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Short answer: Work it out backwards: monthly ad budget ≈ leads you want × your cost per lead. At LocaliQ’s US median of US$129.02 per plumbing lead, 10 leads a month needs about US$1,290, 20 leads about US$2,580 and 30 leads about US$3,871 of ad spend. Google doesn’t set a minimum, but a budget too small to buy a steady flow of leads makes it hard to tell what’s working. Outside the US, use the city tables below, which turn published click prices into a monthly figure for 20 plumbing leads.
The same method works for every trade, so the tables below include electricians, HVAC, roofers, landscapers and builders.
How much should a trades business spend on Google Ads per month in the US?
Budget calculator. Monthly ad spend = leads × median cost per lead from LocaliQ’s study of 3,211 US home-services Search campaigns (April 2024–March 2025). US$, ad spend only, rounded to the nearest dollar.
| Trade | Median cost per lead | 10 leads a month | 20 leads a month | 30 leads a month | Daily budget for 20 leads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbing | US$129.02 | US$1,290 | US$2,580 | US$3,871 | US$85 |
| Electricians | US$93.69 | US$937 | US$1,874 | US$2,811 | US$62 |
| Air conditioning | US$127.74 | US$1,277 | US$2,555 | US$3,832 | US$84 |
| Heating & furnaces | US$129.02 | US$1,290 | US$2,580 | US$3,871 | US$85 |
| Roofing & gutters | US$228.15 | US$2,282 | US$4,563 | US$6,844 | US$150 |
| Landscaping | US$117.92 | US$1,179 | US$2,358 | US$3,538 | US$78 |
| General contractors | US$165.67 | US$1,657 | US$3,313 | US$4,970 | US$109 |
Source: LocaliQ. The daily budget column is the monthly figure ÷ 30.4, the number of days Google uses for monthly pacing. On any single day a campaign can spend up to twice its daily budget, but over a month it won’t charge more than 30.4 times it (Google).
How much should a plumber spend on Google Ads in Australia, the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland?
Budget calculator for 20 plumbing leads a month. Click prices: median across plumber searches in each city, October 2026 (non-Australian figures converted from US$ by the source). Leads assume LocaliQ’s US plumbing conversion rate of 7.63%, about 262 clicks for 20 leads. Click prices source: Sixty Steps analysis of Google Ads data (via DataForSEO), October 2026: US, Australia, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland.
| Country | City | Median click | Cost per lead at 7.63% | Ad spend for 20 leads |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Sydney | A$64.23 | A$841.81 | A$16,836 |
| Australia | Melbourne | A$48.81 | A$639.71 | A$12,794 |
| Australia | Brisbane | A$54.67 | A$716.51 | A$14,330 |
| Australia | Perth | A$37.29 | A$488.73 | A$9,775 |
| Australia | Adelaide | A$49.50 | A$648.75 | A$12,975 |
| United Kingdom | London | £12.63 | £165.53 | £3,311 |
| United Kingdom | Birmingham | £5.66 | £74.18 | £1,484 |
| United Kingdom | Manchester | £4.47 | £58.58 | £1,172 |
| Canada | Toronto | CA$21.07 | CA$276.15 | CA$5,523 |
| Canada | Calgary | CA$25.71 | CA$336.96 | CA$6,739 |
| Canada | Vancouver | CA$39.05 | CA$511.80 | CA$10,236 |
| New Zealand | Auckland | NZ$18.63 | NZ$244.17 | NZ$4,883 |
| New Zealand | Christchurch | NZ$15.40 | NZ$201.83 | NZ$4,037 |
| New Zealand | Wellington | NZ$11.06 | NZ$144.95 | NZ$2,899 |
| Ireland | Dublin | €4.29 | €56.23 | €1,125 |
| Ireland | Cork | €4.15 | €54.39 | €1,088 |
Click prices: Sixty Steps analysis of Google Ads data (via DataForSEO), October 2026: US, Australia, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland. Calculations: PPC Fitter.
Treat these as ceilings, not quotes. They use Keyword Planner prices, which run well above what accounts actually pay. In the US, the Keyword Planner median for “plumber” is US$35.97 across 48 markets (Pinnacle Technologies), about 3.4 times LocaliQ’s actual-paid median of US$10.49 for plumbing campaigns. We couldn’t find a published actual-paid cost per lead for plumbers in Australia, the UK, New Zealand or Ireland, so we can’t say whether the same gap applies there. Your own first month of data will replace these estimates.
How do I work out the most I can pay per lead?
