Australian solar installers ask us the same CPL question twice a week: “is our cost per lead any good?” The honest answer is that CPL in isolation means nothing.
A $110 CPL on battery retrofits is brilliant. A $110 CPL on basic 6.6 kW residential queries is mediocre. A $40 CPL from a shared-lead aggregator is almost always worse than a $140 CPL from your own Google Ads account.
This piece publishes the actual 2026 Australian solar CPL benchmarks we see across Uprise-managed accounts, broken down by channel, state, system size and battery attach rate, plus the unit-economics framework to work out what your target CPL should be.
Fast context: Blended 2026 Australian residential solar CPL is $55 to $160 for qualified leads, $220 to $480 for battery retrofit-specific campaigns, and $180 to $420 for commercial B2B. Target CPL should be no more than 15 to 22 percent of average system value × close rate. Your real benchmark is never someone else’s number; it’s your own break-even math.
What counts as a lead in solar (and why the definition matters)
Most CPL benchmarks you’ll read mix apples and oranges because no-one defines “lead” consistently.
Raw lead: form submission or inbound call logged. No qualification. What most platforms report.
Qualified lead: human conversation completed, roof-type viable, budget confirmed, timeframe realistic (less than 6 months to buy). Our recommended reporting standard for solar.
Sales-accepted lead (SAL): qualified lead passed to sales with site visit booked or remote quote in progress. The truest lead measure but only 55 to 70 percent of qualified leads make it this far.
All numbers in this guide are Qualified CPL unless noted otherwise. A $55 raw-lead CPL that turns into a $180 qualified CPL is not the same performance as a $90 qualified CPL from a tighter channel.
Australian solar CPL benchmarks by channel
Qualified CPL averages across 20+ active Uprise-managed Australian solar accounts, Q1 2026.
| Channel | Good (<) | Average | Red flag (>) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Ads (Search) | $65 | $65 – $130 | $180 |
| Meta Ads (Cold Prospecting) | $55 | $55 – $120 | $180 |
| Meta Ads (Retargeting) | $35 | $35 – $75 | $110 |
| SEO (Year 2+, amortised) | $35 | $35 – $80 | $140 |
| Google Business Profile | $25 | $25 – $60 | $100 |
| YouTube Ads | $100 | $100 – $220 | $320 |
| Shared-lead aggregator | $40 | $40 – $90 | $130 |
| Exclusive-lead vendor | $150 | $150 – $350 | $450 |
| Referral program (incentivised) | $40 | $40 – $120 | $180 |
| Email/CRM to past customers | $5 | $5 – $25 | $60 |
Aggregator leads look cheap but close at a fraction of the rate of owned channels. Always compare on cost per install, not cost per lead.
CPL by state: why geography changes the math
Blended Google + Meta Qualified CPL by state for residential solar in 2026:
| State / region | Residential CPL | Battery CPL | Commercial CPL |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW (metro) | $75 – $160 | $150 – $340 | $220 – $480 |
| VIC (metro) | $70 – $150 | $140 – $320 | $200 – $440 |
| QLD (SE metro) | $65 – $140 | $120 – $280 | $180 – $400 |
| WA (Perth metro) | $55 – $130 | $110 – $260 | $160 – $380 |
| SA (metro) | $50 – $120 | $100 – $240 | $150 – $340 |
| Regional (all states) | $45 – $100 | $90 – $220 | $140 – $320 |
| TAS / NT / ACT | $55 – $130 | $120 – $280 | $180 – $380 |
Metro Sydney and Melbourne consistently run the highest CPLs because of installer density and auction pressure. Regional QLD and WA are the cheapest, partly because the competition is thinner and partly because system sizes are often larger (so installer ROI is still strong at higher CPLs).
CPL by system size and attach rate
Not all solar enquiries are worth the same. A 13 kW system with battery attach is worth 3x a 3 kW system with no battery. CPL benchmarks should move proportionally.
| Product mix | Avg install value | Acceptable CPL band |
|---|---|---|
| 3 kW starter system | $4,500 | $30 – $70 |
| 6.6 kW residential | $8,500 | $55 – $130 |
| 10 kW residential | $12,000 | $75 – $180 |
| 13 kW residential | $14,500 | $90 – $220 |
| Residential + battery (Powerwall 3) | $22,000 | $140 – $320 |
| Battery-only retrofit | $12,500 | $80 – $200 |
| Commercial 50 kW | $65,000 | $400 – $900 |
| Commercial 100-250 kW | $180,000 | $900 – $2,200 |
Work backwards from your actual average install value and close rate. Our PPC ROI calculator does the math automatically.
The unit-economics framework for setting your CPL target
CPL targets are derived, not pulled from thin air. The formula:
Target Qualified CPL = (Average Install Value × Gross Margin %) × Max CAC % ÷ (Qualified Lead-to-Install Rate)
Worked example. Residential installer in Brisbane. Average install value $9,800. Gross margin 35 percent ($3,430 per install). Max CAC 25 percent of gross profit. Qualified lead-to-install rate 18 percent.
Target CPL = ($3,430 × 25%) ÷ 18% = $858 × 0.18 ≈ $154 qualified CPL. That’s the ceiling above which the account is unprofitable.
