In short
The cheapest documented lead in our Meta work cost $1.86. The most expensive documented acquisition cost $124.08. Both campaigns did their job.
A cost per lead figure means nothing without the thing being bought attached to it. The number that matters is cost per lead divided by what a lead is worth to you, and almost nobody quotes that.
The range, with the product attached
| Engagement | Cost per lead | What a lead is |
|---|---|---|
| Inflatables manufacturer | $1.86 | Enquiry for premium yacht and resort inflatables |
| Luxury real estate | $3.29 | Enquiry on high-end residential |
| Plastic surgery clinic | $3.56 | Consultation enquiry |
| Financial funding business | $5.26 | Alternative-finance applicant |
| Commercial lending | $5.41 | Merchant cash advance enquiry |
| Business coaching | $8.43 | Programme enquiry |
| Online medical training | $11.43 | Course appointment |
| Insulation services | $19.80 | Residential or commercial quote |
| Finance and lending | $20.05 | SME funding enquiry |
| Landscaping | $40.00 | Design and grounds enquiry |
| Automotive performance parts | $124.08 | A completed sale, not a lead |
What actually drives the spread
- How much the buyer is committingAn enquiry costs less than an appointment, which costs less than a sale. Half the apparent variance between agencies' quoted numbers is this, undeclared.
- How narrow the audience has to beThe inflatables campaign reached 10,828 people on a total budget of $130. Small, specific audiences are cheap to reach and the leads are unusually qualified.
- Whether the category is regulatedFinance, health and housing categories carry targeting restrictions on Meta. The lending accounts here work, but they work with fewer levers.
The internet broadband provider is the clearest illustration of movement rather than level: cost per acquisition fell from $109.80 to $48.80 over six months. Nothing about the product changed. The targeting and creative did.1
The question to ask instead
Cost per lead is an input. What you want to know is whether the arithmetic closes: lead cost, multiplied by how many leads become customers, against what a customer is worth. A $40 landscaping lead that closes one in four at several thousand pounds of work is a better buy than a $4 lead that closes one in two hundred.
We ask for close rate and average order value before quoting on paid social, and when a prospect does not know either, that is the first piece of work rather than the campaign. It is a less impressive proposal and it is the right order to do things in.
Sources
- Internet Broadband Provider: cost per acquisition halved. Monastic Marketing case study. Read September 29, 2026.
- Inflatables Manufacturer: 70 leads at $1.86 on $130. Monastic Marketing case study. Read September 29, 2026.
- Automotive Performance Products: 201 sales at $124.08. Monastic Marketing case study. Read September 29, 2026.
- Landscaping Company: 67 leads at a best cost of $40. Monastic Marketing case study. Read September 29, 2026.