Average Cost Per Lead By Industry: B2B Outbound + Inbound 2023 Data

We recently set out to establish B2B cost per lead (CPL) benchmarks. This analysis involved both our lead generation campaigns and campaigns we’ve run for clients.

We explored cold emails, Google Ads, SEO, and other marketing channels. We also considered third-party sources to find correlations and disparities.

Today, I’m going to share our findings with you, including tips for reducing your average lead cost (CPL).

Understanding Lead Generation

What is Lead Generation?

Lead generation is the process of attracting and converting strangers into potential customers, or leads, who have shown interest in a product or service. It is a crucial part of the sales funnel, as it helps businesses to identify and nurture potential customers, ultimately driving revenue and growth. Effective lead generation can be achieved through various marketing channels, including social media, content marketing, email marketing, paid advertising, and more. By leveraging these channels, businesses can reach a wider audience, engage with potential customers, and guide them through the buying journey.

Understanding Lead Generation Costs

Lead generation costs refer to the expenses incurred by a business to acquire new leads. These costs can vary widely depending on the industry, target audience, and marketing channels used. Understanding lead generation costs is crucial for businesses to optimize their marketing efforts and maximize their return on investment (ROI). By analyzing lead generation costs, businesses can identify areas for improvement, allocate resources more effectively, and make data-driven decisions to drive growth.

How we calculated the cost per lead

For Belkins’ data, we factored in the additional lead cost involved in running a lead generation campaign, including labor and tools. For third-party data, we stated how they calculated the costs.

Cost per lead = Total marketing spend / Number of leads

What is Lead Generation Cost?

Lead generation cost refers to the expenses incurred by a business to acquire a lead. This can include costs such as marketing and advertising expenses, salaries of marketing specialists, lead generation tools, and other resources used to attract and convert leads. Understanding lead generation costs is essential for businesses to evaluate the effectiveness of their marketing efforts and make data-driven decisions to optimize their lead generation strategies. By tracking these costs, businesses can identify areas for improvement, allocate resources more effectively, and ultimately reduce their cost per lead.

B2B cost per lead insights for 2024

Want to get the scoop quickly? Check out this infographic that breaks down B2B CPL by industry, target audience, outbound lead channels, and inbound lead channels. The infographic also highlights the industry average cost per lead for various sectors, providing a detailed breakdown of costs.

If you prefer to reference a specific statistic, please link to this post as the source.

Cost per lead by marketing channel

Many factors affect the B2B lead costs, including your industry, target audience, value proposition uniqueness, digital footprint, budget, and timing. For example, we reallocated half of our SEO budget to PPC in the summer of 2023.

Understanding which channels are most effective can help businesses optimize their marketing spend and increase the likelihood of converting leads into paying customers.

Why?

Like most brands, the 2023 recession hit us harder than we had planned, so we had to focus on the channels that bring leads and deals faster. Since SEO is a long game, we reduced our spending on this channel temporarily. We gave resources to our PPC team because they optimized (cut) CPL from Google Ads, which made it an efficient, cost-effective channel during those tough times.

Outbound lead generation cost 

Below, we cover the B2B lead generation costs of 5 outbound marketing channels:

• Cold email
• Cold call
• Google Ads
• LinkedIn Ads
• Facebook Ads

Many businesses also consider hiring lead generation agencies to outsource their lead generation efforts, which can impact the overall cost.

Cold email cost per lead

The average cold email cost per lead for Belkins is $250 to $300. This cost is low because we’ve been doing cold email for 7+ years. We’ve refined our lead generation and list-building processes and built a strong sending reputation. Investing in marketing has also given us a powerful brand and digital presence, which helps lower our CPL.

For client campaigns, the average CPL is $770 across 17 industries. We found this by grouping our clients by industry and target customers (startups, SMBs, and enterprise-size companies).

Our analysis shows the environmental services industry has the lowest B2B cost per lead — $300 on the low end, $750 on the high end, and $483 on average. Cybersecurity companies have the highest lead generation costs, typically ranging from $750 to $1,500 with an average of $1,083.

Below is a breakdown of cold-email cost per qualified lead by industry and target audience.

Belkins’ advice for reducing cold email CPL

Here’s what you can do to reduce your cold email cost per lead:

• Create your ICP and buyer persona. An ideal customer profile (ICP) and buyer persona are crucial for any successful marketing effort, not just cold email outreach. They help you focus on the audience most likely to convert so that you avoid wasting resources on low-quality leads.
• Segment leads. Segment your target ICP into distinct groups based on shared characteristics such as industry, company size, and tech stack. This is a vital step for email personalization.
• Personalize your emails. Writing hyper-personalized outreach emails at scale is tough. However, lead segmentation makes it easier. The trick is to create unique emails for each lead segment.

