There is no Google price list. Every time someone searches, an auction decides which ads appear and what each advertiser pays for a click. That is why one business pays 80p a click and another pays £15 for the same word, in a different town or with a different ad. What you can do is understand the ranges, what drives them, and how to turn them into a budget.
Quick answer: Published 2026 estimates put the average UK Search click at around £2 to £3.50 across all industries, with home services averaging about £3.12 to £3.20. Most trade clicks fall between £3 and £15, and London is typically 15 to 30% above the UK average. Small businesses commonly start on £300 to £1,000 a month in ad spend.
How Google decides what you pay
Google ranks ads using Ad Rank, which combines your bid with the quality of your ad and landing page, the expected impact of extras like call and location assets, and the context of the search. In a simplified sense, you pay just enough to beat the advertiser below you. A more relevant ad and page can win a higher position for less, which is why two businesses bidding the same amount can pay different prices.
Quality Score, Google's 1 to 10 rating of your keywords, is built from three components: how likely your ad is to be clicked, how closely it matches the search, and how relevant and useful your landing page is.
UK click costs by industry
| Category | Average UK CPC (2026 estimate) |
|---|---|
| Legal services | £8.25 (often £4.50 to £15+) |
| Financial services | £5.50 |
| B2B software | £3.65 |
| Home services | £3.12 to £3.20 |
| Healthcare and dental | £2.80 |
| Retail and e-commerce | £0.95 |
Sources: Whito UK PPC costs research (Q1 2026 data) and Ridley Digital UK benchmarks (2026). Both describe their figures as indicative; no official UK-wide dataset exists.
UK click costs by trade
| Trade | Typical CPC | Typical monthly budget |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency plumber | £4 to £12 | £400 to £800 |
| Boiler installation | £8 to £20 | £500 to £1,200 |
| Domestic electrician | £3 to £8 | £300 to £600 |
| Roofer | £5 to £15 | £400 to £1,000 |
| Drainage contractor | £2 to £7 | £200 to £500 |
| EV charger installer | £2 to £5 | £200 to £500 |
| AC installer (seasonal) | £3 to £8 | £200 to £400 |
Source: Trade2Base 2026 UK trade benchmarks. Indicative ranges; your area and competition set the real price.
Why location changes the price
| Region | Typical CPC vs UK average |
|---|---|
| London | +15% to +30% |
| South East | +5% to +15% |
| Major cities (Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol) | Around average |
| Rest of England | −5% to −15% |
| Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland | −10% to −20% |
Source: Whito UK PPC costs research (2026). Some trade benchmarks put big-city trade clicks 30 to 60% above average.
From cost per click to cost per lead
The click price matters less than what each click turns into. Cost per lead is cost per click divided by the share of clicks that enquire:
| CPC | 5% enquire | 10% enquire | 15% enquire |
|---|---|---|---|
| £3 | £60 | £30 | £20 |
| £6 | £120 | £60 | £40 |
| £10 | £200 | £100 | £67 |
Doubling your conversion rate halves your cost per lead, which is usually easier than halving your click cost. That is why landing pages and call handling get so much attention in well-run accounts.
What a monthly budget looks like
Google Ads works on an average daily budget. On a busy day it can spend up to twice that amount, but over a month it will not charge more than about 30.4 times the daily figure. For planning: £300 a month is about £10 a day, £1,000 about £33 a day, £3,000 about £99 a day.
Published guidance puts a minimum useful test budget for trades at around £300 to £500 a month. Below that, a few expensive clicks can use up the week, and there is too little data to learn from.
Management fees
Ad spend goes to Google. If you use an agency or freelancer, their fee is separate. UK pricing models include:
- Fixed monthly fee: the most common for small businesses. AdsFlair's management starts from £499 a month plus a one-time £449 setup.
- Percentage of ad spend: often 10 to 20%, sometimes with a minimum fee.
- Performance-based: a fee per lead or job; less common, and needs very clear lead definitions.
Google's own partner policy requires agencies to disclose management fees separately and to report the exact amount Google charged, so you should always be able to see both figures.
Local Services Ads: a different cost model
For eligible trades, Google's Local Services Ads charge per lead rather than per click. Published 2026 UK estimates put leads at roughly £15 to £50 depending on trade and area. See our guide to Google Local Services Ads in the UK.
How to pay less for the same results
- Tighten targeting to the postcodes and hours you can serve.
- Add negative keywords every week for searches you do not want.
- Split campaigns by service so expensive keywords do not hide inside cheap ones.
- Improve the landing page to lift conversion rate and Quality Score.
- Track only real enquiries so automated bidding learns from the right signals.
For trade-specific figures, see Google Ads costs for plumbers and why boiler repair Google Ads cost more. To work out your own budget, read how much a UK local business should spend.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Google Ads cost per click in the UK?
Published 2026 estimates put the average UK Search click at around £2 to £3.50 across industries, about £3.12 to £3.20 for home services, and £3 to £15 for most trades. Legal and financial keywords cost more.
What is the minimum budget for Google Ads in the UK?
There is no official minimum, but trades typically need £300 to £500 a month for a meaningful test. Below that, there is too little data to learn from.
Is Google Ads more expensive in London?
Usually. Published estimates put London clicks 15 to 30% above the UK average, and some trade benchmarks put big-city trade clicks 30 to 60% higher.
How much do Google Ads agencies charge in the UK?
Common models are a fixed monthly fee, a percentage of ad spend (often 10 to 20%) or a fee per lead. AdsFlair management starts from £499 a month plus a one-time £449 setup, separate from ad spend.
Can Google charge more than my daily budget?
On a single day it can spend up to twice your average daily budget, but over a month it will not charge more than about 30.4 times your daily budget.
Related guides
- How Much Should a UK Local Business Spend on Google Ads?
- Google Local Services Ads UK
- Is Google Ads Worth It for a Small Business?
Sources
- Whito, UK PPC costs research (2026)
- Ridley Digital, "How much do Google Ads cost in 2026? UK benchmarks by industry"
- Trade2Base, "Google Ads budget for tradespeople" (8 June 2026)
- Google Ads Help: About Quality Score for Search campaigns
- Google Advertising Policies Help: Third-party policy
Want to know what Google Ads would cost for your business?
Ask for a free review. We will estimate click costs for your trade and area and show you what budget would produce a meaningful number of enquiries.