Free tool
Funnel calculator
Work back from your target to the clicks, leads and budget you need at each step, or forward from a budget to what it should deliver. Then test what happens when one step improves.
Your funnel (name each step and the % who move on to it)
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What you'll need
Step by step
Estimates only. These figures come from the numbers you enter and assume every step performs at a steady rate. Real campaigns vary with audience, creative, timing, competition and platform changes, so use this to plan and sense-check, not as a forecast or guarantee of results.
How the maths works
Each step keeps a percentage of the people from the step before. Multiply those percentages together and you get the share of your first step who become customers.
Working back from a target divides through the same chain: 50 customers at a 20% close rate means 250 qualified leads, and so on up to impressions. The cost at whichever step you pay for turns that into a budget.
Use "What if" to test a change before you make it. In a simple funnel, a 10% improvement at any step saves the same share of budget, so the question isn't which step matters most. It's which step you can realistically improve, and by how much.
Where to find your rates
- Click-through rateAds Manager, Campaign Manager or Google Ads, at ad set or campaign level.
- Landing page conversionForm submissions divided by landing page sessions, from GA4 or your landing page tool.
- Lead to qualified, qualified to customerYour CRM. Use the last two or three months, not a single good week.
- No data yet?Start with the examples, then swap in your own numbers after the first fortnight of a campaign.
A worked example
A B2B software company wants 30 new customers this quarter from LinkedIn ads. They pay about £12 per 1,000 impressions, and each new customer is worth around £3,000 in the first year. From last quarter's numbers:
| Step | Rate | Needed |
|---|---|---|
| Impressions | 625,000 | |
| Clicks | 0.8% | 5,000 |
| Leads (form fills) | 6% | 300 |
| Qualified leads | 50% | 150 |
| Customers | 20% | 30 |
That's a budget of £7,500, or about £89 a day over 12 weeks, at £250 per customer. Each customer is worth £3,000, so there's plenty of room. Improving the landing page from 6% to 8% would cut the budget to £5,625, saving £1,875 for the same 30 customers.
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Questions
Are the example rates benchmarks?
No. They're sensible starting points so the calculator shows something useful straight away. Rates vary hugely by sector, offer, audience and channel, so replace them with your own as soon as you can.
What does "Paid per" mean?
The step you pay for. On most social platforms that's impressions, charged per 1,000 (CPM). On search it's usually clicks (CPC). If you buy leads from a partner, choose the leads step.
Why is the budget higher than I expected?
Small rates multiply. A 1% click-through rate and a 5% landing page conversion means only 1 in 2,000 people who see your ad becomes a lead. The calculator makes that visible before you commit the budget.
How do I work out an ad budget?
Start with the result you need, such as customers, sales or sign-ups. Work back through each step's conversion rate to the number of clicks or impressions that takes, then multiply by what you pay for them. That's what this calculator does. Add a campaign length to get a daily budget you can set in the ad platform.
What's a good conversion rate?
It depends on the offer, the price, the audience and how warm they are, so a figure that's good for one campaign can be poor for another. Your own past campaigns are the best guide. If you have none yet, run a small test for a week or two and use those numbers.
What does break-even mean here?
The most you can spend to win one customer before you lose money, based on the value you enter. If you enter revenue rather than profit, remember your costs come out of it too, so the true break-even is lower.
Do you store my numbers?
No. Everything is worked out in your browser. The share link keeps your numbers in the link itself, not on our side.