Lead profitability
calculator.

How this calculator
does the math.

This tool models one acquisition cohort over one chosen period. It does not identify which sales were caused by marketing. Use your CRM and trusted payment records to establish attribution, and avoid counting the same customer in multiple channels.

• Expected customers = unique leads × close rate.
• Expected collected revenue = expected customers × collected revenue per customer.
• Acquisition expenses = advertising spend + management fees + other acquisition expenses.
• Contribution before overhead = revenue − direct delivery costs − acquisition expenses.
• Contribution after entered overhead = contribution before overhead − allocated overhead.
• ROAS = revenue ÷ advertising spend. A 5× return on ad spend is 500%, not 5%.
• Acquisition ROI before overhead = contribution before overhead ÷ acquisition expenses × 100. The denominator here is acquisition expense, not all business costs.
• Break-even close rate = (acquisition expenses + overhead) ÷ (leads × contribution per customer before acquisition).
• Maximum media CPL = (expected customer contribution − non-media acquisition expenses − overhead) ÷ leads.

A worked example, not a benchmark.

25 leads at an 8% close rate imply two customers. At $2,500 collected per customer and $1,500 delivery cost each, revenue is $5,000 and delivery expense is $3,000. With $1,000 in ad spend, $595 in management, $105 in other acquisition expenses and $300 in overhead, the scenario breaks even after entered overhead. ROAS is 5×, yet contribution after those costs is $0.

What is a profitable cost per lead?

There is no universal profitable CPL. It depends on your close rate, collections, service margin and non-media costs. For the example above, the maximum break-even media CPL is $40. A lower close rate or higher delivery expense reduces that ceiling. Compare lead sources using consistent qualification rules and enough time for the sales cycle.

What is left out?

Taxes, financing costs, refunds, bad debt and future service obligations are excluded unless reflected in your inputs. Collected prepayments may still fund undelivered work. Reserve those obligations; this output is not unrestricted cash or a tax-ready net-profit figure. Fractional expected customers describe an average, not a guaranteed outcome.

Formula reference: Google Ads: ROAS as conversion value divided by ad spend. Our contribution and acquisition-ROI definitions are stated above so their cost boundaries are clear.