Google Ads calculator for what to spend and what comes back
Enter your monthly budget or the customers you want. See the clicks, enquiries and customers it brings, what each one costs you and the highest CPC that still pays, in pounds.
Google Ads calculator
What you get each month
- Clicks
- 369
- Enquiries
- 30
- Cost per enquiry
- £49.39
- Minimum to know if it works
- £1,482
- Google recommends judging a campaign on at least 30 conversions in 30 days. At your cost per enquiry, that's £1,482 a month.
- Enter the share of enquiries that become customers to see customers, cost per customer and break-even CPC.
If your website converted better
Same budget, different website conversion rate. Improving the page the click lands on usually costs less than buying more clicks.
| Website conversion rate | Enquiries per month |
|---|---|
| 4.09% | 15 |
| 6.13% | 23 |
| 8.18% | 30 |
| 10.23% | 38 |
| 12.27% | 45 |
| 16.36% | 60 |
This is an estimate based on your numbers and public benchmarks, not a promise: cost per click changes with competition, location and season.
Do the numbers work for you?
In the free audit we check them against real searches in your area and tell you whether to start with ads, your website or both.
Your numbers are saved in this page's address: copy the link to come back to them or share them.
To work out a Google Ads budget, divide what you spend by the cost per click and multiply by your conversion rate: that gives enquiries. Add how many you win and your average sale, and you get customers, revenue, ROI and the highest CPC you can afford without losing money.
How to use the Google Ads calculator, step by step
Pick your industry
It fills in cost per click and conversion rate with a sourced benchmark. If you already run ads, use the numbers from your account.
Choose a mode
“I have a budget” shows what it buys. “I want customers” shows what you'd need to spend each month to get there.
Add your sales numbers
Out of 10 enquiries, how many buy? What does a customer pay on average? Without these there are no customers, revenue or ROI.
Check the break-even CPC and the chart
If your CPC is above break-even, every click loses money. The chart shows what happens if your website converts better.
Share the link: it keeps your numbers.
Google Ads benchmarks by industry
| Industry | Cost per click | CTR | Conversion rate | Cost per enquiry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | £4.04 | 6.64% | 8.18% | £49.76 |
| Animals and pets | £3.03 | 7.49% | 16.22% | £23.50 |
| Apparel, fashion and jewellery | £3.31 | 6.64% | 4.50% | £72.76 |
| Arts and entertainment | £1.22 | 12.75% | 5.91% | £20.03 |
| Beauty and personal care | £3.45 | 6.75% | 10.35% | £29.29 |
| Business services | £4.38 | 6.10% | 4.85% | £69.91 |
| Car dealers | £1.69 | 8.28% | 6.01% | £33.03 |
| Car repair, service and parts | £3.25 | 5.56% | 15.51% | £22.36 |
| Careers and employment | £4.34 | 5.88% | 3.05% | £50.26 |
| Dentists and dental services | £5.97 | 5.66% | 10.67% | £54.45 |
| Education and instruction | £3.59 | 7.56% | 13.14% | £57.81 |
| Estate agents and property | £2.40 | 7.61% | 3.70% | £76.49 |
| Finance and insurance | £2.53 | 9.83% | 2.64% | £55.55 |
| Furniture | £2.96 | 6.57% | 2.99% | £79.62 |
| Health and fitness | £4.60 | 5.81% | 6.94% | £50.26 |
| Home improvement and trades | £6.22 | 6.47% | 8.05% | £67.84 |
| Industrial and commercial | £4.38 | 6.57% | 8.20% | £56.10 |
| Personal services | £5.35 | 7.16% | 12.34% | £40.74 |
| Physicians and surgeons | £3.55 | 6.61% | 12.43% | £29.88 |
| Restaurants and food | £1.53 | 6.83% | 8.05% | £22.81 |
| Shopping, collectibles and gifts | £3.09 | 8.28% | 4.01% | £36.86 |
| Solicitors and legal services | £7.36 | 5.87% | 5.55% | £98.22 |
| Sports and recreation | £2.07 | 8.75% | 7.69% | £33.03 |
| Travel | £1.60 | 9.32% | 5.83% | £33.35 |
Amounts in pounds at the ECB rate of 21 October 2026 (published in U.S. dollars). Use them as a starting point. LocaliQ, Search Advertising Benchmarks for Every Industry (2026)
