Google Ads in Australia costs three things: the ad spend you pay Google, the management fee if someone runs it for you, and the setup that makes the spend count. In the home-service accounts I’ve run, a lead cost between A$34.82 and A$90. What you should pay depends on what a lead is worth to you, not on an average.
The three costs
- Ad spend. You set a daily budget and pay Google per click. Google doesn’t set a minimum, but too little spend means too few clicks to learn from.
- Management. If someone runs the account for you, that’s a separate monthly fee. Mine is A$1,400 a month per platform.
- Setup. Tracking that counts real enquiries, and a page built for the ad. A custom landing page from me is a A$900 fixed price.
What a lead cost in four real accounts
These are home-service businesses I’ve run Google Ads for. Each figure is published in the case study linked in the table, with its source and limits.
| Business | Cost per lead or conversion | Leads or conversions | Channels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carpet, couch and mattress cleaning, Melbourne | A$34.82 | 217 primary leads | Google Search |
| Emergency garage door repairs, Brisbane (first 3 months) | A$43.59 | 560 conversions | Search, Dynamic Search Ads, Performance Max |
| Roof, gutter and pressure cleaning, Melbourne | A$80 | 1,165 leads | Search, Performance Max, Dynamic Search Ads, remarketing |
| Local trade business (city not published) | A$90 | 222 leads on A$20K of ad spend | Google Ads + Meta |
For comparison, WordStream’s 2026 benchmarks put the median cost per lead at US$66.69 across all industries and US$90.92 for Home & Home Improvement. That data covers 13,474 US search campaigns, in US dollars, from April 2025 to March 2026 (WordStream). Treat it as a reference point, not a target for an Australian business.
Why those numbers differ
- What counts as a lead. The cleaning account counted only quote forms, WhatsApp chats and tracked calls. Counting page views and scrolls had produced 2,985 “conversions” and misled the bidding.
- Urgency. Someone with a broken garage door books fast. That account ran at a 23.67% conversion rate in Brisbane.
- Competition. Pressure cleaning in Melbourne is a crowded auction, with many contractors bidding on the same terms.
- Channel mix. A blended Google and Meta figure isn’t comparable with a Search-only one.
How to set your budget
Start from what a lead is worth, then work back:
- Estimate an average lead’s value. The cleaning business put theirs at about A$250.
- Pick a target cost per lead that leaves margin. Theirs was A$35.
- Multiply by the leads you want. Fifty leads at A$35 is A$1,750 of ad spend a month.
- Check the demand exists. Google’s Keyword Planner shows how many people search for your service in your area.
Is A$30 a day enough?
It can be, if the account is tight. A Brisbane wedding and event photographer I worked with ran Google Ads on about A$30 a day, roughly A$910 a month. It worked because each service had its own ad group, keywords were local, and only real enquiries (forms, calls and emails) counted as conversions. A small budget leaves no room for broad keywords or untracked results.
What management costs
My prices are published: Google Ads, Meta Ads or TikTok Ads at A$1,400 per platform per month, full paid media at A$2,400 a month, and a landing page at A$900 fixed. When you compare quotes, ask what’s counted as a conversion and who you’ll actually deal with each week. More on how I run Google Ads.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the minimum budget for Google Ads in Australia?
Google doesn’t set a minimum. The practical minimum is enough budget for your target cost per lead to buy a useful number of leads each month.
What’s a good cost per lead on Google Ads?
One that leaves profit after your close rate. It depends on what a lead is worth to your business, not on an industry average.
Why is my cost per lead higher than these examples?
Check what your account counts as a conversion first. If page views or scrolls are counted, the reported cost per lead is wrong, and so is the bidding built on it.
How much does Google Ads management cost?
Noam Marketing charges A$1,400 a month per platform. Ad spend is paid to Google separately.
These figures are specific to each business, market and period. They show what’s possible with sound tracking and structure, not a forecast for your account.