Google Ads Budget Calculator
This Google Ads budget calculator helps advertisers plan spend against a monthly lead target. Enter your industry or custom cost per click, expected conversion rate, and lead target to see estimated clicks, daily and monthly budget, and cost per lead.
What this tool measures
This calculator works backwards from the number of leads you want to the monthly search-ad budget those leads could need. It uses an average cost per click for your industry, a conversion rate you can adjust, and your lead target.
It is a starting estimate for planning a test, not a guarantee of what an account will cost. Real cost per click varies by keyword, location, competition and quality.
How to read each field
- Industry
- Selects a typical cost per click for that sector, listed beside each option. Choose Other if none fits.
- Target Leads per Month
- How many enquiries you want. The budget scales directly with this number.
- Custom Cost per Click
- Optional. If you already run ads, enter your own average and it overrides the industry figure.
- Conversion Rate
- The share of clicks that become leads, default 3.5%. Use your landing page's own rate if you have one.
- Clicks needed, monthly budget, daily budget, cost per lead
- Clicks needed is leads divided by conversion rate, rounded up. Monthly budget is clicks times cost per click. Daily budget is the monthly figure over 30 days. Cost per lead is the budget divided by leads.
Worked example
A law firm chooses Legal, where the tool's average cost per click is 6.75, targets 50 leads and keeps the 3.5% conversion rate. It needs about 1,429 clicks, so the monthly budget comes to about 9,646, roughly 322 a day, which is about 192.92 per lead.
Raise the landing page's conversion rate to 5% and the clicks needed fall to 1,000, the budget to 6,750 and cost per lead to 135. Improving the page can lower the budget more than negotiating for cheaper clicks, which is why conversion rate is worth testing first.
Limits to keep in mind
- Industry cost-per-click values are averages used for planning. Your keywords, location and competitors can make real costs much higher or lower.
- The budget covers media spend only. It does not include management, creative or landing page work.
- Leads are not sales. Add your own close rate and deal value, for example with the ROI calculator, before deciding whether a budget is worthwhile.
Frequently asked questions
Is this what my campaign will cost?
No. It is an estimate from averages and your inputs. Run a limited test and replace the cost per click and conversion rate with your real data.
What conversion rate should I use?
Use your landing page's measured rate if you have one. If you are starting out, the default 3.5% is a cautious planning figure, then adjust after the first few weeks of data.
Why is the daily budget based on 30 days?
It is a simple average of the monthly figure. Google Ads can spend more on some days and less on others within a month, so treat the daily number as an average.
Terms explained
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