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Free tool

Google Ads Budget Calculator

Work out how much you need to spend on Google Ads to hit a target lead or sale volume — based on your industry's average CPC, your landing-page conversion rate and a defensible campaign-type split. Updates live as you type.

We auto-fill the CPC field with the industry benchmark. You can override below.

B2B lead-gen typical: 3-8%. E-com: 1.5-4%. SaaS trial: 5-15%.

Auto-filled from industry preset. Override with your actual CPC if known.

Agency retainer or in-house equivalent. Default 15% — typical for managed accounts.

How the calculator works

Three simple multiplications, with two industry assumptions you can override.

The formula

  1. Required clicks = target leads ÷ click-to-lead conversion rate
  2. Monthly ad spend = required clicks × average CPC
  3. Total budget = ad spend + management fee (% of ad spend)

Campaign-split logic

For lead-gen accounts we allocate 60% Search (highest-intent queries) / 30% Performance Max (broad-match learning, captures non-keyword intent) / 10% YouTube or Display retargeting (warm-audience finishing).

For e-commerce the split tilts toward Shopping-heavy PMax: 50% PMax / 40% Search (branded + high-intent product queries) / 10% Display retargeting. Pure Shopping accounts have largely migrated to PMax since 2023.

Where the CPC presets come from

Industry CPC values are rough public benchmarks aggregated from WordStream's annual Google Ads benchmark report and our own client data across roughly 50 active accounts. They are starting points only — actual CPC in your account will vary by ±50% based on geography, ad quality, Quality Score and seasonality.

What the calculator does NOT include

  • Landing-page build cost (typically $500-5000 one-off)
  • Creative production for YouTube / Display
  • Conversion-tracking setup (GA4 + GTM + offline conversions)
  • Tooling (CallTracking, heatmaps, etc.)

On a real engagement these usually add $500-2000/month for the first 3 months and $300-800/month thereafter.

FAQ

How accurate is this budget estimate?
It is a defensible order-of-magnitude estimate, not a precise forecast. CPC varies by location, ad quality, Quality Score, ad group structure, and seasonality — easily ±50% from the industry average. Conversion rate varies even more (5-25× across landing pages in the same niche). Use the result as a sanity-check starting budget, then validate with a 4-6 week test campaign.
Should I include the management fee in my budget?
Yes. Most agencies charge 15-25% of ad spend or a flat retainer. This calculator includes a 15% default management fee so the total reflects what you actually pay. If you manage in-house, you can mentally subtract that line and instead account for analyst salary + tooling.
What conversion rate should I assume?
Lead-gen B2B landing pages with a clear single offer typically convert at 3-8% from click to form fill. E-com product pages: 1.5-4%. SaaS free-trial: 5-15%. Optimised pages with strong social proof, clear copy and frictionless forms can exceed these ranges. If you do not know yours, start with 4% and refine after the first 2 weeks of data.
How does the campaign-type split work?
For lead-gen accounts we typically allocate 60% Search (highest-intent queries) / 30% Performance Max (broad-match learning + Shopping if applicable) / 10% YouTube or Display retargeting. The calculator outputs this split applied to your computed budget so you can see what each campaign tier needs. E-com accounts often run more aggressive PMax + Shopping at 50/40/10.
Can you help me actually run these campaigns?
Yes — we offer Google Ads management starting at $1500/month + a percentage of ad spend. We work on transparent metrics (CPL, ROAS) with weekly reports. Book a free 60-min audit of your current account or your forecast below.

Ready to launch?

We manage Google Ads for SaaS, e-commerce and local-services brands. Pricing starts at $1500/month + 15% of ad spend — weekly reports, transparent metrics, no long-term lock-in.

Book a free audit → Google Ads service details