What Does Legal PPC Cost?

Two numbers decide it: what Google charges for the click, and what you pay to have the account run well. Here is both, with the math.

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The two costs in every legal PPC campaign

Paid to Google

Ad spend

Every click on your ad is billed by Google, from your own account. Attorneys and legal services is the most expensive category Google sells, averaging $9.87 per click and $131.63 per lead in 2026. Personal injury clicks in competitive metros run well past $100 each.

Paid to us

Management retainer

$1,400/month minimum

Month-to-month. No long-term contract. You own the account and everything in it. Cancel with 30 days notice.

The math: 100 clicks to a signed case

Start with 100 clicks at the industry average cost. Assume 2 of every 100 clicks become a lead, and 1 of every 10 leads becomes a signed case. Those are conservative, realistic numbers for a well-run legal campaign.

Stage	Count	Assumption	Cost
Clicks	100	at $9.87 each, the 2026 average for attorneys and legal services	$987
Leads	2	at a 2% click-to-lead conversion rate	$493 per lead
Signed cases	0.2	at a 10% lead-to-case close rate	$4,935 per case

So it takes about 500 clicks, or $4,935 in ad spend, to sign one case at average legal click prices.

What a signed case is worth

Take personal injury, the practice area with the most expensive clicks. The Martindale-Nolo reader survey puts the average personal injury settlement at $52,900. Claimants who hired a lawyer averaged $77,600, but we will use the lower overall figure to keep the example conservative. At the standard one-third contingency fee, that is $17,633 in fee revenue from one signed case.

$4,935

Ad spend to sign one case

$17,633

Fee revenue from that case

3.6x

Return on ad spend

A realistic monthly picture

Round the ad spend up to $5,000 per month, add the $1,400 retainer, and the all-in cost is $6,400 a month for roughly one signed personal injury case. Against $17,633 in fee revenue, the campaign nets about $11,233 per month before your own case costs. One extra case a month is the difference.

The honest part: your click cost decides it

The example above uses the industry average click price. Your market may be cheaper or far more expensive. With a 2% conversion rate and a 10% close rate, the campaign breaks even at $35 per click. Below that, every case is profitable. Above it, one of three things has to improve: the conversion rate, the close rate, or the average value of the cases you sign.

That is why the free audit exists. Before you commit a dollar, we pull real click costs for your practice area and your cities, run this same math with your numbers, and tell you plainly whether PPC makes sense for your firm right now.

Break-even click cost = fee per case x close rate x conversion rate. Here: $17,633 x 10% x 2% = $35.
Clicks per case = 1 / (conversion rate x close rate). Here: 1 / (2% x 10%) = 500.
Monthly budget for one case = clicks per case x your click cost.

Legal PPC cost questions

Why is your law firm retainer higher than your standard $750 per service?

Legal is the most expensive category in Google Ads, and the accounts take more work: tighter negative keyword control, more aggressive geographic limits, and closer attention to lead quality because every wasted click costs more. The $1,400 minimum reflects that. It is still month-to-month with no long-term contract, and you own the account.

What is the minimum ad budget for legal PPC?

Enough clicks to produce cases at a steady rate. Using the average legal click cost and the assumptions above, roughly $5,000 per month buys about 500 clicks, which is one signed case. Personal injury and other high-competition practice areas cost more per click, so the budget scales with your market. We give you a specific figure for your area and practice area on the free call.

Is ad spend included in the $1,400?

No. Ad spend is paid directly to Google from your own account. The retainer covers management only, so you always see exactly what went to Google and what went to us.

What if my click costs are higher than the average?

Then the break-even math changes, and we will tell you before you spend anything. With the assumptions on this page, a campaign stays profitable up to about $35 per click. Above that, the campaign needs a better conversion rate, a better close rate, or higher average case values to pay for itself. That is exactly what the free audit checks.

Sources

Run the math on your firm's numbers

Book the free legal PPC call. We pull real click costs for your practice area and tell you whether it pays before you spend anything.

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