Most Uprise installers run 30 to 50 percent below their theoretical ceiling, leaving room for operating margin and unexpected costs.
Cost per install: the metric that actually matters
CPL benchmarks are useful but CPI (Cost Per Install) is what you pay the bills with. Uprise-managed Australian residential solar CPI benchmarks, 2026:
| Stage | CPI Good | CPI Average | CPI Red flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| New installer (0-12 mo) | <$650 | $650 – $1,200 | >$1,500 |
| Growing ($1-5m) | <$500 | $500 – $900 | >$1,200 |
| Scaling ($5-15m) | <$420 | $420 – $800 | >$1,050 |
| Mature ($15m+) | <$360 | $360 – $680 | >$900 |
Scale compresses CPI because referral volume grows, SEO compounds, brand search increases, and retargeting pools get larger. New installers pay a structural premium for not having those compounding assets yet.
Five levers that move CPL up or down the fastest
1. Landing page conversion rate. Going from 3 percent to 6 percent conversion rate halves your CPL without changing a single bid.
2. Creative refresh cadence on Meta. Creative fatigue drives 40 to 120 percent CPL drift. Ship 2 to 3 new concepts weekly to keep CPL stable.
3. Negative keyword hygiene. Most solar Google Ads accounts leak 25 to 40 percent of budget to irrelevant search terms. Weekly audits cap the leak.
4. Lead response time. Response within 5 minutes doubles close rates on paid leads. Close rate improvements drop effective CPL the same way bid improvements do.
5. Offline conversion imports. Importing “quote accepted” and “install booked” as Google Ads conversions changes what the algorithm optimises for. In our solar accounts, this typically drops CPI 15 to 30 percent inside 90 days.
CPL trends: what’s changed since 2023
Three forces have reshaped solar CPL in Australia between 2023 and 2026:
Installer consolidation. CEC tightening and post-subsidy shakeout reduced the installer pool by roughly 18 percent. Less auction competition has stabilised CPCs after the 2022-2023 rate inflation.
Battery rebate introduction. The federal battery rebate that started in 2024 shifted search behaviour dramatically. Battery-specific keywords now command 2 to 3x the CPC they did in 2022, but install values are 1.8x so the unit economics work.
iOS 14 attribution drift. Meta CPL looked inflated by 25 to 45 percent between 2022 and 2024 because of tracking loss. Post-CAPI adoption, reported CPL has normalised back toward real CPL.
9. How to benchmark your own solar account properly
Don’t benchmark against theoretical industry averages. Benchmark against three reference points that matter:
1. Your own unit economics ceiling. Use the formula in section 5. If you’re under your ceiling, the account is profitable even at current CPL.
2. Your own 12-month rolling trend. Is CPL drifting up or down? Why? A rising CPL with a rising close rate might be net-neutral. A rising CPL with a flat close rate is a problem.
3. Geographic peer comparison. Your metro Sydney CPL vs regional QLD is meaningless. Your Sydney CPL vs another metro Sydney installer with similar product mix is informative.
Half the “bad CPL” calls we get turn out to be sales-process problems. If qualified leads aren’t closing, your marketing isn’t broken; your intake and sales motion is. Always cross-check CPL against close rate before blaming the channel.Uprise Digital, solar team
Seven mistakes that inflate solar CPL
1. Measuring raw CPL, reporting Qualified CPL. Mixed metrics fool everyone including the CEO.
2. No exclusive tracking. If your phone and form leads aren’t both tracked, CPL is fiction.
3. Landing pages that were built for SEO, served to paid traffic. Different intent, different conversion rate. Build dedicated pages.
4. Running Meta on Traffic objective. Cheap clicks, expensive leads. Optimise on Conversions.
5. No creative refresh cadence. Meta CPL climbs 50 to 120 percent after week 12 without fresh creative.
6. Weak offer. “Get a solar quote” doesn’t differentiate you from 200 competitors. “Free 2026 rebate analysis with 60-second savings forecast” does.
7. Over-qualifying paid traffic. Asking for postcode + bill amount + system preference on a cold Meta ad form kills conversion rate. Get the lead first, qualify in the call.
Frequently asked questions
What’s a good cost per lead for Australian solar installers?
Residential: $55 to $160. Battery retrofit: $150 to $340. Commercial: $200 to $480. Adjust down for regional markets and up for competitive metro areas.
How do I calculate my target CPL?
Target CPL = (Average Install Value × Gross Margin %) × Max CAC % ÷ Qualified Lead-to-Install Rate. Use our PPC ROI calculator for a ready-made model.
Why is my Meta CPL higher than Google CPL?
Meta creates demand; Google captures it. Demand-creation CPL is structurally higher. Measure both on cost per install to compare fairly.
Is aggregator lead CPL a fair comparison?
No. Aggregator lead close rates are 4 to 10 percent (shared across 3 to 5 installers). Cost per install is typically 2 to 4 times higher than owned channels despite cheaper CPL.
How often should I review CPL?
Weekly at channel level, monthly at campaign level, quarterly at channel-mix level. Don’t pivot on 7-day data; the noise is real.
