Enter a lead target
The calculator opens with the 2026 averages already in place, so the target is the one number you need to supply.
Free tool
Google Ads calculator
This Google Ads calculator estimates the monthly budget behind a lead target. It starts from the average cost per click and conversion rate on Google search, and you can switch to the averages for your industry.
Your Google Ads plan
Enter the leads you want, your conversion rate and your cost per click.
Monthly Google Ads budget
- Daily budget
- Clicks needed
- Cost per lead
- Customers expected
- Cost per customer
- Revenue expected
- Return on ad spend
This tool runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent or stored.
How much does Google Ads cost?
Google Ads costs $5.42 a click on average in 2026, and the average lead from search costs $66.69. Both figures come from WordStream's study of more than 13,000 search campaigns that ran between April 2025 and March 2026.
What you pay depends on your industry, as the table shows. A Google Ads cost calculator is only as good as the figures you give it, so replace these averages with your own once the campaign has run for a month.
| Industry | Cost per click | Conversion rate | Cost per lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | $5.42 | 8.18% | $66.69 |
| Home and home improvement | $8.33 | 8.05% | $90.92 |
| Attorneys and legal services | $9.87 | 5.55% | $131.63 |
| Real estate | $3.22 | 3.70% | $102.51 |
| Finance and insurance | $3.39 | 2.64% | $74.44 |
| Dentists and dental services | $8.00 | 10.67% | $72.97 |
Source: WordStream Google Ads benchmarks 2026.
How do you set a Google Ads budget?
You set a Google Ads budget by deciding how many leads you want and dividing by your conversion rate to find the clicks. The clicks multiplied by your cost per click give the monthly figure, and Google spreads it across the month from a daily amount.
At the all-industry averages, 50 leads need 612 clicks and a budget of about 3,317 a month. Used as a Google Ads budget calculator, the tool also shows the daily budget to enter in the campaign settings.
What return should you expect from Google Ads?
The return depends on how many leads you close and what a sale is worth. Add both figures to turn the page into a Google Ads ROI calculator. Fifty leads closing at 15% become 7.5 customers, and at 6,000 a sale they return 45,000 on a spend of 3,317.
Search leads are people who asked for the service by name, which is why they tend to cost more than social leads.
Why do real estate and finance leads cost so much on cheap clicks?
They cost more because so few of the clicks convert. Real estate clicks average $3.22, among the cheapest in the study, and only 3.70% of them become leads. The result is a cost per lead of $102.51.
A low conversion rate is the most expensive number in the table, and it is the one you can change. Growform replaces a single long form with a multi-step form that starts with an easy question. It also reports each completed lead to Google Ads with your Conversion ID and Conversion Label, through its built-in conversion tracking.
How to use the Google Ads calculator
Pick your industry
Choose “Industry averages” to replace the cost per click and conversion rate with the figures for your trade.
Replace averages with yours
Type over either figure with the number from your own Google Ads account.
Add close rate and sale
These two optional figures add customers, revenue and return to the plan.
How Growform lowers your cost per lead on Google
Search clicks are expensive, which makes each one that leaves without converting expensive too.
- The landing page form is quick to start.
The opening step asks a question about the job, answered with one tap.
- Google Ads records every lead.
Conversion tracking is built in, and it can count qualified leads only.
- The click ID is saved with the lead.
A hidden field stores the gclid, which offline conversion uploads need to credit a closed sale to its keyword.
- Search terms can be stored on the lead.
Hidden fields read utm_term and the other UTM parameters from the landing page URL.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good conversion rate for Google Ads?
The 2026 average across industries is 8.18%. Dentists and physicians convert above 10%, while real estate and finance convert below 4%.
Is there a minimum budget for Google Ads?
Google sets no minimum spend. A practical minimum is the budget that buys enough clicks for a few leads each week, so you can judge the campaign on results.
Do these averages apply outside the United States?
The benchmarks are drawn from US campaigns and quoted in dollars. Use them as a starting point elsewhere, and replace them with your own figures as soon as you have them.
Does the calculator cover Microsoft Ads?
Yes. WordStream's benchmark combines Google Ads and Microsoft Ads search campaigns, and the arithmetic is the same on both.
Why this tool is different
The calculator opens with real figures already in place, so a first estimate needs one number from you.
- Cost per click and conversion rate start at WordStream's 2026 search averages, and an industry pick replaces both at once.
- The daily budget is calculated from the month, which is the figure Google asks for in campaign settings.
- The table on the page quotes cost per lead by industry from the same report, so the estimate and the benchmark share a source.
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