhoCanFixMyCar | Car tinting | £120 + VAT a month and 10% of jobs won, or £250 to £999 a month flat | "Compare window tinting specialist garages and quotes" |
| Bark | Car and van tinting | Credits, £1.80 each | "valid for 3 months" |
| XPEL | Its own installers | Not published | "our unique Installer Locator" |
| Checkatrade | House tinting only | £30 a month, lead plans from £59 | "Pick a plan that fits" |
| TrustATrader | House and office film | Not published | "Memberships are limited per area" |
WhoCanFixMyCar charges on the quote you win, even if the job falls through
Its window tinting page invites drivers to "Compare window tinting specialist garages and quotes" and gives an average job of £150.67. In London it lists 108 garages and 86 tint jobs that month, so a London job can draw quotes from a long list. A tinter on Starter pays £120 a month plus VAT, after a £99 sign-up, and 10% of each job won: about £15 on that average tint. The £250 to £999 flat plans drop the percentage and run for a year at least.
Its terms say that fee is payable once you accept a job, "irrespective of whether the Job is ultimately completed or is cancelled", and that you "must not attempt to negotiate, accept or undertake Jobs with Drivers outside the Portal." The fee amounts aren't on any public page. The same platform also routes tinting to mobile mechanics, which is worth knowing if you work from a van.
Bark prices tinting at £165 and the lead in credits
Bark's vehicle tinting page says "the average price for vehicle window tinting is £165", and tells drivers to look for "clarity around legal tint limits". That is your customer being told to ask about the law before they pick you. You reply with credits at £1.80 each, valid for 3 months, and up to 5 professionals can answer the same request. How many credits a tinting lead takes isn't published. We found no home or office film category on Bark.
The film makers run their own installer finders
XPEL's UK page for professional installers offers "High-ranked positioning in top search engine results thanks to our unique Installer Locator", and its dealer page talks about "XPEL lead generation tools". 3M's UK window film site has a "Find an installer" button for building film. A listing like that sends customers who already want that brand, which is a different kind of lead from a stranger comparing five quotes. XPEL ties its listing to its certification programme for installers, so the price of entry is becoming one of its fitters.
The pay-per-lead firms have no tinting page at all
Leads Do Work's price list has rows for glazing and blinds and nothing for tint or film. Zapo's automotive list stops at car garages, driving instructors and taxis. Lead Pronto, PromoSEO and Leads Everyday have no tinting page, and MyJobQuote and Rated People have no tinting category (Rated People now sends its leads to Checkatrade members). Checkatrade lists tinting as a skill under windows and doors, for houses. A driver who rings round three tint shops for the cheapest rear set is what the shared-lead trap is about.
Everything here about WhoCanFixMyCar's contract comes from its own published terms and conditions, last read on 16 October 2026. Terms get revised, so check yours against the current version before you act on anything.
Rather have window tinting leads that are yours alone?
That's what we do. We don't sell leads. We build the website and run the Google Ads that bring customers straight to you, in an ad account in your name that stays yours if you ever leave.
See pricingWant to know how many people near you search Google for what you do each month? Message us your town and we'll send you the real numbers.
Check my areaBuying the click yourself
A car tinting click costs £0.55 to £2.07. Nobody bids on the seller search.
Nobody searches for a seller here. "window tinting leads", "car tinting leads", "window film leads" and "window tinting marketing" all came back with no searches and no bids. The driver's side is busy and cheap: "tint shop near me", the dearest car search in the table, is £2.07 a click, and "car window tinting" is £1.26 across 8,100 searches a month. For the last column we assume 7.33% of clicks get in touch, which is WordStream's conversion rate for home improvement search ads, measured on American campaigns.
| Search | Searches a month | Per click | Per lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| tint shop near me | 880 | £2.07 | £28 |
| mobile window tinting | 480 | £2.04 | £28 |
| window tinting near me | 14,800 | £2.03 | £28 |
| car tinting near me | 4,400 | £1.85 | £25 |
| car window tinting near me | 6,600 | £1.75 | £24 |
| car tinting | 2,400 | £1.58 | £22 |
| rear window tinting | 210 | £1.38 | £19 |
| car window tinting | 8,100 | £1.26 | £17 |
| front window tint | 480 | £0.91 | £12 |
| ceramic window tint | 480 | £0.90 | £12 |
| van window tinting | 110 | £0.66 | £9 |
| window tint removal | 320 | £0.55 | £8 |
Google Ads data for the UK, pulled 1 October 2026. Click prices are bid estimates, so treat them as a guide to where your own costs will land.
