The Complete Cost Per Lead Benchmark for Service Businesses in 2025

You're spending £1,500 on ads. You get 25 leads. Cost per lead: £60.

But is that good?

Without knowing your industry benchmark, you're flying blind. One niche might see £40 CPL as expensive; another might see £200 as a bargain.

Industry Benchmarks (2025 Data)

Here's what we're seeing across different service businesses:

• Dental practices: £30–£80 per lead (cosmetic specialists: £50–£120)

• Aesthetic clinics: £25–£75 per consultation

• Physiotherapy: £20–£50 per inquiry

• Premium gyms: £15–£45 per trial signup

• Specialist healthcare: £75–£200 per consultation

These numbers shift based on:

• Geographic location (London costs 2–3x more than North East)

• Specificity (implant leads cost more than general dentistry)

• Seasonality (January and September cost more due to New Year/back-to-school demand)

• Ad quality (poor creative = 2–3x higher CPL)

How to Calculate YOUR Target CPL

This is crucial. Here's the formula:

1. Know your patient/client value

   • Average revenue per patient × average retention

   • Example: Dental implant = £3,000 × 2 treatments per year = £6,000

2. Set acceptable customer acquisition cost

   • Rule of thumb: CPL should be 5–10% of customer lifetime value

   • If customer lifetime value is £5,000, target CPL is £250–£500

3. Work backwards to your ad budget

   • If you need 20 customers/month and your target CPL is £100

   • Budget needed: 20 × £100 = £2,000/month

Red Flag CPLs

If your CPL is consistently:

• Higher than benchmark: Your creative, targeting, or landing page needs work

• Much lower than benchmark: Either you're in an underserved market (lucky) or leads are low-quality (check conversion rate)

The Conversion Rate Matters More

Here's the secret most miss: CPL alone doesn't matter.

Example:

• Campaign A: £60 CPL, 30% conversion to customer = £200 cost per customer

• Campaign B: £100 CPL, 50% conversion to customer = £200 cost per customer

Same bottom line, different CPL.

Track both metrics: cost per lead AND lead-to-customer conversion rate.

What to Do This Week

Calculate your target CPL based on your customer lifetime value. Then audit your current campaigns. Are you hitting target? If not, before you increase budget, test different creative or audience targeting.

If you need help or your ads aren't performing the way you'd like, contact us today!

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