How Much Does B2B Lead Generation Cost?

Let's cut through the garbage. You're here because you want to know what B2B lead generation actually costs. Not some vague "it depends" answer. Real numbers.

The problem is that lead gen pricing is a mess. Agencies hide their real costs behind "custom quotes." Software vendors bury fees in the fine print. And everyone uses different definitions of what a "lead" even is.

We're going to fix that. Here's everything you need to know about B2B lead generation costs in 2025—including the pricing models, hidden costs, and what you should actually expect to pay.

The 5 B2B Lead Generation Pricing Models

Before we talk numbers, you need to understand the different ways lead gen is priced. Each model has trade-offs, and the "best" one depends entirely on your situation.

1. Monthly Retainer

The most common model for agencies. You pay a fixed monthly fee regardless of results.

The problem: You're paying for effort, not outcomes. Bad month? You still pay. Agency slacks off? You still pay. The incentives are misaligned from day one.

2. Pay Per Lead (PPL)

You pay a fixed amount for each lead delivered. Sounds fair, right? It's not.

The problem: PPL creates a perverse incentive. The vendor makes more money by delivering MORE leads, not BETTER leads. So you get volume over quality. That $50 lead who downloaded your whitepaper? They're not returning your calls.

3. Pay Per Appointment / Pay Per Meeting

You only pay when a qualified prospect actually shows up to a meeting. This is the model we use at BookingBomb, and we're obviously biased—but hear us out on why.

Why this works: When the agency only gets paid for meetings that happen, suddenly they care a lot about lead quality. They can't afford to book garbage meetings that don't show. The incentives finally align with yours.

4. Revenue Share / Commission

The agency takes a percentage of the revenue from deals they source.

The problem: Sounds perfect in theory, but tracking is a nightmare. What counts as "their" deal? What about deals that take 12 months to close? Most companies can't operationalize this cleanly.

5. Hybrid Models

Combinations of the above—like a small retainer plus pay-per-lead bonuses.

Average Cost Per Lead by Channel

Different channels have wildly different costs. Here's what you should expect:

Notice the pattern? Cheaper leads usually mean lower quality. That $0.50 contact from a purchased list is not the same as a $150 lead from targeted outreach who actually responded to your message.

Agency vs. In-House: The Real Cost Comparison

"We'll just hire an SDR and do it ourselves." Famous last words. Let's do the actual math.

The True Cost of an In-House SDR

That's $6,750 - $11,750 per month for ONE SDR. And that's assuming they work out. The average SDR tenure is 14 months. When they leave, you start over.

What Do You Get for That Money?

A good SDR books 10-15 meetings per month. Let's be generous and say 12.

Compare that to pay-per-meeting agencies at $200-400/meeting. In-house often costs 2-3x more per meeting—and that's when things go well.

Hidden Costs Nobody Talks About

Here's where most cost analyses fall apart. They ignore the stuff that doesn't show up in the contract.

How to Calculate Your True Cost Per Opportunity

Forget cost per lead. What matters is cost per qualified opportunity—a lead that actually has a chance of becoming a customer.

Here's the formula:

Now compare that to your average deal size. If your ACV is $50,000 and you close 20% of qualified opportunities, each opportunity is worth $10,000 in expected value. Spending $500 to get that? That's a 20x return.

The Bottom Line

B2B lead generation costs vary wildly—from $50 to $500+ per lead depending on the channel and quality. But the real question isn't what you pay per lead. It's what you pay per closed deal.

The pricing model matters more than the price itself. Retainers put all the risk on you. Pay-per-lead incentivizes quantity over quality. Pay-per-meeting aligns your vendor's success with yours.

Our recommendation? Don't optimize for the cheapest leads. Optimize for the best ROI. Sometimes that means paying more per lead to get better quality. Sometimes it means choosing a model where you only pay for results.