Worked example with illustrative numbers. Replace them with your own.
| Step | Example | Your numbers |
|---|---|---|
| Average job value | 600 | |
| Gross margin | 50% → 300 profit per job | |
| Share of leads that become booked jobs | 40% | |
| Most you can pay per lead to break even | 300 × 40% = 120 |
If your break-even is below the cost per lead in the tables above, change the plan before you spend more: aim for higher-value jobs, a tighter service area, or better follow-up so more leads book. Repeat customers raise what a lead is worth; see customer lifetime value for setting ad budgets.
What should I do if my budget is small?
- Pick one profitable job type and a tight area. A small budget spread over every service and suburb buys a few clicks on each and teaches you nothing.
- Check your network settings. Google includes search partners by default (Google); check that setting and only keep it if it brings leads.
- Show ads when you can answer the phone, unless you take after-hours calls. Ads run all day by default (Google).
- Check who you’re targeting. Google’s default, and recommended, location option also reaches people who have shown interest in your area, not only people in it (Google). If you only work in a set area, check in your search terms and location reports whether the “Presence” option would cut waste.
- Block waste with negative keywords. Start with our negative keyword list for trades.
How much does management cost on top of ad spend?
PPC Fitter’s fee at different monthly ad spends, from month 3. The first 2 months are free.
| Monthly ad spend (US$) | Management fee | Total monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| US$1,290 | US$500 | US$1,790 |
| US$2,580 | US$500 | US$3,080 |
| US$3,871 | US$500 | US$4,371 |
| US$5,000 | US$500 | US$5,500 |
| US$7,500 | US$750 | US$8,250 |
| US$10,000 | US$1,000 | US$11,000 |
PPC Fitter’s fee is first 2 months free, then 10% of combined Google + Meta ad spend or US$500/month, whichever is greater, with no lock-in and tools included (pricing). At small budgets, the US$500 minimum is a large share of spend, so compare it with other fee models in our guide to PPC agency fees for trades.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a plumber spend on Google Ads per month?
Multiply the leads you want by your cost per lead. At LocaliQ’s US median of US$129.02 per plumbing lead, 10 leads a month needs about US$1,290 of ad spend, 20 leads about US$2,580 and 30 leads about US$3,871.
How much should a plumber spend on Google Ads in Australia?
Using October 2026 Keyword Planner click prices and a 7.63% conversion rate, 20 plumbing leads a month would cost up to about A$16,836 in Sydney, A$12,794 in Melbourne, A$14,330 in Brisbane and A$9,775 in Perth. These are ceilings: in the US, actual clicks cost about a third of Keyword Planner prices.
How much should a plumber spend on Google Ads in the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland?
On the same method, 20 plumbing leads a month would cost up to about £3,311 in London, CA$5,523 in Toronto, NZ$4,883 in Auckland and €1,125 in Dublin. Treat these as ceilings and replace them with your own data after the first month.
Is there a minimum budget for Google Ads?
Google doesn’t set one. The practical minimum is enough to buy a steady number of leads each month, so you can tell what’s working. For a US plumber at the median cost per lead, 10 leads is about US$1,290 a month.
What daily budget should I set in Google Ads?
Divide your monthly budget by 30.4. Google can spend up to twice the daily budget on a busy day, but won’t charge more than 30.4 times it in a month. A US$2,580 monthly budget is about US$85 a day.
How do I know the most I can afford per lead?
Multiply the profit on a typical job by the share of leads that book. For example, US$300 profit per job × 40% booked = US$120 per lead to break even. Use your own numbers.
How much does a Google Ads agency charge on top of ad spend?
It varies by agency and model. PPC Fitter’s fee is first 2 months free, then 10% of combined Google + Meta ad spend or US$500/month, whichever is greater, with no lock-in and tools included.
Sources (all checked 2 November 2026)
- LocaliQ, Home Services Search Advertising Benchmarks (3,211 US campaigns, Apr 2024–Mar 2025, medians, US$)
- Sixty Steps analysis of Google Ads data (via DataForSEO), October 2026: US, Australia, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland (retrieved 12–13 Oct 2026; prices converted at the Federal Reserve H.10 September 2026 average)
- Pinnacle Technologies – AI Marketing & SEO, “What a home-service click really costs in 2026”, licensed under CC BY 4.0 (48 US markets, Keyword Planner via DataForSEO, Sep 2025–Aug 2026, pulled 11 Oct 2026)
- Google Ads Help, About average daily budgets
- Google Ads Help, About ad scheduling
- Google Ads Help, About location targeting options
- Google Ads Help, About search partners
Related: Google Ads cost for plumbers · Google Ads budget for HVAC companies · Google Ads spending more than daily budget · PPC agency fees for trades · Google Ads for plumbers · Pricing
