Cost per lead calculator
What can you afford to pay for a lead? Put in your sale value, margin and close rate to see the most you can pay per lead, customer and click, and how that compares with what Australian clicks really cost.
The most you can pay
Where each sale goes, at a typical click price
The budget you need
What it takes
Click prices are the median cost per click for buying searches in each industry, from Ahrefs' Australian data (November 2026), in Australian dollars. Real prices vary by suburb, time and competition, so treat them as a guide. See the searches behind them.
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How the calculator works
The calculator starts with what a customer is worth to you, then works back to the most you can spend to win one: first per customer, then per lead, then per click. Each step uses one of your own numbers, so the answer is built from your business's figures.
- Gross profit per customer: your sale value times your margin, times how many sales a customer makes over their lifetime.
- The most a customer can cost: that gross profit, less the profit you want to keep from each sale.
- The most a lead can cost: that number times your close rate. Win one enquiry in four and a lead is worth a quarter of a customer.
- The most a click can cost: the lead figure times your website's conversion rate, the share of clicks that turn into an enquiry.
Break-even is the same sum with no profit kept: the point where ads pay for themselves and nothing more. For online sales, the calculator gives the same answers as a cost per sale and a ROAS (return on ad spend): your order value divided by what you can pay to win the order.
Where the click prices come from
Each industry's click price is the median cost per click for the searches customers make when they're ready to buy, from Ahrefs' Australian data in November 2026, in Australian dollars. Real prices move with the suburb, the time of day and the competition. See the 56 searches behind them.
What to do with the answer
If a typical click already costs more than you can pay, more budget won't fix it. The fastest gains are usually on the page people land on and how quickly you answer the enquiry, because a better conversion rate or close rate raises what every click is worth.
How to calculate cost per lead (CPL)
Your actual cost per lead, or CPL, is what you spent on ads divided by the leads they brought in. Count a lead as a real enquiry: a form, a call or a booking request from someone who might buy.
Say a South Melbourne physio spends $1,500 on Google Ads in a month and gets 30 enquiries. The CPL is $1,500 divided by 30, or $50. Compare that with the most you can pay per lead from the calculator above: while your CPL sits below it, the ads are profitable at your close rate.
CPL, CPA and ROI
- CPL = ad spend divided by leads. It shows how well your ads and landing page turn clicks into enquiries.
- CPA (cost per acquisition) = ad spend divided by new customers. If the physio books 10 of those 30 enquiries as patients, the CPA is $150. Google Ads shows a related figure, average CPA: "the average amount you've been charged for a conversion from your ad". A conversion is whatever action you track, so if you track enquiries, that figure is your CPL.
- ROI (return on investment) = (gross profit from those customers less ad spend) divided by ad spend. If each new patient brings $200 of gross profit, 10 patients bring $2,000. Less the $1,500 spend, that's $500, an ROI of 33%.
A good CPL only pays off when it leads to a profitable CPA, so track both. Cheap leads that rarely book can cost more per customer than a higher CPL that closes well.
Using CPL benchmarks
Industry benchmarks are a useful sense check. If your CPL is several times what's typical for your industry, look first at the landing page, the targeting and the offer. Our cost per lead guide for Australia shows typical click and lead costs by industry. Your own break-even CPL from the calculator is still the benchmark that decides whether a campaign pays.
How many leads can your budget buy?
Divide your total ad budget by your cost per lead to estimate the number of leads it will bring in, then multiply by your close rate to see how many customers to expect. Working it backwards tells you the budget you need for a sales target.
Here's a made-up example. Say a South Melbourne plumber wants 12 new jobs a month, closes one enquiry in three and pays about $60 per lead. That's 36 leads a month, for a total cost of $2,160 in ad spend. If each job brings $450 of gross profit, the 12 jobs bring $5,400, and the plumber keeps $3,240 after ads.
Now say a clearer landing page brings 25% more enquiries from the same clicks. The cost per lead falls to $48, and the same 36 leads cost $1,728 in total. That's $432 a month back, with no change to the bids or the budget.
Questions people ask
What is a good cost per lead?
One that leaves you the profit you want after the job is done. It depends on your sale value, margin and close rate, which is why a figure from another business rarely fits yours. Put your own numbers into the calculator to see yours.
What's the difference between cost per lead and cost per acquisition?
A lead is an enquiry. An acquisition is a paying customer. If you win one enquiry in four, each customer costs four times your cost per lead.
What is break-even ROAS?
The return on ad spend where ads pay for themselves and no more. It's one divided by your margin: at a 40% margin, break-even ROAS is 2.5, so every dollar of ads has to bring in $2.50 in sales.
Should I count repeat customers?
Only if you know they come back. Paying for a customer from their lifetime value lets you bid harder, but if the repeat sales don't arrive, you've paid too much for every one.
What counts as a lead?
An enquiry from someone who might buy: a form, a phone call, a booking or a quote request. Leave out spam, job seekers and existing customers, or your CPL will look better than it is.
Why is my CPL going up?
Check three things over the same period: whether clicks cost more, whether fewer visitors enquire, and whether your tracking has stopped counting some leads. Your cost per click and your website's conversion rate show which one moved.
Is a lower CPL always better?
Only when those leads still become customers. Judge a campaign on CPA and profit as well, because cheaper leads that rarely close can cost more per customer.