That puts a car tinting lead at about £8 to £28. "window tint removal" is the cheapest at £8. Drivers type "front window tint" 480 times a month, paying £0.91 a click to reach, and that is the search to handle with care, because of what the next section says. Bid on it with an ad that says what you will fit on the front, and the driver who wants it darker scrolls past before you pay for the click.
- Bid on ceramic and full cars over rears
- Say the legal front limit in the ad itself
- Your shop name on the ad the driver taps
- Prices by car size on your own website
- Clicks paid to Google, nothing added
- An ad account that leaves with you
How the auction works and what a tinter signs up to is in the Google Ads guide for tradesmen, and choosing a monthly figure in how much to spend on Google Ads.
Before you take the job
The light limit is on the front glass, and fitting past it is an offence.
On a car first used on or after 1 April 1985, gov.uk says "The front windscreen must let at least 75% of light through and the front side windows must let at least 70% of light through." Older cars need 70% on both. "There are no rules for tinting the rear windscreen or rear passenger windows." The limits come from regulation 32 of the Construction and Use Regulations, which since 2004 has applied them to "any tint, film or other substance or material applied to a windscreen or window".
The glass counts as well
The limit is for the window, not the roll of film. Hexis puts it as 70% "measured through the glass and any film combined", so a film's own rating isn't the whole answer: the glass it goes on counts too.
The fitter is on the hook
Section 76 of the Road Traffic Act makes it an offence to fit a part that breaks construction and use rules, and section 75 to alter a car so its use is unlawful. Both carry a level 5 maximum, against level 3 for the driver, per the penalty schedule. Whether film counts as a "part" isn't spelt out; that link is our reading, and gov.uk's own line on fitting is the plain one.
The MOT isn't the test
The MOT manual fails tint only "if the driver's view is significantly affected" and gives no percentage. The 70% and 75% limits are checked at the roadside by police and DVSA with light meters.
The roadside checks do happen. DVSA issued 2,364 tint prohibitions in 2010 and 710 in the year to March 2014, according to a Department for Transport answer in Parliament. A prohibition stops the car being used until the extra tint is off, and that driver will want to know who fitted it.
Insurers treat tint as a change to the car. LV= says "any tint counts as a modification" and that undeclared ones can void a policy. Telling a customer that at the quote costs you nothing and saves an awkward call later.
The lead you turn down
Some drivers want dark front windows. That's a job you have to turn down.
"limo tint" gets 260 searches a month and "front window tint" 480, while 880 people a month search "legal window tint uk". On a quote platform, the driver who wants the fronts blacked out looks just like the one who wants the rears done. If you pay to answer, you pay either way.
Say it before they ask
Mr Tint in Plymouth puts it on its car page: "We can apply films to any of your car windows, but will only be able to apply clear UV protective films to your windscreen or front windows." A line like that on your own website sorts the leads before they cost you anything.
Sell what the rules leave open
Dark rears, a clear UV film on the fronts, and tint removal for the car that came with illegal film. The rear windows carry no limit at all, and removal is the cheapest search in the table.
Bark already tells drivers to look for "clarity around legal tint limits". Being the tinter who gives that clarity up front is a reason to pick you that costs nothing to say.
Home and office film
Building film is the smaller search, with the dearest clicks in this guide.
The commercial side is thin and expensive: "commercial window tinting" costs £13.49 a click on 90 searches a month, and "office window tinting" £8.48 on 110. That is about £184 a lead and £552 a won job at one in 3, which only works on a big office or shopfront. Homes are cheaper to reach: "home window tinting" is £1.10 across 3,600 searches, and "conservatory window film" £1.72.
Checkatrade's house guide puts one window at £200 to £400 and a medium conservatory at £700 to £1,500. The directories follow the buildings, not the cars: TrustATrader has window film, security, solar control and conservatory film categories, and Checkatrade lists tinting under windows and doors. The trade body is the GGF Window Film Group, "made up of Members who manufacture, supply and install quality window film products."
If house glass is most of your work, the cut-and-replace side of it is covered in glazier leads, and the new-window market in double glazing leads.
Through the year
Car tinting searches hold up from March and dip at Christmas.
UK searches for "car window tinting near me" sat at 8,100 every month from March to July, jumped to 9,900 in October and fell to 4,400 in December, about 2.3 times lower than the peak.
UK searches for "car window tinting near me", by month
September 2025 to August 2026. Google Ads keyword data, rounded bands.
Spring is when to spend
Five flat months from March is the long run of demand to plan bids around. December is the month to chase dealers and fleet work instead.
Don't bank on that October
The same month jumped for house tinting searches too, so it wasn't a car thing. One year of data can't say if it comes back.
Where the lead came from
Check how a tinting lead was collected before you ring the driver.
