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Software Google Ads cost per click

Across the US, a typical software campaign on Google Ads pays about $9.50 a click. That ranks 19 of the 146 kinds of business measured here, where the one in the middle pays $5.40.

$9.50

Cost per click, US

760,000

Searches a month, US

$14.20 to $68.30

Google's top-of-page bids for the same searches

By service

Clicks for accounting and payroll software cost the most at $10.70, 51% more than those for scheduling and booking software at $7.10. A campaign that takes every service pays somewhere between, set by which ones people search for most where it runs.

Software Google Ads cost per click by service, US
ServiceCost per clickSearches a month
Accounting and payroll software$10.70170,000
Sales and marketing software$9.50270,000
Operations software$9.00290,000
Scheduling and booking software$7.1024,000

By state

A click costs the most in Arizona at $10.70, 2.1 times one in Alaska at $5.00. The same searches cost more where more businesses bid on them and each customer is worth more.

Where people search most

Software Google Ads cost per click in the ten states with the most searches
StateCost per clickSearches a month
California$9.3099,000
Texas$10.4064,000
New York$9.5053,000
Florida$9.2051,000
Georgia$8.0026,000
Illinois$9.3025,000
North Carolina$8.4024,000
Colorado$10.3023,000
Pennsylvania$9.2023,000
Ohio$9.3023,000

Dearest and cheapest

Software Google Ads cost per click, the dearest and cheapest states
StateCost per click
Arizona$10.70
Indiana$10.50
South Carolina$10.50
Texas$10.40
Colorado$10.30
Hawaii$6.10
Wyoming$6.00
South Dakota$5.30
Vermont$5.10
Alaska$5.00
Every state with enough searches (51)
Software Google Ads cost per click by state, dearest first
StateCost per clickSearches a month
Arizona$10.7015,000
Indiana$10.5012,000
South Carolina$10.5010,000
Texas$10.4064,000
Colorado$10.3023,000
Tennessee$10.3013,000
Nevada$10.206,900
Wisconsin$10.1010,000
Massachusetts$9.9015,000
Nebraska$9.703,900
Maryland$9.7013,000
Utah$9.507,800
Arkansas$9.504,400
New York$9.5053,000
Alabama$9.408,100
Mississippi$9.304,000
California$9.3099,000
Ohio$9.3023,000
Louisiana$9.307,100
Idaho$9.304,300
Illinois$9.3025,000
Florida$9.2051,000
Pennsylvania$9.2023,000
New Jersey$9.0019,000
Virginia$9.0018,000
Delaware$8.802,100
Michigan$8.8018,000
Oklahoma$8.706,900
Connecticut$8.707,800
Oregon$8.709,400
Rhode Island$8.502,300
Minnesota$8.5011,000
Kentucky$8.407,000
North Carolina$8.4024,000
New Hampshire$8.102,800
Iowa$8.105,500
District of Columbia$8.003,200
New Mexico$8.003,100
Georgia$8.0026,000
Missouri$7.5012,000
West Virginia$7.502,600
Washington$7.4017,000
Maine$7.302,600
Kansas$7.206,000
Montana$6.402,100
North Dakota$6.301,600
Hawaii$6.102,200
Wyoming$6.001,500
South Dakota$5.302,500
Vermont$5.101,300
Alaska$5.001,300

Against Google's own bids

Keyword Planner puts the top-of-page bids for these searches at $14.20 to $68.30: what advertisers bid to show above the results. A typical campaign pays less than even the low end, $9.50, because Google charges what it takes to beat the ad below, most ads show under the top on many searches, and the longer searches with fewer bidders cost less. Planning a budget on the top-of-page bid overstates what clicks will cost.

No published study measures this business on its own, so its price level is the median for its industry in LocaliQ's studies, moved a third of the way toward Google's prices scaled to what campaigns paid. Google's prices set how its services and the states compare.

Searches peak in July, at 47% above February, the slowest month. A budget sized for the slow months runs out sooner in the busy ones.

Where the figures come from

Google's own search counts and click prices for the year to August 2026 (Keyword Planner, through DataForSEO), scaled to what campaigns paid in LocaliQ's published studies, rounded to ten cents. They are medians: half of campaigns pay more. The full method is on the benchmark page, and the budget calculator runs on the same data for any ZIP code.

Written by Grant Epley. Last reviewed October 11, 2026. Search data to August 2026.