What Does a Good Lead Actually Cost? (And Are You Paying Too Much?)

Jordan from OzBroker: 223 leads at $12.59 per lead. Joseph Bakhos: 106 leads at $17.14 per lead in just 5 weeks. Joseph Bakhos: 106 leads at $17.14 per lead in just 5 weeks. These are real numbers from real Australian mortgage broker campaigns managed by ozimedia.

Now, before you fixate on those numbers, here's the thing: cost per lead is one of the most misunderstood metrics in mortgage broker marketing. A $2.00 CPL can be brilliant. A $2.00 CPL can also be worthless. The number on its own tells you almost nothing about whether your marketing is actually working.

A $20 CPL sounds like a win until you realise none of those leads are credit-worthy. A $120 CPL sounds expensive until you realise those leads are closing at 35% and each settlement is paying $3,600 in upfront commission plus trail. Without understanding the full picture, you genuinely cannot tell whether you're winning or burning money.

This article gives you the benchmarks, the formula, and the framework to actually know.

Start With the Math That Actually Matters

Before we get into CPL ranges, let's work backwards from what a mortgage broker client is actually worth. This is the calculation almost nobody does before they start spending on mortgage broker advertising.

A typical settled home loan in Australia generates two income streams for the broker:

• Upfront commission: Roughly 0.6% of the loan value. On an average $694,000 mortgage, that's $4,164 upfront.
• Trail commission: Typically 0.15% per annum on the outstanding balance. That same $694,000 loan generates around $1,041 per year in trail for as long as it stays in your book.

A client who stays with you for four years is worth approximately $8,328 in total commission from a single loan ($4,164 upfront + $4,164 trail over 4 years). That's before you account for future refinances, top-ups, or the referrals they generate.

Now ask yourself honestly: if a client is worth that much, how much can you actually afford to pay to acquire one?

Why $50 CPL Can Be Cheap and $5 CPL Can Be Expensive

This is the counterintuitive truth of mortgage broker lead generation that most brokers learn the hard way. The CPL number alone is meaningless without the conversion rate and loan value sitting next to it.

A $5 CPL from a lead reseller who sells the same contact to six different brokers simultaneously is not a cheap lead. By the time you get to that person, they've already been called by five competitors and they have no idea who you are or why you're calling. Your team spends hours chasing uninterested people. The cost per actual application could be $500 or more.

A $50 CPL from a well-targeted Facebook campaign with a video ad speaking directly to first home buyers in your suburb is a different situation entirely. Those leads raised their hand specifically. They've watched you on camera, they know your face, they filled out a form because they want help. Your conversion rate is higher, your no-show rate is lower, and your cost per settled loan is far better.

Cheap leads are often the most expensive leads you'll ever buy. The brokers who understand this are the ones who stop chasing the lowest CPL and start chasing the best system.

How to Calculate Your Maximum Profitable CPL

Here's the formula every broker should run before spending a dollar on mortgage broker lead generation:

Most brokers who run this calculation find they can afford to pay a much higher CPL than they assumed. Which means their current campaigns might actually be profitable. They just didn't know how to read the numbers. Or it means they have significant room to increase spend and grow faster.

Add trail into the calculation and the economics shift even further in your favour. A $500 maximum CPL based on upfront commission alone might be a $1,000+ maximum CPL when you factor in four years of trail from an average client. A single settled loan from a paid campaign can cover hundreds of dollars of ad spend and still return a strong profit.

Real Numbers: What Jordan and Joseph Actually Achieved

Theory is useful. Real campaign data is better.

Jordan from OzBroker ran a Facebook ads campaign with ozimedia targeting first home buyers in his area. The BOF#2 ad generated 223 leads at $12.59 cost per lead, producing 8+ submitted applications in 9 weeks. Joseph Bakhos, running a MOF storytelling campaign, generated 106 leads at $17.14 CPL in just 5 weeks and had 3 applications submitted in month one. Both used well-structured video creative, specific audience targeting, and GoHighLevel CRM automation handling instant follow-up.

Are those results typical? No. They represent campaigns that were dialled in across creative, targeting, and offer. But they illustrate what's possible when the system is built properly, and they demonstrate that the benchmark CPL numbers most people quote are not the ceiling. They're often closer to the floor for a well-run campaign.

Read the full campaign breakdown in Jordan's case study here.

Realistic CPL Benchmarks for Australian Mortgage Brokers

With that context established, here's what you can realistically expect to pay per lead across different channels for mortgage broker marketing in Australia in 2025.

Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram)

For facebook ads for mortgage brokers run with quality video creative, specific targeting, and a proper landing page or lead form:

• Learning phase (weeks 1 to 4): $60 to $150 CPL. This is normal and expected. The algorithm is finding its feet. Do not stop the campaign here.
• Optimised campaign (months 2 to 3): $30 to $80 CPL for most Australian markets.
• High-competition markets (Sydney CBD, inner Melbourne): $70 to $120 CPL is not unusual. Still very workable given commission values on $700k-plus loans.
• Regional and lower-competition markets: $20 to $50 CPL is achievable with the right creative. Some campaigns come in well below that.

