Free Calculator Tool

Lead Cost Calculator

Not all leads are created equal. Find out which marketing channels are actually making you money—and which are draining your budget.

The hidden cost of cheap leads

A $50 lead that never closes costs you infinitely more than a $200 lead that becomes a $15,000 job. Yet most contractors only look at cost per lead—not cost per sale or return on investment.

The result? Money poured into channels that look cheap on paper but produce tire-kickers, price shoppers, and no-shows.

$75 leads with 10% close rate = $750/sale
$150 leads with 35% close rate = $429/sale

The "expensive" channel is actually 43% cheaper when you factor in quality.

What Really Matters

What most track

Cost Per Lead (CPL)

Only part of the picture

What you should track

Cost Per Sale + ROI

The full picture

Compare your marketing channels

Enter your monthly spend and lead counts to see which channels deliver the best return.

Your Business Metrics

$
%
%

Marketing Channels (Monthly)

Total Spend

/month

Total Leads

/month

Blended CPL

cost per lead

Channel Performance

Enable channels and enter data to see performance

Your Unit Economics

Cost Per Sale

blended across channels

Profit Per Sale

after marketing cost

Marketing ROI

For every $1 spent

$ return

Best Performing Channel

has your lowest cost per lead at . Consider increasing budget here for better returns.

Needs Attention

costs per lead. That's more expensive than your best channel.

Industry benchmarks

How do your numbers compare? Here's what we see across home services contractors.

Cost Per Lead

$75-$250

Google Ads $100-$200
Facebook $75-$150
SEO $50-$100
Referrals $25-$75

Cost Per Sale

$400-$800

Top performers < $400
Average $400-$600
Needs work > $800

Based on 25% close rate

Marketing ROI

300-500%

Excellent > 500%
Good 300-500%
Break-even 100%
Losing money < 100%

How to lower your cost per sale

1

Double down on what works

Found a channel with great ROI? Increase budget there before experimenting with new channels.

2

Improve speed-to-lead

Responding within 5 minutes vs 30 minutes can increase close rates by 100x. Same leads, double the sales.

3

Track by source religiously

Don't lump all leads together. Track close rate by channel to find your true winners.

4

Cut the losers quickly

A channel with <100% ROI is literally losing money. Redirect that budget to proven channels.

5

Invest in referral systems

Referral leads close at 2-3x the rate of paid leads. A $500 referral bonus beats a $150 CPL any day.

6

Train your sales team

Increasing close rate from 20% to 30% cuts your cost per sale by 33%. Same marketing spend, way more revenue.

How ContractorHUB helps you optimize marketing spend

Stop guessing which channels work. Get real data on every lead, every channel, every dollar.

Lead Source Tracking

Automatically track where every lead comes from and follow it all the way to closed job.

Speed-to-Lead Alerts

Get notified instantly when new leads come in. Never let a hot lead go cold again.

ROI Dashboards

See cost per lead, cost per sale, and ROI by channel—updated in real time.

Call Tracking

Know which marketing drove each phone call. No more "how did you hear about us?" guessing.

Sales Leaderboards

Track close rates by rep. See who's converting leads and who needs coaching.

AI Budget Recommendations

Get AI-powered suggestions for reallocating budget based on channel performance.

Ready to optimize your marketing spend?

See how ContractorHUB can help you track every lead, measure every channel, and maximize your marketing ROI.

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