📚 Related content: Best Cold Email Sequences for 10 Industries

Cold call cost per lead

We estimate that the cold call cost per lead is $12 on the low end and $61 on the high end. This estimate includes the costs of tools you’ll use to find and validate phone numbers. But it excludes other associated costs, such as personnel and phone.

We arrived at our estimate by considering the experience of JC Pollard. In 2022, JC closed $1.4 million deals as an account executive at Gong. About 85% of those deals came from self-sourced leads JC acquired via cold-calling.

JC reportedly made over 2,572 cold calls, most of which were dead ends. But as JC said, “It only takes a few wins to change your year.” Below, we break down what it costs to generate 2,572 phone numbers.

Needed tool

Function

Cost

B2B lead generation software\ Example: Apollo

Build your lead list.

The annual plan of Apollo’s Professional tier costs $79/month ($948/year) and gives you access to 1,200 mobile credits/year. To generate 2,572 leads, JC would need an extra 1,400 mobile credits, which cost $280. So the total cost for Apollo is $1,228/year.

Phone number scraper\ Example: LeadRocks

Extract phone numbers in bulk from your lead list.

LeadRocks’ Growth plan costs $145/month ($1,740/year) and gives you access to 5,000 free monthly credits.

Phone validator\ Example: ClearoutPhone

Verify the phone numbers and confirm they are cell phone numbers, not landlines. This is important because calling landlines has low ROI, according to sales aficionado Dylan Rich.

The lowest tier of ClearoutPhone’s annual plan gives you 5,000 monthly credits at $16/month ($192/year).

Total tool cost (annually)

$3,160

JC’s cold call cost per lead, assuming a 2% call success rate.*

$3,160 / 52 = $61 per appointment

JC’s cold call cost per lead, assuming a 10.1% call success rate.*

$3,160 / 257 = $12 per appointment

*The average cold-calling success rate is 2%, according to Zippia. It can also be as high as 10.1% if you have an effective process, according to Gong.

Belkins’ advice for cutting cold call CPL

To reduce your cold call cost per lead, here’s what you can do:

• Nail your opener. Consider opening with “Hello, I’m {{full name}} with {{company name}}. How have you been?” Stating your full name makes you sound formal and commands respect. Also, using the phrase “How have you been?” instead of “How are you?” can boost your success rate 6.6 times, according to Gong’s analysis of 90,380 calls. Why? It’s a pattern interrupt that jolts the prospect and makes them more likely to continue the call.
• Use warm calling techniques. Before calling, do some research to understand what your prospect wants to accomplish. That way, you can tie their needs and goals to your value proposition to deliver a compelling pitch.
• Focus on selling the meeting. A cold call is not a discovery call. So don’t ask probing questions aimed at understanding the prospect’s needs. Once the prospect is sold on your pitch, ask them for their email and book a meeting.

Google Ads cost per lead

In 2023, WordStream published a report detailing its analysis of 17,253 U.S.-based search advertising campaigns for the year prior. It analyzed Google Ads (80%) and Microsoft Advertising (20%). And while the benchmarks were mostly for B2C, some applied to B2B.

The career and employment industry had the highest CPL ($132.95). Industries with lower CPLs were legal ($111.05), insurance ($90.02), industrial and commercial ($59.74), and dental ($65.37).

At Belkins, Google Ads cost us an average of $370 per opportunity in 2023. This makes Google Ads our second best-performing channel (after cold email).

In 2023, we spent $350,000 on ads, which created 920 new opportunities and 85 new clients. Specifically, 90% of our budget went into the paid budget for Google, while 10% went to salaries.

If you need help with Google Ads, consider working with ClickRoads — a high-performance paid ads agency for B2B companies.

We launched ClickRoads to keep our partners from experimenting with (and likely wasting) their money on Google Ads as we did. In 2022, we invested a lot in ads but earned little ROI. However, in 2023, we brought in experienced ad specialists, optimized our campaigns, and developed best practices that helped us excel. Working with ClickRoads, you have our best practices and team of specialists at your disposal.

