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CAC calculator.
For moving companies.

Drag the three inputs. See your cost per booked move (CPBM) and where you sit against the 2026 benchmarks. No email required, no signup. Just the math.

Run your own numbers

Calculate your CPBM.

Cost per lead
$0
Booked moves / mo
0
Cost per booked move
$0
Health check
—
Drag the inputs and the math updates live. Targets for an independent mover in 2026: under $400 CPBM is healthy, $400-$700 is constrained, above $700 is structurally fragile.

How the math works

Cost per booked move (CPBM) is the only acquisition number that pays payroll. CPL (cost per lead) is a vanity number — leads do not book trucks. The math is:

CPBM = total marketing spend ÷ (leads × close rate)

The 2026 benchmarks for an independent mover, blended across all channels:

  • Under $400 — the business has real channel margin and can scale. Pour fuel on what's working.
  • $400-$700 — working capital constraint. Growth is possible but slow. Identify the worst-CPBM channel and defund it next month.
  • Above $700 — structurally fragile. The business is buying revenue at zero margin. Listing-data direct mail and realtor partner pages are usually the fastest fix.

What counts as marketing spend

Include everything you spend to acquire customers, not just paid media:

  • Paid media (Google, Meta, YouTube)
  • Brokered leads paid per-lead
  • Direct mail (printing + postage + creative)
  • Cold email infrastructure
  • Marketing salaries and contractors (allocate by % of their time on lead-gen)
  • Website hosting + CRO tooling allocated to lead capture
  • Sponsorships, trade shows, BBB and similar listing fees
  • The agency retainer if you have one

The number gets bigger when you count everything honestly. That's the point. The agencies and brokers selling you leads want you focused on CPL because their CPL looks great. Their contribution to your CPBM tells a different story.

What to do with the number

Run this calculation by channel, not just blended. Most independents we work with have one or two channels in healthy CPBM range and one or two channels structurally above $700. The growth move is rarely to spend more — it's to shift the mix.

If your blended CPBM is above $700, the three highest-leverage moves in 2026:

  1. Cap paid search at $3,000/mo and reinvest the difference in listing-data direct mail.
  2. Build five realtor partner pages with tracked URLs.
  3. Stop buying from lead brokers.

Want help running the channel math on your specific shop? Drop us a note with your last six months of marketing spend and we'll point you toward the cleanest next step. Also worth a look: the mail-mix ROI calculator, the rest of the toolkit, and the operator glossary.