The budget guide

Google Ads Budget Guide for Therapists

A practice owner usually asks one question first. What does my monthly budget actually buy? This page answers it with one table and the assumptions behind every number in it.

Built on one set of assumptions Written for practice owners, not marketers Updated September 2026

The table

What the numbers look like at each budget

This table is a projection on one set of assumptions, not a promise. Your own market, your intake and your specialty decide where you land. Read it as a shape, then check your own numbers against it.

Ad spend a month	Inquiries a month	Consults a month	Clients started a month	Client value over the time they stay	Management fee a month	Total monthly cost	Return per $1 spent, lifetime value ratio
$500 a month	11 inquiries	9 consults	2 clients	$6,000 over the time they stay	$1,500 a month	$2,000 a month	3 times back
$750 a month	17 inquiries	13 consults	3 clients	$9,000 over the time they stay	$1,500 a month	$2,250 a month	4 times back
$1,000 a month	22 inquiries	18 consults	4 clients	$12,000 over the time they stay	$1,500 a month	$2,500 a month	5 times back
$2,000 a month	44 inquiries	35 consults	7 clients	$21,000 over the time they stay	$1,500 a month	$3,500 a month	6 times back
$3,400 a month	76 inquiries	61 consults	12 clients	$36,000 over the time they stay	$1,500 a month	$4,900 a month	7 times back
$5,000 a month	111 inquiries	89 consults	18 clients	$54,000 over the time they stay	$1,500 a month	$6,500 a month	8 times back

Every figure is rounded to whole units and each one carries its unit and its period. The client value column is the whole value of those clients over the time they stay, not one month of it. The last column divides that whole client value by one month of total cost, so it is a lifetime value ratio rather than cash in the month.

For reference, the account we publish started 12 clients from $3,400 of ad spend in 30 days. That is the same 12 clients as the $3,400 row above. You can see that account on our results page.

The assumptions

What the table assumes

These are the numbers behind the table. They are a starting set, not a rule. If any one of them is different for your practice, the whole table moves.

Cost per inquiry: $45. This is a planning number. It sits between the $37 our published account paid and what a more competitive market costs. Geography and specialty decide where a practice lands.
Inquiries a month: ad spend divided by $45. So $1,000 of ad spend buys about 22 inquiries in a month.
Consults: 80% of inquiries. Eight in ten people who get in touch book a first consult.
Clients started: 16% of inquiries. About one in six inquiries becomes a client who starts.
Client value: $3,000 each. That is the whole value of one client over the time they stay, not one month of it.
Management fee: $1,500 a month, flat. It does not change with the ad spend. Total monthly cost is the ad spend plus the fee.
Return: the whole client value divided by one month of total cost. It is a lifetime value ratio. Read it as value over time, not as money in the bank this month.

The published account paid $37 for an inquiry over one 30 day window. We plan at $45 because a crowded market costs more. Your own result sits somewhere between the two.

The point. One inquiry costs about $45 and one client is worth about $3,000 over the time they stay. Everything between those two numbers is the work.

What moves the number

What changes the answer

Each assumption above moves once you are in a real market. Here are the five that move it most.

Specialty competition

Some specialties have more practices bidding. More competition lifts what an inquiry costs above $45.

Geography

A large city usually costs more per inquiry than a small town. The same budget buys fewer inquiries in a crowded area.

How fast intake answers

An inquiry that waits a day is often gone. A fast reply pushes the consult rate above 80%.

Whether you take insurance

Insurance panels change who can say yes and what a client is worth over the time they stay.

How well the page matches the ad

A page about the exact problem in the ad turns more visitors into inquiries, which lowers what an inquiry costs.

Each item moves one assumption in the table. Two or three of them moving at once is normal, and that is why we run your numbers rather than quote ours.

Run your own numbers next

The calculator runs your practice's own numbers. It asks a few questions about your sessions and your budget, then shows the inquiries, the clients and the value that spend should produce.

Open the calculator Book a call

More from the toolkit: this budget guide, the webinar walk through guide, and the blog for case studies.

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