Belkins’ advice for reducing Google Ads CPL

Here are 2 ways to reduce your Google Ads cost per lead:

• Keep ads running in the summer.We noticed that cost per click (CPC) drops by half after the 25th of every month, especially during summer. This drop occurs because most companies max out their Google Ads budget. To make the most of the opportunity, we continue running Google Ad campaigns from the 25th onward. This helps us win new deals at a lower price.
• For brand campaigns, switch from an automated bid strategy to ECPC (enhanced cost per click). This strategy helped Harrison Carroll reduce Google Ads cost by 77% and increase search impression share by 8%. Here’s how Harrison says it works:
• Set your bid at $0.01.
• Google will tell you the first-page bid estimate, i.e., the approximate CPC bid for your ad to appear on the first page of the SERPs.
• Increase your bid to match the first-page bid estimate.

“This works for brand campaigns because the quality score for your brand is as high as it can be, causing you to pay less than your competitors to maintain your position,” says Harrison. “If you use automated bidding for branded campaigns, you’re letting Google decide what your max CPC bid should be, and you will pay more (potentially way more) than is necessary.” LinkedIn advertising cost per lead

We have had little success with LinkedIn Ads. The CPL for our most recent LinkedIn campaign was $1,000, which we deemed too high. Our experience is not universal because 57% of businesses are happy with their LinkedIn Ads ROI.

Data from TheB2BHouse, a specialized LinkedIn Ads agency, shows the average LinkedIn advertising cost per lead is $98. In 2023, they spent $1 million on LinkedIn Ads over 6 months. It’s unclear whether TheB2BHouse included their personnel costs in their analysis.

Here’s a breakdown of their LinkedIn Ads CPL by industry.

Industry

Cost per lead

Software & IT

$125

Finance

$100

Education

$64

Hardware & networking

$150

Healthcare

$125

Manufacturing

$100

Media & communications

$65

Retail

$80

Public administration

$85

Consumer goods

$89

Transportation & logistics

$130

Corporate services

$60

Belkins’ advice for reducing LinkedIn advertising CPL

Below are a few expert tips to reduce your LinkedIn Ads cost:

• Use native lead generation forms. According to Speedwork, a LinkedIn Ads agency, keeping people on the platform costs less than directing traffic to an external landing page.
• Use “member skills” to target best-fit prospects. LinkedIn lets you target prospects using their skills and certifications. This helps you reach “high-intent prospects who are more likely to convert,” says marketing expert Alpana Kulkarni-Bhoge.
• Create distinct campaigns for different job titles. Alpana also recommends segmenting your target audience based on job titles and organizational hierarchy. Develop separate campaigns to address the unique needs and interests of each segment. For instance, a campaign targeting C-suite executives should differ from one intended for mid-level management.
• A/B test your ads. Both Alpana and Speedwork say A/B testing is effective for lowering your CPL. Test different messages, creatives, landing pages, and more. Identify the variations that resonate best with your audience, then use your learnings to optimize your ads.

Facebook advertising cost per lead

We haven’t tried Facebook Ads at Belkins. But according to the Metadata 2023 B2B Paid Social Benchmark Report, the average Facebook advertising CPL is $102. This report is based on the analysis of over $16 million in ad spend by customers of Metadata, a campaign-automation software company. The report did not include CPL by industry for 2023. It’s also not clear if Metadata included personnel costs in their CPL calculation.

That said, we can gain some interesting CPL insights by industry from Metadata’s 2022 report. In 2022, the average Facebook Ad CPL was $225, more than twice the 2023 figure.

Here’s a breakdown of their Facebook Ads CPL by industry.

Industry

Cost per lead

Business services

$299

Consumer services

—

Education

$278

Finance

$271

Hospitals & physician clinics

—

Insurance

$435

Law firms & legal services

$160

Manufacturing

$279

Media & internet

$479

Organizations

$261

Retail

$186

Software

$213

Telecommunications

$379

Transportation

$214

Belkins’ advice for reducing Facebook advertising CPL

The following tips will help you reduce your Facebook Ads cost:

• Remove underperforming demographics. After running your ads for a while, note which demographics aren’t responding to your offer. That feedback is proof that they’re uninterested, so refine your targeting to exclude this audience.
• Run retargeting ads. Retargeting ads involves showing your ads to people who have already engaged with your ads or visited your website. This strategy strengthens brand recognition and increases conversions.
• Use Facebook’s “lookalike audience” feature to reach new prospects. Instead of marketing to an old lead database, use the lookalike feature to create a new audience and reach new prospects.

