Last Updated on August 12, 2026
Cleaning is one of the few trades where the same channel can cost you £6 to win a customer or £180. Same platform. Same month. The difference is entirely down to how well you close.
That is why generic advice about cleaning marketing is useless. The number that matters is not what you spend. It is what a signed contract costs you.
Here is what the real figures look like in 2026, from our UK cleaning company marketing cost research.
What cleaning businesses actually spend
| Business size | Monthly budget | What it realistically covers |
|---|---|---|
| Solo cleaner | £200-600 | Google Business Profile, basic site, one paid channel |
| Small team | £500-1,500 | Paid search, local SEO, booking system |
| Established company | £4,000+ | Multi-channel with commercial and domestic split |
If you want the tighter version, our research modelled three working templates. Bootstrap runs £175-335 a month. Growth runs £1,080-2,050. Scale runs £2,450-4,765.
What each channel actually costs
| Channel | DIY cost | Outsourced cost | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | £0 | £100-300 one-off | Do first |
| Review collection | £0 | £0-50/mo | Do first |
| Website | £100-300/yr | £1,000-5,000 build | Do first |
| Online booking system | n/a | £20-80/mo | Do first |
| Google Ads | £300-2,000/mo | plus management | Build phase |
| Local SEO | £0 | £400-1,500/mo | Build phase |
| Facebook ads | £200-800/mo | plus management | Build phase |
| Referral programme | £50-200/mo | n/a | Build phase |
| Checkatrade | n/a | £500-1,000/yr | Build phase |
| Bark leads | n/a | £2-15 per lead | Build phase |
| Van branding | n/a | £500-2,000 one-off | Scale phase |
| Uniform branding | n/a | £200-500 one-off | Scale phase |
What a customer actually costs to win
| Search term | Cost per click |
|---|---|
| End of tenancy cleaning | £5-12 (average £8.50) |
| Office cleaning | £4-10 (average £7.00) |
| Cleaning company near me | £3-7 (average £5.00) |
| Carpet cleaning | £3-8 (average £5.50) |
| Domestic cleaner | £2-5 (average £3.50) |
Google Ads produces a cost per lead of £30-80 for cleaning businesses, at a click through rate of 5-10 percent and a conversion rate of 8-15 percent. Facebook converts lower, at 2-5 percent, but the clicks cost £0.50-2.00, so it can still work for awareness and retargeting.
Bark is the volatile one. Leads cost £2-15. Cost per actual customer lands anywhere between £6 and £180 depending on how fast you respond and how well you quote. That is a thirty times spread on a single channel. If you are not tracking it, you do not know which end you are on.
Leaflets still work in this trade, at a 0.5 to 2 percent response rate and £5-20 per enquiry. Just do not confuse them with a growth channel.
Where to start if you have nothing to spend
The £0 starting plan
- Complete your Google Business Profile with every service, every area and real photos.
- Ask every regular client for a Google review. Regulars are your warmest reviewers.
- Set a rule that every enquiry gets a response within one hour during working days.
- List free on Bing Places, Apple Maps, Yell and FreeIndex.
- Ask each happy client for one referral, and thank them properly when it lands.
Speed of response is the cheapest competitive advantage in cleaning. Most enquiries go to whoever replies first, not whoever is best.
What to stop paying for
- Bark credits you have never reconciled. Work out your cost per signed contract. If it is nearer £180 than £6, fix the follow up before you buy more.
- Competing on price in the ad copy. Cheapest attracts customers who leave for someone cheaper. Lead on reliability and vetting instead.
- SEO expecting instant results. Map pack movement takes 3 to 4 months. Organic takes 4 to 6. Budget for the wait.
- Leaflets as your main channel. A 1 percent response rate is a supplement, not a strategy.
- One set of ads for domestic and commercial. They are different buyers with different budgets. Split them or waste both.
The bottom line
In cleaning, marketing spend is not the lever. Response time and close rate are. The same £200 of leads can cost you £6 or £180 per customer depending on what happens in the hour after the enquiry arrives.
Fix that first. Then spend more, knowing what it buys.
Not sure where your money is going?
Run a free check on your business and get specific budget recommendations.
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