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.
| Service | Cost per click | Searches a month |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting and payroll software | $10.70 | 170,000 |
| Sales and marketing software | $9.50 | 270,000 |
| Operations software | $9.00 | 290,000 |
| Scheduling and booking software | $7.10 | 24,000 |
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
| State | Cost per click | Searches a month |
|---|---|---|
| California | $9.30 | 99,000 |
| Texas | $10.40 | 64,000 |
| New York | $9.50 | 53,000 |
| Florida | $9.20 | 51,000 |
| Georgia | $8.00 | 26,000 |
| Illinois | $9.30 | 25,000 |
| North Carolina | $8.40 | 24,000 |
| Colorado | $10.30 | 23,000 |
| Pennsylvania | $9.20 | 23,000 |
| Ohio | $9.30 | 23,000 |
Dearest and cheapest
| State | Cost 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)
| State | Cost per click | Searches a month |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | $10.70 | 15,000 |
| Indiana | $10.50 | 12,000 |
| South Carolina | $10.50 | 10,000 |
| Texas | $10.40 | 64,000 |
| Colorado | $10.30 | 23,000 |
| Tennessee | $10.30 | 13,000 |
| Nevada | $10.20 | 6,900 |
| Wisconsin | $10.10 | 10,000 |
| Massachusetts | $9.90 | 15,000 |
| Nebraska | $9.70 | 3,900 |
| Maryland | $9.70 | 13,000 |
| Utah | $9.50 | 7,800 |
| Arkansas | $9.50 | 4,400 |
| New York | $9.50 | 53,000 |
| Alabama | $9.40 | 8,100 |
| Mississippi | $9.30 | 4,000 |
| California | $9.30 | 99,000 |
| Ohio | $9.30 | 23,000 |
| Louisiana | $9.30 | 7,100 |
| Idaho | $9.30 | 4,300 |
| Illinois | $9.30 | 25,000 |
| Florida | $9.20 | 51,000 |
| Pennsylvania | $9.20 | 23,000 |
| New Jersey | $9.00 | 19,000 |
| Virginia | $9.00 | 18,000 |
| Delaware | $8.80 | 2,100 |
| Michigan | $8.80 | 18,000 |
| Oklahoma | $8.70 | 6,900 |
| Connecticut | $8.70 | 7,800 |
| Oregon | $8.70 | 9,400 |
| Rhode Island | $8.50 | 2,300 |
| Minnesota | $8.50 | 11,000 |
| Kentucky | $8.40 | 7,000 |
| North Carolina | $8.40 | 24,000 |
| New Hampshire | $8.10 | 2,800 |
| Iowa | $8.10 | 5,500 |
| District of Columbia | $8.00 | 3,200 |
| New Mexico | $8.00 | 3,100 |
| Georgia | $8.00 | 26,000 |
| Missouri | $7.50 | 12,000 |
| West Virginia | $7.50 | 2,600 |
| Washington | $7.40 | 17,000 |
| Maine | $7.30 | 2,600 |
| Kansas | $7.20 | 6,000 |
| Montana | $6.40 | 2,100 |
| North Dakota | $6.30 | 1,600 |
| Hawaii | $6.10 | 2,200 |
| Wyoming | $6.00 | 1,500 |
| South Dakota | $5.30 | 2,500 |
| Vermont | $5.10 | 1,300 |
| Alaska | $5.00 | 1,300 |
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.
Priced near software
Just above and below in the ranking
- Business law$10.10
- Heating and air$9.70
- Siding and stucco$9.50
- Traffic ticket law$9.20
- Employment law$9.10
- Window cleaning$9.10
Others in business services
- IT services$8.90
- Web design and SEO$7.70
- Commercial cleaning$6.50
- Security guards$5.70
- Signs and vehicle wraps$5.20
- Staffing and recruiting$5.00
- Printing and custom apparel$4.40
- Courier and delivery$4.00
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.
Bringing your own cost per click down starts in the account:
Written by Grant Epley. Last reviewed October 11, 2026. Search data to August 2026.