Work out what a lead is worth to you, then budget for enough leads to win the bookings you want. In our example cleaning business, a lead is worth about $35, a lead costs about $30, and 25 bookings a month takes about $1,890 a month in ads. To start, about $21–$43 a day for the first fortnight is enough to learn which ads bring work.
Every cleaning business is different. The figures in this guide show the method; swap in your own booking value, margin and close rate to get your budget. Example amounts are shown in your currency.
Step 1: what a lead is worth to you
Three numbers decide it: what a booking is worth, the share of that you keep after costs, and how many of your leads become paying work. Multiply them and you get the most you can pay for a lead and still break even.
| Example cleaning business | |
|---|---|
| Average booking value | $250 |
| Margin you keep after costs | 35% |
| Leads that become paying bookings | 40% |
| A lead is worth | $35 |
Pay less than that per lead and your ads make money; pay more and they lose it, however busy the phone is. There’s more on this in what a lead is worth.
Step 2: what leads cost
In the US, the median Facebook cost per lead for home and home improvement businesses is about US$41, against about US$28 across all industries1. Leads are getting dearer too: the average cost per lead rose about 21% in a year2.
Your own cost depends on your area, your offer and your ads. This example uses $30 a lead. Once your ads have run for a few weeks, use your real figure from Ads Manager.
Step 3: budget for the bookings you want
Start from the work you want, not from a number that feels safe. Divide the bookings you want each month by your close rate to get the leads you need, then multiply by what a lead costs.
| Each month | |
|---|---|
| Paying bookings wanted | 25 |
| Leads needed (25 ÷ 40%) | 63 |
| Cost per lead (example) | $30 |
| Monthly ad budget | $1,890 |
| Kept from those bookings before ads | $2,188 |
| Left after the ads are paid for | $298 |
If the last line comes out small or negative with your own numbers, more ad spend won’t fix it. Lift the value of each booking, your close rate or your margin first, or aim the ads at the bookings worth more.
Step 4: how much to start with
A brand-new campaign needs enough results to tell a good ad from a bad one. Meta has long described about 50 results in 7 days as the point an ad set leaves its learning phase, though some accounts have been shown lower bars3. Most small businesses can’t afford 50 leads a week, so aim for 10–20 leads across the first two weeks instead.
At $30 a lead, that’s about $21–$43 a day. Run two or three ads, judge them on the bookings they bring, then move budget to the winners a step at a time.
The bookings worth advertising
Cleaning is a lower-value, higher-volume business, so margins on ads are tight. The saving grace is repeat work: a client who books a fortnightly clean is worth many times their first booking. Count that when you work out what a lead is worth, or you’ll under-spend on the ads that build a regular book.
- Regular home cleans: the most valuable clients over time.
- End-of-lease and bond cleans: one-off, deadline-driven and price-sensitive.
- Office and commercial cleaning: fewer, bigger contracts with longer decisions.
- Carpet, window and oven cleans: add-ons that work well as offers.
Ad ideas for cleaners
- A first-clean offer aimed at regular bookings, not one-offs.
- Before-and-after clips of an end-of-lease kitchen or oven.
- Trust signals up front: insured, police-checked, the same cleaner each visit.
When to spend more, and less
End-of-lease demand follows moving dates, and spring cleaning brings a seasonal lift. Regular-clean ads can run all year.
Mistakes that waste budget
Valuing a lead on the first booking only
If half your new clients rebook, a lead is worth far more than one clean. Use the value of a client over their first few months.
Pushing discounts that attract one-off bargain hunters
Deep discounts fill the diary with people who never rebook. Make offers that reward regular bookings.
Changing everything every day
Big edits to budgets, audiences or ads send an ad set back into learning, and results wobble while it relearns. Make fewer, bigger changes and give them a few days.
Spreading a small budget over too many ads
Ten ads on $30 a day means none of them gets enough leads to judge. Fewer ads, each with a fair share of the budget, tell you more, faster.
Agency or do it yourself?
Agencies commonly charge $500–5,000 a month, or 10–20% of ad spend, on top of the ads themselves45. On a $1,890 budget, that fee can be a big share of what you spend reaching customers. A good agency can earn it; if you mainly need someone watching the numbers and telling you what to change, you may not need one. See the signs your agency isn’t worth it.
Questions
What does a cleaning lead cost on Facebook?
Home services leads in the US have a median of about US$411, though simple residential cleaning leads are often cheaper. Your own figure depends on your area and offer.
Should cleaners advertise regular or one-off cleans?
Regular cleans are worth more over time, so they can justify a higher cost per lead. One-off cleans can feed regulars if you follow up well.
How small an area should a cleaner target?
Small enough that you can service it without long drives. Travel time eats cleaning margins faster than almost anything else.
See what your own ads are worth
Tony checks every live ad each morning and tells you which to turn off, which to scale and why, using your numbers. The first audit is free and takes four minutes.
Sources. Dollar figures from studies are shown in your currency, converted at Reserve Bank of Australia rates for 9 October 2026 and rounded; each source has the original. Example amounts are the same number in your currency.
- WordStream (LocaliQ), Facebook Ads Benchmarks 2025: medians of 726 US lead campaigns, April 2024 – June 2025. www.wordstream.com/blog/facebook-ads-benchmarks-2025
- Search Engine Land, “Facebook ad costs jump 21% in 2025, but still beat Google”, September 2025 (WordStream LocaliQ data). searchengineland.com/facebook-ad-costs-jump-beat-google-461690
- Jon Loomer, “Is the learning phase changing?”, May 2024: Meta’s documentation reflects about 50 optimised events in 7 days to exit learning; some accounts were shown 10 in 3 days. www.jonloomer.com/qvt/is-the-learning-phase-changing/
- Margin Media, “How much does it cost to advertise on Facebook in Australia?”, October 2024: management usually A$500–5,000 a month, or 10–20% of ad spend. marginmedia.com.au/our-blog/facebook-ad-costs-australia
- Linear Design, Facebook ads management pricing guide, 2026: US$500–5,000+ a month or 10–25% of spend; many require 3–6 month minimums, some 6–12. lineardesign.com/blog/facebook-ads-management-pricing-guide/