Cost per lead benchmarks: what leads really cost in 2026

Most cost per lead articles quote American averages from software companies. They are no use to a plumber in Frankston or a mortgage broker in Melbourne. This page is different: every figure below comes from an account we manage, and each one names where it came from.

The numbers: cost per lead from real accounts

These are results from client accounts, published with permission. Where a figure comes from the client rather than the ad platform, it says so.

Business	Industry	Platform	Cost per lead	Context
R&S Sandwiches	Catering	Meta	$24.47	187 leads in the first four weeks of a launch, $4,575 spend
Vipa Library Supplies	Library supplies, online store	Google Ads	about $35	Per conversion, WEDEE reported from the client's Google Ads account
Travis & Co Events	Events and hospitality	Google Ads	$39.11	380 conversions over two years on about $620 a month
My Mortgage Mentor	Mortgage broking	Meta	$64.49	60+ leads a month on about $4,000 a month of spend
Logic Property Wealth	Property and wealth advice	Meta	$73.77	Best campaign at scale, 365 leads. $100.20 blended across all testing, 946 leads in total

Typical ranges we see by industry

Across the accounts we run, these are the ranges we would expect in Melbourne in 2026 with a properly built campaign. They are our working benchmarks, not a promise: your area, your offer and your competition all move them.

Industry	Google Ads	Meta (Facebook and Instagram)
Trades: plumbers, electricians, concreters	around $50 a lead	$20 to $50 a lead
Cleaning	similar to other trades	$10 to $20 a lead
Mortgage brokers	rarely the right channel	about $50 for a highly qualified lead is good. $200+ is a blowout

Two patterns explain most of the spread. Businesses people search for at the moment they need them (a blocked drain, a party venue) do well on Google, because the customer is already looking. Businesses nobody searches for (a mortgage broker, a wealth adviser) do better on Meta, where the ad reaches people before they start looking. Our channel tool works through this in three questions.

Why the cheapest lead is often the most expensive

A low cost per lead is easy to buy. Remove every question from a Facebook lead form and the cost drops, and the leads become people who tapped a button by accident. We have taken over Meta accounts from other agencies that ran exactly that: a very low cost per lead, and a sales team wasting its week calling people who never meant to enquire.

The number that matters is cost per client. Divide the cost per lead by the share of leads that become clients:

• My Mortgage Mentor: $64.49 per lead, and more than half of leads become clients (client reported). That is roughly $130 per new client.
• Logic Property Wealth: $73.77 per lead on the best campaign, with 30%+ of qualified leads becoming clients (client reported). Roughly $250 per new client at most.

A $20 lead that never converts costs more than either of those. That is why we put up to five qualifying questions on a lead form. It raises the cost per lead and lowers the cost per client.

How to work out the cost per lead you can afford

Before you judge any campaign, work out what a lead is worth to you. You need three numbers you already know:

1. Average job or client value. What a typical new customer is worth to you in profit, not revenue.
2. Close rate. Out of ten genuine enquiries, how many become paying work?
3. Break-even cost per lead = profit per customer × close rate.

An example with made-up numbers: if a typical job earns you $800 in profit and you win 3 in 10 enquiries, a lead is worth $240 to you. A $50 lead is a very good deal. A $300 lead loses money. Anything under your break-even figure is a campaign worth scaling.

What moves cost per lead the most

• Enough budget to learn. Below about $50 a day on Google Ads or Meta, there is not enough data to tell a good ad from a bad one. Results swing week to week and decisions are guesses.
• Creative testing. On Meta the ad itself is the targeting. My Mortgage Mentor's results came from testing many creatives, finding the winners and moving budget to them.
• Qualifying questions. Up to five relevant questions on the form. Fewer leads, far better ones.
• Instant forms or landing pages. Meta instant forms work very well and are the easiest place to start. A landing page connected to a proper CRM can beat them, but only with a good funnel behind it.
• Conversion tracking. If the account cannot see which clicks became enquiries, it optimises for clicks. Travis & Co's results started with tracking set up properly.
• Speed to lead. The same lead is worth far less an hour later. Tradies should call back within 10 minutes; brokers within the hour.

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Common questions

What is a good cost per lead for tradies on Google Ads?

In our accounts, around $50 a lead is typical for trades like plumbing, electrical and concreting in Melbourne in 2026. Whether that is good depends on your job value: work out profit per job multiplied by your close rate, and anything below that is worth paying.

What is a good cost per lead for mortgage brokers on Facebook?

About $50 for a highly qualified lead is good. Costs of $200 or more per lead are a blowout and mean the campaign needs fixing. My Mortgage Mentor runs at $64.49 per lead with more than half becoming clients.

How much should I spend on Google Ads or Meta ads each month?

We recommend at least $50 a day, about $1,500 a month, on either platform. Below that there is not enough data to learn what works, and results are too noisy to manage well.

Is a cheap cost per lead always good?

No. A very low cost per lead usually means the form has no qualifying questions, so many leads are not real buyers. Judge campaigns on cost per client: cost per lead divided by the share of leads that become clients.

Sources. Client figures from each client's own Meta Ads Manager or Google Ads account, published with permission; periods are on each case study. Vipa Library Supplies cost per conversion is WEDEE reported. Lead-to-client rates are client reported. Industry ranges are WEDEE's working benchmarks from accounts we manage, November 2026.