Free tool · Google Ads · Australia

Google Ads Budget Calculator

Work out the monthly budget you need to hit a lead or sales target, or what a fixed budget will realistically deliver. Includes a check on whether your spend is enough for Smart Bidding to work.

Enter your numbers

Leads, calls, bookings or sales — whatever you count as a conversion.

Ecommerce $1–3 · trades $8–15 · dental & allied health $4–12 · legal & mortgage $15–30.

%

Use your measured rate. Guessing high here is the most common budgeting error.

Average revenue or gross profit from one conversion. Leave at 0 to skip return figures.

Monthly budget required

$3,200

Clicks needed

400

Cost per conversion

$160

Daily budget

$105

Return on ad spend

–

Budget scenarios

How conversions and cost scale as you change monthly spend, holding CPC and conversion rate constant.

Monthly spend
Clicks
Conversions
Smart Bidding

Smart Bidding column reflects Google's guidance of roughly 30 conversions in 30 days for Target CPA and Target ROAS to optimise reliably. Below that, Maximise Clicks or manual CPC is usually the safer starting point.

How the calculation works

Clicks needed = conversions wanted ÷ conversion rate. If you want 20 conversions and convert at 5%, you need 400 clicks.

Budget = clicks needed × average CPC. At $8 AUD a click, 400 clicks costs $3,200 AUD a month.

Cost per conversion = CPC ÷ conversion rate. This is the number that decides whether Google Ads works for your business, because it has to sit below what a conversion is worth to you.

The calculator assumes a 30.4-day month and treats all conversions as equal. If your lead-to-sale rate matters, enter gross profit per conversion rather than revenue in the value field, and read the return figure as profit-based.

Know your budget. Now check whether the return justifies it.

Break-even ROAS calculator

Frequently asked questions

How much should I spend on Google Ads per month in Australia?
Your budget should be derived from your target, not chosen arbitrarily. Multiply the conversions you need by your cost per conversion, where cost per conversion equals CPC divided by conversion rate. As a practical floor, most Australian accounts need at least $1,500 AUD per month in ad spend to generate enough conversion data for Smart Bidding to optimise. Below roughly $1,000 AUD per month, campaigns rarely accumulate the 30 conversions in 30 days that automated bidding needs.
How do I calculate the Google Ads budget I need?
Budget = (conversions you want ÷ conversion rate) × average CPC. If you want 20 leads a month, your landing page converts at 5%, and your CPC is $8 AUD, you need 400 clicks, which costs $3,200 AUD per month. The conversion rate is the number most businesses guess wrong: use your actual measured rate, not an aspirational one.
What is a realistic conversion rate for Google Ads?
Across Australian accounts, well-built search campaigns sending traffic to a dedicated landing page typically convert between 3% and 10%. Service businesses with strong local intent can exceed 10%. Ecommerce usually sits between 1% and 3%. If you are sending paid traffic to a generic homepage, expect the low end of these ranges or below. Our landing page optimisation guide covers how to move this number.
Why does Google Ads need a minimum budget?
Smart Bidding strategies like Target CPA and Target ROAS learn from conversion data. Google's guidance is roughly 30 conversions in a 30-day window for reliable optimisation. A budget too small to generate that volume leaves the algorithm making bid decisions on very thin data, which is why underfunded accounts often perform worse per dollar than adequately funded ones. Our Smart Bidding guide explains which strategy suits which data volume.
Should I include management fees in my Google Ads budget?
Keep them separate. This calculator works on ad spend only, which is what buys clicks. Management fees, whether to an agency or freelancer, sit on top and typically run $800 to $4,500 AUD per month in Australia depending on account complexity. Blending the two makes it impossible to judge whether the advertising itself is profitable. See our breakdown of management costs in Australia.
What CPC should I expect in Australia?
It varies enormously by industry. Ecommerce and retail commonly sit at $1 to $3 AUD. Trades and home services run $8 to $15. Dentists and allied health sit around $4 to $12. Legal and mortgage broking are among the most expensive, frequently $15 to $30 or more. Use your own account data where you have it, because these ranges shift with location and competition. Our industry guides cover CPC benchmarks by vertical.

Not sure your numbers are realistic?

The inputs are only as good as the conversion rate behind them. If you want a second opinion on whether your targets and budget line up, send us your numbers and we will tell you straight.

Get in touch