Inbound lead generation cost 

Below, we cover B2B lead generation efforts and their associated costs using these 3 inbound marketing channels:

• SEO + content
• Clutch referrals
• Webinars

SEO (includes content)

At Belkins, we think of SEO holistically. To do SEO, we need an excellent blend of content, technical SEO, on-page SEO, and link building. Our CPL reflects this approach.

On average, our SEO cost per lead in 2023 was $173 and $300 per opportunity. Our least expensive month was August, which cost us $83 per lead. Our most expensive month was March, which cost us $564 per lead. Note that these costs include tools, but not personnel.

Below is a breakdown of our SEO price per lead for each month in 2023.

Month

Leads

Price per lead

November

178

$95.51

October

130

$130.77

September

62

$104.84

August

90

$83.33

July

80

$100.00

June

59

$201.69

May

51

$300.00

April

41

$429.27

March

28

$564.29

February

28

$328.57

January

32

$278.13

Average

779

$172.91

Clutch cost per lead

Many B2B brands don’t recognize review platforms’ potential for lead generation, Clutch’s in particular. Clutch has helped us generate about 100 high-quality leads and 65 opportunities. And the cost is reasonable — $140 per lead and $450 per opportunity on average.

Belkins’ advice for reducing your Clutch CPL

We’ve written before about how we use Clutch for lead generation. Below are the 3 primary tips to note:

• Secure a top listing position. You can boost your ranking on Clutch’s directory page by participating in auction-based sponsorships. The highest bids secure the top positions, so outbidding the current highest bid gets you the top spot.
• Request reviews from your happiest clients. Clients are more likely to share a negative experience than a positive one. Even your most satisfied clients may not leave you a review unless you ask. Identify clients whose KPIs you nailed and ask them if they wouldn’t mind leaving you a review on Clutch. Clutch says that “the number, quality, and recency of client reviews” are major ranking factors. So having lots of reviews helps you rank organically on its directories page.
• Aim to rank on the Clutch Leaders Matrix. The Leaders Matrix is an organic ranking that shows how service providers compare. You can’t buy your spot, so ranking there builds trust with prospects and can drive lots of leads. Fortunately, Clutch offers insights into how it determines its leadership matrix rankings.

Webinars

In our experience, webinars are ineffective for attracting new leads. But they’re a good channel for nurturing and converting existing prospects.

Each webinar costs us about $10,000, generates 200–300 registrations, and draws over 100 attendees. This brings our cost per registration to $33 on the low end and $55 on the high end. Also, our average cost per webinar attendee is $100.

Belkins’ advice for reducing your webinar CPL

Below are a few tips for making webinars work for you:

• Choose a hot topic. Your webinar topic has the greatest impact on registration and attendance, according to a 2021 report by BrightTALK. The best webinar topic is one that addresses a major pain point your target audience has.
• Make time for a Q&A. The BrightTALK report also revealed that 67% of people want a live Q&A with speakers. Doing a Q&A strengthens your connection with attendees and increases the odds of conversions.
• Promote webinar recording. Don’t let your webinar recording collect dust. Share it with relevant email subscribers. Publish it on your YouTube channel. Distribute it on your other social media platforms. That way, you wring more value from your webinar spend.

Average cost per lead by industry

The table below lists the average CPL across 30 industries, based on data from First Page Sage.

Understanding the average cost per lead is crucial for evaluating the efficiency of your marketing campaigns and the quality of leads generated.

Industry

Average CPL

Addiction treatment

$297

Aerospace & aviation

$373

Automotive

$283

B2B SaaS

$237

Biotech

$255

Business insurance

$424

Construction

$227

Cybersecurity

$406

E-commerce

$91

Engineering

$287

Entertainment

$114

Environmental services

$278

Financial services

$653

Fintech

$452

Healthcare

$361

Higher education

$982

Hotels & resorts

$266

HVAC

$92

Industrial IoT

$497

IT & managed services

$503

Legal services

$649

Manufacturing

$553

Oil & gas

$637

PCB design & manufacturing

$376

Pharmaceutical

$131

Real estate

$448

Software development

$591

Solar

$206

Staffing & recruiting

$497

Transportation & logistics

$588

Factors Affecting Lead Pricing

Industry and Competition

The industry and competition are two significant factors that affect lead pricing. Different industries have varying levels of competition, which can impact the cost of acquiring a lead. For example, industries with high competition, such as finance and technology, may have higher lead costs due to the increased demand for leads and the need to outbid competitors. On the other hand, industries with lower competition, such as niche markets, may have lower lead costs. Additionally, the level of competition within an industry can also impact lead pricing, as businesses may need to pay more to acquire leads in a crowded market. Understanding these dynamics can help businesses strategize their lead generation efforts and budget more effectively.