These figures assume campaigns are built correctly. A generic campaign with stock images and broad targeting produces worse CPL and dramatically worse lead quality. In that scenario, a $30 CPL might cost more than a $100 CPL from a well-targeted campaign because the wasted follow-up time alone destroys the economics.

Google Ads for Mortgage Brokers

Google ads for mortgage brokers capture active search intent. People typing "mortgage broker Sydney" or "home loan pre-approval" right now. That higher intent justifies a higher CPL.

• Competitive search terms in major cities: $100 to $250 CPL is common. Expensive, but the leads tend to be much closer to decision and generally require less nurturing.
• Long-tail and less competitive terms: $50 to $120 CPL with solid lead quality for brokers who are willing to get specific about their niche or service area.

Referrals: Not as Free as You Think

Referrals feel free. They're not. Many referral arrangements, particularly with real estate agents, accountants, and financial planners, involve formal referral fees or agreements. When a broker pays a referral fee (sometimes a flat amount per settled loan, or a percentage of commission), those leads have a direct monetary cost that rivals paid media. Even where no fee changes hands, the time spent cultivating referral relationships through coffees, lunches, events, and reciprocal business has a real opportunity cost. A referred lead from a professional partner relationship has an implied cost of $150 to $400 when you account honestly for both time and any fee arrangements.

That doesn't make referrals bad. They convert at higher rates and require less nurturing. But it puts paid mortgage broker lead generation in a fairer comparative context. Referrals and a paid system aren't in competition. They're complementary, and the best brokers run both.

Warning Signs Your Leads Are Too Cheap to Be Worth Anything

If your CPL looks suspiciously low, ask yourself whether any of these apply:

• More than 40% of booked appointments are no-shows
• Leads don't remember filling out a form or seem confused about why you're calling
• The leads don't match your target income or borrowing profile
• You're generating a high volume of leads but very few are converting past the first call
• Your targeting was set to broad demographics with no life event or intent signals

Any of these signals means your CPL is artificially low and your actual cost per settled loan is far higher than it looks on paper.

What Actually Moves Your CPL

Cost per lead isn't a fixed number. It moves based on variables largely within your control:

• Creative quality. A strong video hook from a real broker significantly outperforms stock imagery. Better creative reduces CPL while improving quality at the same time.
• Audience specificity. Tight, intent-adjacent targeting costs more per impression but converts far better. The CPL often drops once specificity improves.
• Landing page quality. A focused landing page that mirrors the ad message will dramatically outperform sending traffic to your homepage. This is one of the highest-leverage improvements most brokers can make without touching the ad spend.
• Follow-up speed. Faster follow-up means more leads convert to booked appointments. With GoHighLevel CRM firing an automated SMS the instant a lead submits and the broker calling same business day, your effective CPL drops even when the raw figure stays the same.
• Market competition. Mortgage broker marketing in Sydney and Melbourne will generally cost more per lead than regional markets. That's supply and demand for ad inventory. Plan your numbers accordingly.
• Campaign maturity. A campaign running for three months with strong conversion data behind it will consistently outperform a brand-new campaign. CPL drops as the algorithm learns who to show your ads to.

The Number You Should Actually Be Tracking

Stop asking "what's my CPL?" Start asking "what's my cost per settled loan, and what's that loan worth to my business over five years?"

Build your metrics from the bottom up. How many leads to book an appointment? How many appointments to submit an application? How many applications to settle? Once you know those conversion rates, you can calculate exactly what a profitable CPL looks like for your brokerage specifically.

That number is different for every broker, depending on your average loan size, your commission structure, your follow-up process, and your consultation conversion rate. Anyone who gives you a universal "good CPL for mortgage brokers" without knowing your numbers is guessing.

For a deeper look at building the system that makes those numbers work, read How Mortgage Brokers Actually Get Consistent Leads in Australia. For the full funnel breakdown, see The Simple Lead Generation Funnel Every Mortgage Broker Should Have.

What Can You Realistically Expect from a Well-Run Campaign?

ozimedia consistently achieves strong CPL results for Australian mortgage brokers on well-run campaigns. Jordan from OzBroker hit $12.59 per lead across 223 leads. Joseph Bakhos hit $17.14 per lead across 106 leads in just 5 weeks. Both campaigns used video creative, specific audience targeting, GoHighLevel CRM automation, and retargeting running alongside cold traffic.

We build and manage this entire your marketing strategy for brokers across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and regional Australia. If you want to know what realistic numbers look like for your specific market and loan book, book a free strategy call with ozimedia and we'll model the economics before you spend a dollar.