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Maximum cost per lead calculator for service businesses

How much can you pay for a lead and still double your money? Enter what a job earns you, your profit margin, your win rate and your budget. You will see the jobs and leads you need and the most you can pay for each lead.

Calculate my maximumCheck my market
Example: most you can pay per lead on a $5,000 monthly budget$50.00
Monthly budget
$5,000
Leads
100
Booked jobs
30
Profit
$10,200

$850 jobs, 40% margin, 30% win rate, double your money

How much can you pay per lead and still double your money?

Fill in four numbers and pick a goal. The calculator works on a monthly ad budget, so jobs, leads and profit are all per month. Your maximum cost per lead updates as you type, and nothing leaves this page.

$
What you plan to spend on leads in a month. Results below are per month.
$
What a typical job brings in.
%
The share of each job you keep after materials, labor and job costs, before ad spend.
%
Out of every 100 leads, how many become booked jobs.
× your budget in profit
Double means the profit from your jobs equals twice your budget, so after paying for leads you keep what you put in.
Maximum cost per lead for your goal–
Profit per job–
Break-even cost per lead–
Profit you need a month–
Jobs you need a month–
Monthly budget–
Leads–
Jobs–
Profit–

Fill in the numbers to see your results.

Got your maximum? Compare it with what leads actually cost you.

Check your actual cost per lead

Already buying leads? Enter what each one costs and see whether it fits your goal, how much profit each dollar brings back and how many jobs your budget should book.

$
Monthly ad spend divided by the leads you got that month. We use the numbers from the calculator above.
Profit back per $1 of ad spend–
Jobs a month from your budget–

Fill in the calculator above and your cost per lead.

A better win rate lets you pay more per lead. See how much.

How your win rate changes your maximum cost per lead

The same budget and goal need fewer leads when more of them become jobs. This table uses your numbers and shows what each win rate allows.

Win rateLeads neededMaximum cost per leadCompared
Fill in the calculator above to see this table.

Here is how the numbers are worked out.

How the maximum cost per lead is calculated

Four steps of plain arithmetic. Each card shows the formula and a worked example with $850 jobs, a 40% margin, a 30% win rate and a $5,000 budget.

1

Profit per job

revenue × margin

$850 × 40% = $340

2

Jobs needed

goal × budget ÷ profit per job

2 × $5,000 ÷ $340 = 29.4, so 30

3

Leads needed

jobs ÷ win rate

30 ÷ 30% = 100

4

Maximum cost per lead

budget ÷ leads

$5,000 ÷ 100 = $50.00

In the example, 30 jobs earn $10,200 in profit, a little more than the $10,000 goal. Pay no more than $50.00 per lead and the plan works.

If your maximum is low, three things can raise it.

Three ways to raise your maximum cost per lead

If your maximum is lower than the leads you can find, change one of the numbers behind it.

Spam callCredited
Wrong numberCredited
Real customerCounts

Lower what each lead costs

Tracked calls, managed ads and credits for spam, wrong numbers, repeats and out-of-area calls cut the cost of each real lead.

See how the leads work

Missed call→Text sent
Request→In your CRM

Raise your win rate

Answer fast, follow up from a CRM and text callers you miss. Every extra booked job per 100 leads lowers the leads you need.

See what comes with every service

Small repair
Larger project

Raise your profit per job

Tell us which jobs pay best for your crew and we aim your pages and ads at them. A higher profit per job raises your maximum.

Browse lead types by trade

More questions about the math are answered next.

Cost per lead calculator questions

Straight answers about the math. More are on the full FAQ.

Is this calculator based on monthly or yearly ad spend?
Monthly. Enter your ad budget for one month, and the jobs, leads and profit you see are for that month. To plan a longer stretch, multiply the monthly results by the number of months, because the cost per lead stays the same.
What is a maximum cost per lead?
It is the most you can pay for each lead and still reach your profit goal. It depends on what a job earns you, your profit margin, how many leads become booked jobs and how much you plan to spend each month.
How do I calculate the most I can pay per lead?
Work out your profit per job, then divide the profit you want by it to get the jobs you need. Divide the jobs by your win rate to get the leads you need, then divide your budget by the leads. The calculator does all four steps.
What does double your money mean in this calculator?
It means the profit from your booked jobs equals twice your ad budget. After you pay for the leads, you are ahead by the amount you spent. You can also choose break even or triple, or type any other goal.
What profit margin should I enter?
Enter the share of each job you keep after materials, labor and the other costs of doing the work, before ad spend. If you are not sure, use your best estimate from past jobs.
What is a job win rate?
It is the share of leads that become booked jobs. Divide the jobs you booked by the leads you received. It depends on your trade, how fast you answer, your price and your reviews, so use the records from your jobs.
Why does the calculator round jobs and leads up?
You cannot book part of a job or receive part of a lead. Rounding up means the numbers you see are enough to reach your goal, and the maximum cost per lead is never overstated.
What is the break-even cost per lead?
It is the average profit a lead brings you: profit per job multiplied by your win rate. Paying less than this per lead makes money before overhead, even if you do not reach your full goal.
What if my cost per lead is higher than my maximum?
Check the three levers: lower what each lead costs, raise your win rate by answering fast and following up, or raise your profit per job. The table above shows how much each win rate changes your maximum.
Is this calculator a promise of results?
No. It is arithmetic based on the numbers you enter. Your real results depend on your market, your lead source, how fast you answer and how you close jobs.
Does this work for any lead source?
Yes. It works for Google Ads, Local Services Ads, exclusive leads or any other source where you can count leads and jobs.
How do Page One Calls leads compare with my maximum?
Compare them with your maximum, then ask us about your market.

Want to see whether your market fits your maximum? Tell us where you work.

See if your market is open

Tell us your trade and where you work. We will check that your market is open, then follow up with you by phone to see whether our leads fit your maximum.

  • We follow up with you by phone
  • Leads that are yours alone
  • You decide what happens next

Check my market

Tell us where you work and what you do.

Free to ask. We will call you.

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