Lead, Call and Appointment Pricing Calculator
Start with what a customer is worth to your buyer, not with what competitors charge. Get the price per lead, per billable call and per appointment, check it against your floor, and size a retainer plus performance bonus.
1. What a Customer Is Worth to the Buyer
What the buyer's customer pays per job, policy or case
Use profit, not revenue
Repeat work and referrals. 1 if they buy once
Of the lifetime value, how much the buyer will spend to win a customer
2. Close Rates and Your Costs
Ad spend divided by leads
Per booking. The calculator spreads it over the ones that show
3. Your Pricing Rules
Share of sold units buyers send back for credit
Share of booked appointments that show up
Leave the buyer room to win. 85% to 90% is a good start
Customer Lifetime Value
$6,000
sale × margin × purchases
Buyer's Max Cost per Customer
$1,500
the ceiling on every price
What to Charge
Lead
closes 10%
$135
per lead
Your margin
48%
Buyer pays per customer
$1,350
Call
closes 20%
$270
per billable call
Your margin
52%
Buyer pays per customer
$1,350
Appointment
closes 40%
$540
per showed appointment · or $405 per booking
Your margin
48%
Buyer pays per customer
$1,350
Ceiling = the buyer's max cost per customer × the close rate. Floor = your cost after returns ÷ (1 − your margin). The suggested price is 90% of the ceiling, never below your floor.
Or Charge a Retainer Plus a Performance Bonus
When the buyer pays for the ads, charge a retainer that covers your cost to serve them, plus a bonus for every customer they win. It uses the same max cost per customer ($1,500) and target margin (40%) from above.
Your Cost to Serve
The Buyer's Results
50% splits the savings evenly, so both sides win
Your Monthly Cost
$1,800
Monthly Retainer
$3,000
Buyer's Cost per Customer
$800
(ads + retainer) ÷ customers
Gap to Their Limit
$700
limit $1,500
Bonus per Customer
$350
Buyer Pays per Customer
$1,150
with the bonus included
You Earn per Month
$8,250
$3,000 retainer + 15 × $350 bonus
Automate your lead pricing and distribution
Lead Distro AI handles lead routing, buyer caps, cost tracking, and real-time profit reporting, so you can stop using spreadsheets and start scaling.
How to Price Leads, Calls and Appointments
Every price in this calculator comes from one number: what a customer is worth to the business buying from you. Work backward from it and the price of a lead, a call and an appointment all follow. The whole method fits in five lines.
- 1. LTV = average sale × profit margin × purchasesWhat a customer is worth
- 2. Max CAC = LTV × share spent on marketingThe buyer's ceiling
- 3. Price = max CAC × close ratePer lead, call or appointment
- 4. Floor = cost after returns ÷ (1 − margin)Never price below it
- 5. Bonus = gap to their limit × your shareRetainer + performance
Start With What a Customer Is Worth
Customer lifetime value (LTV) is the profit a customer brings, not the sale price. A roofer with a $12,000 average job, a 40% profit margin and 1.25 jobs per customer (repeat work and referrals) earns $6,000 per customer. Using revenue instead of profit is the most common pricing mistake: it makes every lead look worth more than the buyer can pay.
Find the Most a Buyer Can Pay
No business spends its whole profit to win a customer. If the roofer keeps 75% and spends 25% on marketing, they can pay up to $1,500 to win one customer. That max cost per customer (max CAC, customer acquisition cost) is the ceiling on every price you set.
Work Backward Down the Funnel
Multiply the ceiling by how often each unit turns into a customer. A form lead that closes 10% of the time is worth $150. A phone call that closes 20% is worth $300. A showed appointment that closes 40% is worth $600. The closer a unit is to the sale, the more it is worth, which is why one flat price for all three is wrong. See pay-per-call vs pay-per-lead for when each model fits.
Define What Counts Before You Price
Only charge for calls and appointments that match the rule you both signed. A call usually counts once it passes a minimum length, such as 90 seconds; a 12-second hang-up does not. An appointment can be billed when it is booked or when the person shows up. A booking is worth the showed price times the show rate: $600 at a 75% show rate is $450. Our guide to pay-per-appointment lead generation covers the trade-offs.
Know Your Floor Price
Your floor is your real cost plus your margin. If a lead costs you $60 in ads and buyers return 15% of them, each lead they keep really costs you about $71. For a 40% margin, divide by 0.6 to get a floor of about $118. If you sell plenty of leads and still do not make money, returns pushing your real cost above your price is the usual reason.
Leave the Buyer Room to Win
Your price lives between your floor and the buyer's ceiling. Pricing at the ceiling leaves the buyer no profit, and they cancel after a month. At 90% of a $150 ceiling, a $135 lead means each customer costs the buyer $1,350, under their $1,500 limit, while you keep a 48% margin. A buyer who makes money on your leads keeps buying them.
Retainer Plus Performance When the Buyer Pays for Ads
When the buyer funds the ads, they carry the risk, so the deal changes. Charge a retainer that covers your cost to serve them: 20 hours at $75 plus $300 of tools is $1,800 a month, or a $3,000 retainer at a 40% margin. Then size a bonus from the gap. If $9,000 of ads plus the retainer wins 15 customers, each costs $800 against a $1,500 limit. Half of that $700 gap is a $350 bonus per customer: the buyer still pays only $1,150, and you earn $8,250 a month. More on this in retainer vs pay-per-lead.
From Formula to Billing
A price only holds if you can prove what you delivered. Lead Distro AI runs your whole leads, calls and appointments business: funnels, call tracking with billable-call rules, appointment booking, buyer billing and cost tracking that shows your margin per campaign. For lead-only math such as cost per lead and break-even, use the cost per lead calculator.
Lead, Call and Appointment Pricing FAQs
How much should I charge per pay-per-call call?
Multiply the buyer's max cost per customer by the share of billable calls that become customers. If a customer is worth $6,000 in profit and the buyer spends 25% of that on marketing, their limit is $1,500. At a 20% close rate a billable call is worth up to $300, so price it a little under that, around $270.
Why should calls and appointments cost more than leads?
Because they sit closer to the sale. A form lead might close 10% of the time, a phone call 20% and a showed appointment 40%. With a $1,500 limit per customer that makes the lead worth $150, the call $300 and the appointment $600. One flat price for all three either overcharges for leads or gives calls and appointments away.
What counts as a billable call?
A call that meets the rule you and the buyer agreed on, usually a minimum length such as 90 seconds and a caller who matches the offer. A 12-second hang-up should not be billed. Write the rule into the deal before the first call, or you will argue about refunds every week.
Should I charge per booked appointment or per showed appointment?
Either works if the price matches. A showed appointment is worth the full price. A booked appointment is worth the showed price times the show rate, so a $600 showed price at a 75% show rate is $450 per booking. Charging per booking moves the no-show risk to the buyer, so the price per booking is lower.
What is a floor price?
The lowest price that still makes you money. Take your cost per unit, divide by one minus your return rate to get your real cost per unit the buyer keeps, then divide by one minus your target margin. A $60 lead with 15% returns costs you about $71 per kept lead, and a 40% margin puts your floor at about $118.
How do I set a retainer and a performance bonus?
Set the retainer at your monthly cost to serve the buyer divided by one minus your margin: $1,800 of team time and tools at a 40% margin is a $3,000 retainer. Then find the gap between what a customer costs the buyer and their limit. If $9,000 of ads plus the retainer wins 15 customers, each costs $800 against a $1,500 limit. Take half of that $700 gap as a $350 bonus per customer.
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