The ICO expects a business that buys contact details to check where they came from, in proportion to the risk, and a seller's word that the data is fine isn't enough. No tint shop has been named in an ICO case we could find; the ones that have hit home improvement firms are set out in our roofing leads guide.
Before you pay for window tinting leads, ask:
- Which website did the driver fill in?
- Does the consent name my business?
- How many other tinters see the job?
- Which windows, and how dark?
- Do I pay if I turn down illegal fronts?
The fourth question decides whether there is a legal job in the lead at all, so get it answered before the fee is spent.
Which way to go
Cheap clicks favour running your own, as long as the ad sets the rules.
Use a platform if
- You have no reviews yet
- You want quotes to practise on
- You price full cars, not rears
- You can answer fast
Think twice if
- Rear sets are most of your work
- The fee survives a cancellation
- Nobody says which windows
- Many tinters see the job
Run your own if
- You fit ceramic or premium film
- You want to set the front-window rule
- You want the call to yourself
- The ad account is yours to take
Car tinting clicks are cheap enough that running your own ads is a real option, and the ad itself can screen out the jobs you can't legally fit. Other car trades are covered in car body shop leads, garage leads, remapping leads and car air con leads, every other trade in our guide to trade leads, and if a directory listing appeals, read is Checkatrade worth it first.
Our sources
Where every window tinting figure here came from.
We have a stake in this: we build websites and run Google Ads for trades. So the platforms are quoted in their own words, and the tables price your own ads with an American conversion rate that we say out loud.
Seller pages and terms were read on 16 October 2026, and the UK search and click data came from Google Ads the same day. Job prices are from Checkatrade's house tinting guide, Bark and DAPAA Tints' own price list. The law is from gov.uk, regulation 32, sections 75 and 76 of the Road Traffic Act and the MOT manual; enforcement numbers from a DfT written answer; insurance from LV=; and lead consent from the ICO.
Questions tinters ask
Window tinting leads, answered.
- How much do window tinting leads cost in the UK?
- No UK lead seller we checked prints a price for a tinting lead. WhoCanFixMyCar's cheapest garage plan is £120 a month plus VAT and 10% of each job won, after a £99 sign-up fee; its flat plans run £250 to £999 a month. Bark sells credits at £1.80 each and doesn't say how many a tinting lead takes. Run your own ads and a car tinting click costs £0.55 to £2.07, roughly £8 to £28 a lead.
- Who sends car window tinting work in the UK?
- Mainly WhoCanFixMyCar, where drivers compare quotes from tinting garages (108 of them in London alone), and Bark, which has a vehicle tinting category. Film makers send work too: XPEL lists its installers on its own locator. Checkatrade and TrustATrader list window film for houses but have no car tinting category, and the pay-per-lead firms that cover other trades have no tinting page at all.
- Can I tint a customer's front windows darker if they ask?
- Not on a car used on the road. On a car first used on or after 1 April 1985, the windscreen must let through at least 75% of light and the front side windows at least 70%, and gov.uk says it is illegal to fit glass that breaks those rules. Since 2004 the limits have applied to film as well as glass. There are no rules for the rear windscreen or rear passenger windows.
- Does the MOT check window tint?
- Only for how far it blocks the driver's view. The MOT manual says a tint failure "is only justified if the driver's view is significantly affected", and it gives no percentage. The legal light limits are checked by the police and DVSA with light measuring equipment, so a car can pass its MOT and still have illegal front tint.
- What happens to a driver with illegally tinted windows?
- gov.uk says they could get a prohibition notice stopping them using the car until the extra tint is removed, and a penalty notice or court summons. It gives no fine figure. Insurers count tint as a modification: LV= says any tint counts, and that undeclared modifications can void a policy.
- Is window tinting seasonal?
- In the last 12 months, UK searches for "car window tinting near me" held at 8,100 from March to July, peaked in October at 9,900 and were lowest in December at 4,400, about 2.3 times apart.
- Is home and office window film worth adding?
- The clicks are dearer and the jobs bigger. "commercial window tinting" costs £13.49 a click on about 90 searches a month, against £1.26 for "car window tinting". Checkatrade prices one house window at £200 to £400 and a medium conservatory at £700 to £1,500.
- What should I ask before paying for tinting leads?
- Which website the driver used, whether the consent names your business, how many other tinters see the same job, which windows the customer wants tinted and how dark, and if you can turn down a request for illegal front tint without paying for it. The ICO puts the checking on the buyer.
Keep reading
More straight answers for trades.
Full cars and ceramic jobs booked by drivers who searched for you.
We build your website and run Google Ads from an account in your own name, with ads that say what you will fit on the front before anyone clicks. See what it costs, then tell us about your business and we'll aim the campaign at the cars and films that pay.