Google Ads Budget Calculator (2026 Benchmarks)

There is no single correct monthly spend. Start from the number of leads you want. Clicks equal those leads divided by the conversion rate, and the monthly media budget equals those clicks times the cost per click. Divide that monthly figure by 30.4 to get the average daily budget to enter in Google Ads. In the WordStream/LocaliQ 2026 sample of 13,474 US search campaigns, the average cost per lead was $66.69. A plan is useful only when that cost still leaves room for your close rate, customer value, and any management fee.

WordStream/LocaliQ reported these 2026 search cost per lead figures from the same US sample: Attorneys and Legal Services $131.63, Furniture $106.70, Real Estate $102.51, Apparel / Fashion and Jewelry $97.51, Business Services $93.69, and Home and Home Improvement $90.92. The lowest figure in that table was Arts and Entertainment at $26.84. The overall average was $66.69. These are published medians, not a quote for your account. The full table is on this page.

Google Ads uses an average daily budget. For most campaigns, the monthly spending limit is that daily budget multiplied by 30.4, the average number of days in a month. To aim for a monthly media total, divide the monthly amount by 30.4 and enter the result as the average daily budget. Google may spend up to twice the daily budget on a busy day, and it still caps a full month at 30.4 times the daily budget for most campaigns.

This calculator flags a plan that would produce fewer than 15 leads in a month. Google states that Target ROAS for Search and Shopping campaigns needs at least 15 conversions in the past 30 days. At your conversion rate, the learning budget shown here is the media spend that would buy those 15 leads. It is a planning check. It does not mean every campaign must use Target ROAS, and it does not promise that a bid strategy will perform.

A good cost per lead is one you can still profit from after the close rate and the value of a customer. Compare your calculated cost per lead with the industry benchmark, then compare it with your break-even cost per lead, which is the close rate times the average customer value. A cost per lead above the industry figure can still be healthy when closed customers are worth more than that cost.

Yes, if you want the full monthly cost. Media spend and a management fee are different bills. This calculator can add a flat fee or a percentage of media spend. The all-in monthly cost is media plus that fee. Leave the fee off if you only want the ad spend. CleverBoss separates those two numbers when it talks through a proposal.

Google Ads search campaigns usually charge per click, with an average daily budget and a monthly limit of 30.4 times that daily amount for most campaigns. Local Services Ads are a separate Google product that charges per lead and uses its own budget. Do not paste a daily budget from this calculator into Local Services Ads and expect the same lead count. Use this page for search click campaigns.

WordStream/LocaliQ publishes this search benchmark report about once a year. The industry figures on this page come from the 2026 report, covering campaigns that ran from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026. The report page lists a last update of September 16, 2026. CleverBoss transcribed the industry table on October 11, 2026. We review the table when the next annual report is published.