Broker Marketing ROI Calculator

Measure marketing spend against funded loans: cost per lead, cost per funded loan, return on spend and break-even.

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Free · No sign-up · Runs in your browser

Cost per lead is the figure lead vendors quote and the least useful figure in mortgage marketing. A source producing large volumes of cheap leads that never fund is expensive; a source producing a handful of costly leads that close is not.

The number that decides is cost per funded loan, measured against the revenue a funded loan actually produces. This calculator works both out from spend, leads, fundings, average loan size and commission, and reports the break-even point at which a campaign has paid for itself.

Your numbers

Results update as you type. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Result

Cost per funded loan

$1,714

Cost per lead
$46
Revenue per funded loan
$4,650
Total revenue
$32,550
Net profit
$20,550
Return on spend
171.25%
Revenue per dollar spent
2.71:1
Closings to break even
2.58
Lead to funded rate
2.69%

Cost per funded loan is the number that matters. Cost per lead looks favourable for sources that produce large volumes of leads that never fund.

Break-even is the number of funded loans a campaign needs before it has paid for itself at your commission and average loan size.

Use your own recorded results. Figures quoted by a lead vendor describe their best-performing clients, not your pipeline.

How to use the broker marketing roi calculator

  1. Enter the marketing spend for the period and the leads it produced.
  2. Enter how many of those leads funded.
  3. Enter your average loan size and commission rate.
  4. Compare cost per funded loan against revenue per funded loan.

What people use this for

  • Comparing two campaigns that produced very different lead volumes.
  • Deciding whether to renew a lead subscription.
  • Setting a marketing budget as a share of expected revenue.
  • Working out how many closings a campaign needs before it pays for itself.

Worked examples

Every figure below is produced by running this calculator against the example inputs, so the numbers always match the tool.

A paid campaign

$12,000 spent, 260 leads, 7 funded, $310,000 average loan, 1.5% commission.

Cost per funded loan
$1,714
Net profit
$20,550
Return on spend
171.25%

A smaller, better-targeted campaign

$4,500 spent, 45 leads, 5 funded.

Cost per funded loan
$900
Cost per lead
$100
Revenue per dollar spent
5:1

Cheap leads are frequently the expensive ones

A source at twenty dollars a lead that funds one in a hundred costs two thousand dollars per funded loan. A source at two hundred dollars a lead that funds one in eight costs sixteen hundred. The headline price ranks them backwards.

This is why cost per funded loan is the only comparison that ranks sources correctly, and why it should be tracked per source rather than as a blended average.

Attribution takes time

Mortgage cycles are long. Leads generated this month may fund three or four months from now, so a campaign measured too early looks worse than it is and one measured across overlapping periods double-counts.

The honest approach is to measure a cohort - the leads from a defined period - through to their eventual outcome, rather than comparing this month’s spend against this month’s closings.

Break-even in closings

Dividing spend by revenue per funded loan gives the number of closings a campaign needs before it is neutral. It is a useful sanity check at the point of committing budget rather than after.

A campaign needing more closings than the lead volume could plausibly produce is one to decline before spending, not one to review afterwards.

Methodology and assumptions

What this calculator does, and what it deliberately does not do.

  • Cost per lead is spend divided by leads; cost per funded loan is spend divided by funded loans.
  • Revenue per funded loan is average loan size multiplied by the commission rate you enter.
  • Return on spend is net profit as a percentage of the spend.
  • All figures come from your own campaign results. Nothing here draws on industry benchmarks or vendor claims.
  • Results are estimates. Real quotes depend on credit, income, property, loan programme and lender pricing at the time of application.
  • Nothing you type is transmitted or stored - the calculation runs entirely inside your browser.

This calculator is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Results are estimates and may not reflect actual rates, fees, taxes, or market conditions.

This website is not a lender, a mortgage broker or a financial adviser. It does not originate loans, does not accept applications and does not forward your details to anyone.

Actual loan terms depend on credit history, income, the property, the loan programme and lender pricing at the time of application. Only a lender can tell you what you qualify for.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good cost per funded loan?

It depends entirely on your revenue per loan and your overhead. The meaningful comparison is against your own revenue per funded loan, not against a published figure.

Should marketing be a percentage of revenue?

It is a common way to budget, and the percentage that works varies widely by business model. This tool reports the ratio rather than prescribing one.

How do I handle leads that fund months later?

Track a cohort from a defined period through to outcome. Comparing spend and closings within the same month understates every campaign in a long sales cycle.

Does this include my time?

No. Add it as a cost if you want a fully loaded figure - for many brokers it is the largest omitted expense.