Free tool · Online ads
Ad Budget Calculator for Google and Meta Ads
The short answer
Your monthly ad budget is the number of clicks you need times what a click costs: divide the leads or sales you want by your conversion rate, then multiply by your cost per click. At LocaliQ's 2026 all-industry averages for Google Search ads ($5.42 a click, 8.18% conversion), 40 leads a month takes about 489 clicks, or roughly $2,650. Set the daily budget at the monthly figure divided by 30.4, the number Google uses to cap a month's charges.
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How the calculator works
The calculator works backwards from the result you want to the money it takes to get it. It uses three numbers:
- Leads or sales you want a month. This is the target, not a guess about what the ads will do.
- Cost per click. What the platform charges, on average, for one visit to your site or form.
- Conversion rate. The share of those clicks that become a lead or a sale.
The formulas are:
| What | Formula |
|---|---|
| Clicks needed | Leads or sales wanted ÷ conversion rate |
| Monthly ad spend | Clicks needed × cost per click |
| Daily budget to set | Monthly ad spend ÷ 30.4 |
| Cost per lead or sale | Cost per click ÷ conversion rate |
| Return on ad spend | (Leads or sales × value of each) ÷ monthly ad spend |
| Profit after ad spend | (Leads or sales × value × margin) − monthly ad spend |
A worked example: a dental practice wants 40 new-patient enquiries a month from Google Search. LocaliQ's 2026 figures for dentists are $8.00 a click and a 10.67% conversion rate. 40 ÷ 0.1067 is 375 clicks, and 375 × $8.00 is $3,000 a month, or a daily budget of about $98.68. Each enquiry costs about $74.98.
Why the daily budget is the monthly figure divided by 30.4
Google Ads uses an average daily budget, not a monthly one. Its help page on average daily budgets says a campaign "might spend up to twice your average daily budget" on a busy day, and that "at the end of the month, you will have spent no more than 30.4 times your average daily budget." So divide the monthly budget by 30.4 and enter that as the daily budget. Some days will spend more and some less, but the month will not go over.
The benchmarks behind the default numbers
When you choose an industry, the calculator fills in the average cost per click and conversion rate from two LocaliQ reports, made with WordStream: the 2026 Search Advertising Benchmarks (last updated June 1, 2026) and the 2026 Facebook Ads Benchmarks (last updated September 23, 2026). The Meta figures are for lead campaigns.
| Industry | Google: cost per click | Google: conversion rate | Google: cost per lead | Meta leads: cost per click | Meta leads: conversion rate | Meta leads: cost per lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | $5.42 | 8.18% | $66.69 | $1.80 | 8.54% | $27.39 |
| Attorneys & Legal Services | $9.87 | 5.55% | $131.63 | – | – | – |
| Business Services | $5.87 | 4.85% | $93.69 | – | – | – |
| Dentists & Dental Services | $8.00 | 10.67% | $72.97 | $5.70 | 6.07% | $61.56 |
| Health & Fitness | $6.17 | 6.94% | $67.36 | $1.84 | 7.98% | $27.11 |
| Home & Home Improvement | $8.33 | 8.05% | $90.92 | $2.18 | 5.32% | $42.95 |
| Personal Services | $7.17 | 12.34% | $54.60 | $1.62 | 6.61% | $38.09 |
| Physicians & Surgeons | $4.76 | 12.43% | $40.04 | $1.68 | 6.41% | $32.14 |
| Real Estate | $3.22 | 3.70% | $102.51 | $1.27 | 9.95% | $13.74 |
The calculator holds all 23 Google industries and the 14 Meta industries LocaliQ publishes for lead campaigns. A dash in the table means LocaliQ gives no lead-campaign figure for that industry on Meta.
Three things to know before you rely on them:
- They come from LocaliQ's and WordStream's customers. LocaliQ says the data comes from "thousands of our customers' advertising campaigns across Google Ads and Microsoft Ads". It does not say which dates or countries are covered, and the figures are in US dollars.
- Cost per lead is published separately. LocaliQ reports cost per click, conversion rate and cost per lead as three separate averages. Dividing one by another will not always give the third, which is why the calculator shows LocaliQ's cost per lead next to your own result instead of deriving it.
- Your own account beats any average. After two to four weeks of running ads, replace the defaults with your real cost per click and conversion rate.
How to read the result
The number to watch is the cost per lead or sale against what one is worth to you. Add both optional fields to see it:
- Value per lead. Your average sale value times the share of leads that become customers. If a job is worth $1,200 and one lead in five books, a lead is worth $240.
- Profit margin. Only the profit on a sale pays for advertising. At a 40% margin, every $1 of ad spend has to bring back $2.50 in sales just to break even, which is a return on ad spend of 2.5×.
If the calculator says the plan loses money, there are three levers. You can raise the conversion rate with a faster, clearer landing page and better follow-up. You can raise the value per lead by selling more to each customer. Or you can lower the cost per click with tighter targeting and better-matched ads. Spending more does not fix a plan that loses money at a small budget. It loses more. Our guides on Google Ads clicks with no conversions and Facebook ads that get clicks but no sales walk through each lever.
Google or Meta: which budget first?
Google Search reaches people who are already searching for what you sell, so its clicks cost more and convert into buyers more often. Meta reaches people while they scroll, so its leads are cheaper but usually need more follow-up. Run the calculator for both and compare the cost per customer, not just the cost per lead. Our comparison of Meta ads and Google Ads covers which suits which business. If an agency will run the account, its fee comes on top of this budget: see what Google Ads management costs.
Sources
All checked November 4, 2026.
- LocaliQ and WordStream, 2026 Search Advertising Benchmarks, last updated June 1, 2026.
- LocaliQ and WordStream, 2026 Facebook Ads Benchmarks, last updated September 23, 2026.
- Google Ads Help, About average daily budgets.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate my ad budget?
Divide the leads or sales you want each month by your conversion rate to get the clicks you need, then multiply the clicks by your average cost per click. For 40 leads at an 8.18% conversion rate and $5.42 a click, that is 489 clicks and about $2,650 a month.
How do I turn a monthly budget into a daily budget?
Divide the monthly budget by 30.4. Google Ads charges no more than 30.4 times your average daily budget in a month, although a single day can spend up to twice the daily figure when there is more traffic.
What is a good cost per lead?
One that is lower than what a lead is worth to you. A lead is worth your average sale value times the share of leads that buy, and only the profit on that sale pays for advertising. As a reference, LocaliQ's 2026 averages are $66.69 a lead for Google Search ads and $27.39 for Meta lead campaigns, across all industries.
Why is Meta's cost per lead lower than Google's?
In LocaliQ's 2026 figures, Meta lead campaigns average $1.80 a click against $5.42 for Google Search. Search ads reach people who are already looking for the service, while Meta's lead forms reach people who were not searching, so the leads often need more follow-up before they buy. Compare the cost per customer, not just the cost per lead.
Are these benchmarks accurate for my business?
They are averages from LocaliQ's and WordStream's customers' campaigns, and LocaliQ does not say which dates or countries they cover. Use them as a starting point, then replace them with the cost per click and conversion rate from your own account after a few weeks of data.
Does this calculator work for the UK, Australia or Pakistan?
The maths works in any currency: choose yours and enter your own cost per click. The industry figures are in US dollars, so the tool fills in only the conversion rate when another currency is selected.