Landscaping Marketing Spend Calculator
Work out how much your landscaping business should spend on marketing to hit its revenue goal, and the most you can pay per lead before the math stops working.
Built for landscaping owners who'd rather know than guess. Your numbers stay in your browser.
A common range is 5 to 10% of revenue, higher when you are growing. The output backs that into a real budget for your own numbers.
| Leads needed / month | 46 |
| Max cost per lead | $105 |
| Max cost per booked job | $210 |
When an agency quotes you a price per lead, compare it to the max above. Over that number and the math stops working.
What you get
Three reasons this earns its place on your desk
Back into a real budget
Set the revenue you want and the calculator works out what to spend to get there, instead of guessing a number.
Know your max cost per lead
See the most you can pay for a lead and still hit your margin, so you can judge any ad channel honestly.
Sanity-check the agencies
When someone pitches you landscaping leads, you will know in seconds whether the price works.
How it works
The math behind the number
Set a revenue goal, divide by average job to get jobs needed, divide by close rate to get leads needed, and take your target marketing percentage of revenue as the budget. The budget over the leads is the most you can pay per lead.
The defaults
Landscaping benchmarks (2026)
The calculator starts from the 2026 figures sourced below, so the first number you see is realistic, then you replace them with your own.
| Benchmark | Typical value |
|---|---|
| Average job value | $3,500 |
| Gross margin | 40% |
| Net profit margin | 12% |
| Median field-tech wage | $18.5/hr |
| Payroll burden | 30% |
| Billable utilization | 78% |
| Billed labour rate | $55/hr |
| Close rate | 50% |
| Marketing % of revenue | 6% |
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — OEWS, Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers (37-3011)
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Grounds Maintenance Workers
- O*NET OnLine — National Wages, Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers (37-3011.00)
- Level CFO — 2026 Landscape Company Financial Benchmarks (margins, net profit, close rate, revenue/customer)
- Aspire — Top Landscaping Industry Statistics 2025 (net margin, labor % of revenue)
- Service Autopilot — The Real Cost of Labor for Lawn & Landscaping Businesses in 2026 (labor burden, utilization)
- FieldCamp — Landscaping Pricing Guide 2026 (billable labor rate, job values)
- Landscape Leadership — How Much Should a Landscaping Business Spend on Marketing
- Hook Agency — What's a Good Closing Rate for Contractors
- NALP — 2025 Financial Benchmark Report (revenue per customer, contract value growth)
Get the download
Email me the editable worksheet
Get the spreadsheet so you can model channels and update the budget as your numbers change.
FAQ
Common questions
- How much should a landscaping business spend on marketing?
- A common benchmark is 5 to 10 percent of revenue, higher when you are growing. The calculator turns your own revenue goal, average job value, and close rate into a specific budget rather than a rule of thumb.
- What is a good cost per lead?
- It depends on your average job value and close rate. The calculator shows the maximum you can pay per lead and per booked job while still hitting your target margin — that ceiling is the number that matters.
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