What impacts your lead generation costs?

Your ad campaign cost is only one of several factors that impact your leads cost in B2B. Below are 4 factors that determine your CPL.

Tool costs

You need a set of sales tools for efficient lead generation. At minimum, you'll need a CRM. Other tools you might need include a list-building tool, email deliverability tool, email validation tool, cold calling software, and meeting-scheduling tool. 

Labor costs

This includes the costs of hiring your sales development representatives, account managers, ad experts, SEO experts, and content writers.

Staying in-house vs. outsourcing

Hiring a high-quality B2B lead generation agency comes at a steep price, but the ROI justifies the spend. Building an in-house team is a huge commitment of time and finances, but it's often cheaper in the long run. 

Buying lead lists

We don't sell B2B lead lists at Belkins. However, Aman Ghataura, the head of growth at Nuoptima, compared the cost per meeting booked from his purchased and manually compiled lead lists. Aman found that his cost per meeting from purchased leads was 50% more than the cost per meeting from self-built lists. 

Optimizing Lead Generation Costs

Optimizing lead generation costs involves implementing strategies to reduce the cost per lead while maintaining or increasing the quality of leads and converting them into paying customers. This can be achieved by leveraging lead generation tools, refining targeting options, and improving the efficiency of marketing campaigns. By optimizing lead generation costs, businesses can increase their conversion rates, boost revenue, and gain a competitive edge in their industry.

Strategies for Reducing Lead Generation Costs

1. Use high-quality lead data providers: Partnering with reputable lead data providers can help businesses access accurate and up-to-date lead information, reducing the risk of wasting resources on unqualified leads.
2. Target leads when they are ready to buy: Timing is everything in lead generation. By targeting leads when they are ready to buy, businesses can increase their conversion rates and reduce the cost per lead.
3. Narrow down your target audience: Focusing on a specific target audience can help businesses reduce waste and increase the effectiveness of their marketing efforts.
4. Adjust ad frequency and messaging on different channels: By monitoring the performance of ads across different channels and adjusting frequency and messaging accordingly, businesses can optimize their marketing spend and reduce waste.
5. Use inbound marketing methods: Inbound marketing methods, such as content marketing and SEO, can help businesses attract qualified leads at a lower cost than traditional outbound methods.

Creating a Holistic Marketing Strategy

A holistic marketing strategy involves considering multiple metrics and channels to drive growth and maximize ROI. By taking a holistic approach, businesses can ensure that their marketing efforts are aligned with their overall goals and objectives.

Importance of a Holistic Approach

1. Consider multiple metrics: A holistic approach involves considering multiple metrics, including conversion rate, ROI, engagement metrics, and customer lifetime value (CLV).
2. Align marketing efforts with business goals: By aligning marketing efforts with business goals, businesses can ensure that their marketing spend is driving growth and maximizing ROI.
3. Optimize marketing channels: A holistic approach involves optimizing marketing channels to ensure that businesses are reaching their target audience effectively and efficiently.
4. Monitor and adjust: By monitoring performance and adjusting marketing strategies accordingly, businesses can ensure that their marketing efforts are driving growth and maximizing ROI.

FAQ

How much should you spend on lead generation?

How much you spend on lead generation is your prerogative. In 2023, Belkins spent $350,000 on Google Ads and about $135,000 on SEO. Not to mention cold email outreaches, webinars, and LinkedIn advertising.

Do I need to spend $20,000 on B2B lead generation software?

This depends on your business goals and the lead generation software you use. Our sales toolkit costs us more than $20,000 yearly.

What is a good cost per lead for B2B?

Cost per lead varies widely depending on your industry, target audience, the uniqueness of your value proposition, marketing channel, and so on. 

When thinking about a good CPL, recognize that industry standards are guardrails you can improve on. The best B2B CPL benchmark is your historic data! Always record your CPL data and use this information to guide future strategies and improve CPL over time.

How can I keep my B2B cost per lead low?

The following tips apply regardless of your marketing campaign or lead generation channel:

• Use different messaging for different audiences. This raises the effectiveness of your ads.
• Monitor ad fatigue and adjust your ad frequency and messaging if needed.
• Optimize your landing pages and cut budgeting for poor-performing lead generation channels.
• Narrow your target audience. Focus on people who desperately need and are most likely to buy what you sell.