How to calculate your marketing budget for ads
The math uses three numbers: how much each contact costs, how many contacts become clients and how many clients you want. With them, the budget stops being a guess.
- Set your goal for new clients per month. Think about what your schedule or operation can handle.
- Find your close rate. Count the contacts you got in a month and how many became clients. At 20%, you need 5 leads for every client.
- Use the cost per lead for your industry. Start with the market average and swap in your real number after the first weeks of campaigns.
Example: for 5 clients per month, with a 20% close rate and leads at $47, you need 25 leads. The ad budget comes to about $1,175 per month.
How much does a lead cost by industry
The starting values the calculator uses are averages from real campaigns published by LocaliQ and WordStream. Here is the average cost per lead for each industry and channel:
| Industry | Meta Ads (leads) | Google Ads (search) | Report category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real estate agent | $13.74 | $102.51 | Real Estate |
| House cleaning | $42.95 | $46.99 | Home & Home Improvement (Meta) · Cleaning, Maid & Butler (Google) |
| Salon, barbershop and aesthetics | $50.91 | $39.25 | Beauty & Personal Care |
| Remodeling and construction | $42.95 | $90.92 | Home & Home Improvement |
| Dentist or dental clinic | $61.56 | $72.97 | Dentists & Dental Services |
| Medical clinic and health | $32.14 | $40.04 | Physicians & Surgeons |
| Attorney or legal services | no data | $131.63 | Attorneys & Legal Services |
| Insurance and finance | no data | $74.44 | Finance & Insurance |
| Auto repair and services | no data | $29.96 | Automotive — Repair, Service & Parts |
| Vehicle sales | $35.52 | $44.26 | Automotive — For Sale |
| Restaurant and food | no data | $30.57 | Restaurants & Food |
| Personal trainer or gym | $27.11 | $67.36 | Health & Fitness |
| Courses, school and languages | $26.31 | $77.48 | Education & Instruction |
| Pet services | no data | $31.50 | Animals & Pets |
| Travel and tourism | no data | $44.70 | Travel |
| Events, photography and arts | $14.59 | $26.84 | Arts & Entertainment |
| Fashion and jewelry | no data | $97.51 | Apparel / Fashion & Jewelry |
| Furniture and decor | $39.25 | $106.70 | Furniture |
| Other personal services | $38.09 | $54.60 | Personal Services |
| Business services (B2B) | no data | $93.69 | Business Services |
| Industrial and commercial | $35.87 | $75.19 | Industrial & Commercial |
| Other industry | $27.39 | $66.69 | Overall average of all industries |
When an industry only has data for one channel, the calculator uses that channel. For house cleaning, the Meta report has no dedicated category, so we use "Home & Home Improvement" as an approximate reference. The Google figure for cleaning comes from "Cleaning/Maid/Butler Services" (April 2024 to March 2025).
These are averages from US advertisers, and your cost may be higher or lower. For real estate on Meta, another dataset (Superads, worldwide, July 2025 to June 2026) shows about $29.50 per lead, more than double the LocaliQ average, so it is worth tracking your real number. Lead-form leads on Meta usually have less buying intent than people searching on Google, so the close rate tends to be lower on Meta. Sources: LocaliQ, Facebook Advertising Benchmarks 2026; LocaliQ, Search Advertising Benchmarks 2026; Web Tonic / WordStream, Cleaning Services Google Ads Statistics; WordStream, Sales Close Rate by Industry; Superads, Real Estate Cost per Lead.
Frequently asked questions
What should my monthly marketing budget be to get clients?
What is cost per lead (CPL)?
How much does a lead cost on Facebook, Instagram and Google?
Does the calculator work for my industry?
Does the ad budget include Alfa Branding management?
Which close rate should I use?
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