What is CPL (Cost per Lead)?

Also known as: Cost per lead, Lead cost

Definition

The average amount a brand pays for one new lead through a social media campaign — an important KPI for B2B and lead-gen campaigns.

In-depth explanation

Calculation: total ad spend / number of leads acquired. Benchmarks vary widely by industry: SaaS B2B €50-150 per lead, local service providers €15-50, e-commerce email sign-ups €2-10. A low CPL with a high no-show rate is misleading — measure lead quality too.

Example from agency practice

A B2B client runs a LinkedIn campaign. €3,000 budget, 24 leads = CPL €125. Acceptable for an industry with €5,000+ customer LTV. At €40 lead LTV, a €125 CPL would be a loss-making campaign.

Especially relevant for

  • Ads specialists
  • Strategists
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