What will your ad budget put in your seats?
Move the slider to your monthly budget for Facebook and Instagram ads. You will see how many people plan a visit, how many walk in, and what each guest costs you. It uses the real numbers from the churches I run ads for.
Every number here uses the same math as the rest of this site. It is what we see across our churches, not a promise for yours. Ad spend goes to Meta, not to us.
Look at those last two numbers one more time, because this is the whole ballgame.
If you only run the automated texts and emails, roughly 10 to 20% of your registrations will walk through the doors. If your team picks up the phone and calls them before Sunday, that jumps to 30 to 50%, and we have seen it go as high as 80%.
Same ads. Same budget. Same city. The only difference is whether somebody picked up the phone. That is why we train your team instead of just handing you leads.
How This Calculator Works
In most cities a lead costs between $5 and $20 depending on your competition. The number we aim for is $10 to $15 per planned visit. The calculator divides your budget by both numbers to give you a low end and a high end.
Then it applies the show rate. With automated texts and emails only, 10 to 20% of planned visits walk in. When your team calls before Sunday, 30 to 50% walk in.
Not everybody comes this Sunday.
When somebody fills out that form they fall into one of 3 groups. Some visit that same Sunday, because they were already looking and your ad showed up at the right moment. Some take 3 to 6 months, because life gets complicated and they are curious but not ready to walk into a new building yet. Some take over a year. They sit on your list, they read your texts, and one day something breaks and they remember your name.
That last group is why this is a system and not a campaign. Every person who raises a hand goes onto your list and stays there. You are not renting attention for 30 days. You are building an asset that keeps paying your church for years.
What Pastors Ask About Ad Budgets
How much should a church spend on Facebook ads?
Most churches we work with start around $500 a month in ad spend, and that money goes directly to Meta rather than to us. At $500 a month a church typically generates 33 to 50 planned visits. At $1,000 a month that becomes 67 to 100. In most cities a lead costs between $5 and $20 depending on competition, and the number we aim for is $10 to $15 per planned visit.
There is no fixed percentage of a church budget that is correct for every church. What matters more is whether you have a team member who will call the people who register, because that single factor changes your results more than the size of your budget does.
How long before we see first-time visitors?
Ads launch 7 to 14 days after we have your materials. From there it takes 30 to 60 days to get the system properly dialed in.
Some people who register visit that same Sunday. Some take 3 to 6 months. Some take over a year and show up when something breaks in their life and they remember your name. That is why this is a system rather than a campaign.
Do you handle the follow-up, or do we?
We build all of it and we train your team to work it. Texts and emails fire the second somebody registers. Then your team member calls every registrant before the weekend.
This matters more than anything else on this page. Automations alone bring 10 to 20% of registrations through the doors. A team that calls brings 30 to 50%, and we have seen it reach 80%. Same ads, same budget, same city.
Where do the numbers in this calculator come from?
They come from the churches I run ads for right now. The target is $10 to $15 for each planned visit. With automated texts and emails only, 10 to 20% of those people walk in. When your team calls every one of them before Sunday, 30 to 50% walk in.
These are ranges across real churches, and they are not a promise for yours. Your city, your budget and your follow-up all move the number.
Want These Numbers For Your City?
On a free strategy call we pull your city and show you what a first-time guest is likely to cost there.
Book a Strategy CallDisclaimer. The numbers on this page are ranges from the churches we serve and are not a promise of what your church will experience. Growth depends on your city, your budget, your follow-up execution, and how consistently your team works the system. We make no guarantee of any specific attendance number, registration count, or salvation count.