LeadWharf vs Zotex Media: two ways to buy cleaning leads per lead

LeadWharf and Zotex Media sell the same basic thing: a commercial cleaning lead, one at a time, sent to one company only. Both find facility decision-makers through outbound work and both qualify the contact before you see it. The differences sit in the details: what a lead has to prove before it counts, whose name the prospect hears first, how your area is held, and how the price is set. If you are weighing LeadWharf vs Zotex Media, or looking for a Zotex Media alternative, those four points are worth settling before price.

Every fact about Zotex Media on this page comes from its own website (zotexmedia.com), read in October 2026. Where its pages are silent on something, we say so rather than guess.

LeadWharf vs Zotex Media at a glance

How does Zotex Media work?

Zotex Media runs outbound prospecting for janitorial and commercial cleaning companies and delivers a lead only when three gates pass. Its How It Works page says its team "emails and calls the people who actually choose the cleaning vendor", meaning facility, office, practice and property managers. Outreach starts "within 48 hours of onboarding", and it says most clients receive their first walkthrough-ready leads inside two weeks.

The three gates, per its home page, are a decision-maker, a real need, and an agreed next step. "They asked for a quote or agreed to a walkthrough, and we tell you which." Each lead is sent by email within the hour of qualifying, with an optional text, and there is no portal to log in to.

Territory is a drivable radius or a zip list, set on a strategy call. Zotex says it never sends the same building to two clients and does not deliver facilities already served by another Zotex client. Its sales pages say it works in more than 40 metros across the United States and Canada, and that it is built for janitorial companies "billing $500k+ a year that can staff new buildings."

After a lead arrives, Zotex asks you to "call the contact the same day, take the walkthrough within a day or two, and tell us how it went."

What does Zotex Media cost?

Zotex Media charges $175 per walkthrough-ready lead, in US dollars, as of October 2026. Its pricing page calls that "the whole price list" and says the rate is "the same in every metro we serve." Territory size changes how many leads you receive, not what each one costs.

The rest of the terms are short:

• Setup fee: $0. List building, territory mapping and campaign setup are included.
• Minimum: $0. "Take three leads a month or thirty."
• Contract: none. You can pause when your crews are full and restart later.
• Billing: you pay when a walkthrough-ready lead lands, and for nothing else.
• Guarantee: if a lead fails any gate, "Tell us within 35 days of delivery and we replace it at no cost or refund it."

One thing to understand up front: a lead that passes the gates but does not sign is billed, which Zotex describes as "the same as any other sales conversation." That is a fair rule and common across pay-per-lead vendors. Our cost per lead calculator shows what $175 a lead means once you plug in your own close rate and contract value.

How does LeadWharf work?

We start with a short call to agree your patch: the area, the buildings you want, and the smallest job worth sending a crew to. A short form captures your pitch. We then build a dedicated, warmed email sending setup, find and verify the decision-makers in your area, and write to them personally in your company's name.

Every reply is qualified against three checks. The building is inside the area you drew. The contact has said, in their own words, that they want recurring cleaning at your frequency and job size. And they are the named person who signs, reachable on a direct line, not a front desk or a shared inbox. A lead that passes is yours alone, and your area stays locked to you while you are with us.

You then call the contact and book the walk-through yourself. The price is a one-time setup, then a flat fee per qualified lead, quoted for your territory on a call. There is nothing monthly and no contract. How it works shows each step.

How do a "walkthrough-ready lead" and a LeadWharf qualified lead differ?

They differ mostly in the last step: Zotex secures an agreed quote or walk-through and tells you when, while LeadWharf confirms recurring intent and hands you the decision-maker to book with directly. Neither is a calendar appointment in the strict sense. Field by field, as described on each company's pages:

Zotex's lead arrives further along, with a next step already agreed. LeadWharf's lead arrives with recurring frequency confirmed and a prospect who has been talking to your company from the first email. Our guide on how to qualify a cleaning lead covers what to confirm on that first call either way.

Where Zotex Media is the better choice

• You want to see the price before any call. A flat $175, the same in every territory and published on the website, lets you run the numbers tonight. That is a real advantage. LeadWharf quotes per territory on a call instead.
• You want zero upfront cost. Zotex charges no setup fee, so your first dollar goes on a lead. LeadWharf has a one-time setup.
• You want the next step already agreed. A lead that has asked for a quote or agreed to a walk-through, with timing attached, saves you part of a call.
• You want phone and email outreach. Zotex says its team both calls and emails, and some managers answer a phone before they answer email.
• You want to read testimonials first. Its testimonials page carries written and video testimonials.

Where LeadWharf is the better choice

• You want your name on the first touch. Every email goes out from your company, so the prospect knows who you are before you call. Zotex's pages do not say whose name its outreach uses.
• You want recurring work confirmed. A LeadWharf lead has said they want regular cleaning at your frequency and size. That filters out one-off quote shoppers before you spend a call on them.
• You want an area held for you. LeadWharf locks one company per area while you stay. Zotex protects buildings from being sent twice and sizes service areas to your crews, but its pages do not describe an area lock in those words. More on that in exclusive cleaning leads.
• You want a simple rule for bad leads. A lead that misses any of the three checks is credited, with no argument.
• You sell any cleaning service, at any size. LeadWharf builds leads for janitorial firms, residential cleaners and other trades that serve the same buildings, whatever the size of your company.

Judge LeadWharf on the first lead: if it misses a check, you are not charged.

What do Zotex Media reviews say?

We found no independent Zotex Media reviews in October 2026. Searches for profiles on Trustpilot, Clutch, Google and the BBB returned nothing for the company, and its testimonials page links to no third-party review platform. That page shows six written testimonials with five-star graphics and seven video testimonials hosted on YouTube, plus headline figures such as "10,000+ Leads Delivered" and "95%+ Client Satisfaction". Zotex does not say how those figures were measured. Zotex also publishes a 12-vendor comparison, dated September 18, 2026, that lists itself first and discloses that it is the publisher. We publish our own best janitorial appointment setting companies list on the same terms.

Questions to ask either company

1. What exactly must be true before a lead is billable? Ask for it in writing.
2. Has the contact confirmed recurring cleaning, or a one-time quote?
3. Who agreed the walk-through time, and do I need to confirm it?
4. Whose company name did the prospect see in the outreach?
5. Is my whole area held for me, or just individual buildings?
6. How do I report a bad lead, and is there a deadline?
7. What will I spend in total before my first signed contract?

Which should you choose?

Choose Zotex Media if you want a published flat price of $175 a lead, no setup fee, and a prospect who has already agreed to a quote or walk-through. Choose LeadWharf if you want pay-per-lead cleaning leads sent in your own name, recurring intent confirmed, and an area locked to you. If you are still deciding between leads and booked meetings, read pay per lead vs appointment setting and our janitorial appointments page. To see if your area is open, book a call.

Last checked: October 2026.