Sulekha alternatives: Sulekha vs Justdial vs Starleads
Paid enquiries, free listings and contact lists for service businesses, compared.
By Saurabh Khatri · Published · 6 min read
Starleads wrote this comparison and is one of the services compared. Facts about Sulekha come from its own website, checked on 18 October 2026; prices change, so check before you buy.
Sulekha in short
Sulekha is a local directory and lead marketplace for service businesses in India, run by Sulekha.com New Media Pvt Ltd. A business lists itself free and can pay to receive customer enquiries matched to its category and area, which Sulekha calls "verified leads". It also sells ads. Leads arrive in the Sulekha Business app, with WhatsApp, SMS and notifications, and the customer's details are shared when an enquiry comes in. Sulekha claims 1000+ categories, 30 lakh+ monthly visitors, 8 lakh+ enquiries and 20,000+ registered businesses.
Sulekha doesn't publish its prices. It says the price of a lead "varies by the type of request and the location of the request", and current rates show only after you enrol, in the app. Under its terms, a business makes an advance payment towards leads, each lead is deducted from that balance, and there are monthly platform charges; the cost per lead "is not constant" and Sulekha may change it. The lead flow can be paused and restarted at any time.
So the short Sulekha review is this: it brings enquiries from people looking for a service, paid lead by lead. Starleads does the opposite job. It sells ready-made lists of businesses that you contact yourself.
Sulekha vs Starleads at a glance
Sulekha's pricing terms are as shown on its website on 18 October 2026; it publishes no rates.
| Sulekha | Starleads | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Local directory and lead marketplace for service businesses | Ready-made Excel contact lists of Indian businesses and professionals |
| What you get | A free profile and listing; paid customer enquiries matched to your category and area | Every business in the list in one file, with each field's coverage shown before you buy |
| How you pay | Advance payment towards leads, deducted per lead, plus monthly platform charges | Once per list by UPI or bank transfer, confirmed by hand; no subscription or credits |
| Starting price | Not published; varies by type of request and location | ₹499 a city or state list; All-India bulk lists of one industry ₹1,999; no GST added |
| Free option | Free listing | 60 sample contacts on every list page; free Excel and PDF sample |
| How you get the data | Sulekha Business app, WhatsApp, SMS and notifications | Excel file in your account with an invoice; link valid 30 days |
| Best for | Service businesses that want enquiries from local customers | Service businesses that sell to other businesses and want to call them |
Where Sulekha is the better choice
- Enquiries from people who want the service. A Sulekha lead is a customer asking for what you do, in your area. A Starleads list is cold outreach to businesses that haven't asked.
- Customers who are individuals. If you serve the public, Sulekha's enquiries can come from them. Starleads lists only businesses and professionals, never households.
- Spending follows the leads. You pay from a prepaid balance as leads arrive, and can pause the flow when you are busy.
- A free listing, so you can be found before you pay for anything.
- A cooling-off period. First-time subscribers to its premium services can cancel within 15 days, "No questions asked for first 5 days", with deductions from day 6. Starleads refunds in full before delivery, but after delivery only replaces or refunds a corrupt or materially different file reported within 7 days.
Where Starleads is the better choice
- Selling to businesses. If your clients are offices, clinics, shops or factories, as they are for pest control, housekeeping, IT support or accounting firms, a list lets you reach them directly instead of waiting for one to search.
- A fixed price. ₹499 a list, paid once, with no platform charges, no prepaid balance and nothing that renews.
- You pick the area and the trade. Choose a city, a state or a mix of industries, and work the file area by area.
- You see the data first. Every list page shows 60 real contacts and the share of rows with a mobile, an email and an address.
Our business directory holds 78,49,029 businesses of every kind, sold city by city and state by state (253 cities and 34 states). The biggest city directories:
- Mumbai 6,81,153 contacts · 51% email · 77% mobile ₹499
- Hyderabad 5,80,917 contacts · 42% email · 91% mobile ₹499
- Bengaluru 4,26,906 contacts · 48% email · 97% mobile ₹499
- Chennai 3,58,318 contacts · 50% email · 80% mobile ₹499
- New Delhi 3,51,473 contacts · 55% email · 95% mobile ₹499
For one trade in one city, browse cities and states or use the list builder.
Starleads' limits: the data is compiled from business directories and similar sources, so not every row has an email or a named person, and contact details change. You can't look up one named executive. Payment is by UPI or bank transfer only, confirmed by hand. There is no API or CRM integration, and the lists cover India only. Calls and SMS must follow TRAI's DND rules; see our DND check guide and cold calling tips.
Other Sulekha alternatives
Justdial is a local search directory with free listings and paid ads; ad buyers receive customer details by SMS, email and push notification. Ad prices are not published. See Justdial alternatives.
Google Business Profile is Google's free listing on Search and Maps. Our guide to business directory websites lists it with the other free places to list a business.
IndiaMART suits you if you supply products to businesses rather than services: buyers post requirements, and paid packages start at Rs. 40,000 for one year, exclusive of taxes. See IndiaMART alternatives.
For every kind of data provider side by side, see the B2B data providers comparison.
Our verdict
If your customers are people looking for a local service, Sulekha is the right kind of tool: list free, then try paid leads and judge them on the jobs they bring. If your customers are businesses you can name in advance, a Starleads list lets you reach them for one fixed price. Some service firms do both, taking enquiries from Sulekha and calling businesses from a list.
Questions people ask
Is Sulekha free?
Listing your business is free. Paid leads need enrolment: you pay in advance towards leads, each lead is deducted from the balance, and monthly platform charges apply.
How much does Sulekha charge per lead?
Sulekha doesn't publish its rates. It says the price varies by the type and location of the request and isn't constant; current prices show in the Sulekha Business app after you enrol.
Sulekha vs Justdial: which is better?
Both give a free listing and charge for more enquiries, in different ways. Sulekha charges per lead from a prepaid balance plus platform charges; Justdial sells ads at unpublished prices. Sulekha focuses on service businesses, while Justdial covers local businesses more generally. List free on both and compare the enquiries before paying either.
What is a good alternative to Sulekha for B2B services?
If you sell services to other businesses, contact them directly from a list of businesses in your city, and keep a free Sulekha or Justdial listing for the enquiries that come in.