Proper budgeting is the backbone of a successful marketing campaign, and Hedgehog’s Ad Spend Calculator helps you estimate and allocate your advertising budget with precision. Whether you’re planning a small social media campaign or a full-scale digital marketing push, this tool gives you a clear understanding of how much to spend and where to focus your resources. Plan ahead, avoid overspending, and ensure that your marketing dollars are going towards the channels and campaigns that offer the best return.
What this calculator does
Estimates the advertising budget required to hit a lead or revenue target, based on your target CPA (cost per acquisition), expected conversion rate, and channel. Input your numbers and it tells you how much you need to spend to reach your goal - and what assumptions that figure depends on.
How to set a realistic ad budget
Start from the outcome, not the budget. If you want 10 new clients per month and your average cost per lead is $80 with a 25% close rate, you need 40 leads to get 10 clients. At $80 per lead, that's $3,200/month in ad spend. If $3,200 isn't available, either the target needs to come down or the close rate needs to go up.
This reverse-engineering approach is more useful than "I want to spend $1,000 a month and see what happens." The latter is guessing. The former is a plan with a number you can hold against real results.
The numbers you need before using this calculator
Target CPA (what you're willing to pay per lead or sale), current close rate (what % of leads become clients), average deal value (what a new client is worth), and your target number of new clients per month. If you don't have these numbers, start with industry benchmarks - Google Ads for service businesses typically runs $50–$150 per lead depending on the niche and location.
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