Download the table (CSV)How the sums are worked out
- Clicks per month
- budget ÷ cost per click
- Enquiries
- clicks × website conversion rate
- Customers
- enquiries × close rate
- Cost per enquiry
- budget ÷ enquiries
- Cost per customer
- (budget + management fee) ÷ customers
- ROAS
- revenue ÷ budget
- ROI
- (customer value − budget − fee) ÷ (budget + fee)
- Break-even CPC
- customer value × margin × conversion × close rate ÷ (1 + fee ÷ budget)
- Minimum to know if it works
- 30 enquiries × cost per enquiry
- “I want customers” mode
- customers ÷ close rate ÷ conversion × cost per click
- Customer value is lifetime value if you enter it; otherwise, the average sale. Without a margin, profitability is calculated on revenue.
- The 30 comes from Google Ads Help, which recommends judging a campaign on at least 30 conversions over the last 30 days.
- Industry benchmarks come from LocaliQ's 2026 search advertising study, based on U.S. campaigns. Amounts are converted to pounds at the European Central Bank rate of 21 October 2026. Costs per click here can be different: if you have your own numbers, use them.
Where the data comes from
- LocaliQ, Search Advertising Benchmarks for Every Industry (2026) · 26 May 2026
- European Central Bank, Euro foreign exchange reference rates · 21 October 2026
- Google Ads Help, About Target CPA bidding · 22 October 2026
Checked on 22 October 2026
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Free. We only ask that you keep the source link underneath.
How to cite this calculator
Scalia (2026). Google Ads calculator. Retrieved 22 October 2026, from https://scalia.agency/en-gb/tools/google-ads-calculator
Questions about Google Ads budgets in the UK
Are the cost-per-click benchmarks from the UK?
No. The industry figures come from LocaliQ's 2026 study of U.S. campaigns, converted to pounds at the ECB rate, because there's no comparable public UK study. Treat them as a starting point; the costs in your own Google Ads account, or in Keyword Planner set to the UK, come first.
What should a UK small business spend on Google Ads a month?
Enough to buy the enquiries you need at what a click costs in your trade and area. A useful floor: what 30 enquiries a month would cost, because Google recommends judging a campaign on at least 30 conversions in 30 days. The calculator works that out from your industry's benchmark.
Is there a minimum budget for Google Ads in the UK?
Google doesn't set one, so you can start small. The risk of going too low is getting so few enquiries that you can't tell whether the campaign works, which is why the calculator shows the minimum to find out next to your results.
What does break-even CPC mean?
The most you can pay for a click without losing money, worked out from what a customer is worth, your margin, your conversion rate and how many enquiries you win. Below it every click pays; above it, the more you spend, the more you lose.
What ROAS do I need to make money?
One that covers your costs. On a 40% margin you need a ROAS of at least 2.5 to break even (1 ÷ 0.4), which is why the calculator asks for your margin: a high ROAS on a thin margin can still lose money.
What conversion rate should I expect from Google Ads?
In LocaliQ's 2026 benchmarks (U.S. campaigns) the average across industries is 8.18% of clicks becoming an enquiry, from 2.64% to 16.22% by industry. The page the click lands on moves it more than anything else.
How do I add an agency's management fee to the sums?
Enter it in the “Management fee per month” field. It's added to the cost per customer, the ROI and the break-even CPC, because it's money you spend even though it isn't a click.
Want these numbers for your own area? We'll go through your account for free.
In the free audit we look at what people search for near you, what each click costs, your Google Ads account if you have one and whether your site turns clicks into enquiries.
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