The cost of acquiring one lead — typically a person who has submitted contact information or expressed interest, but has not yet become a paying customer.
Why it matters
CPL is the primary efficiency metric for top-of-funnel demand generation, especially in B2B, where the sales cycle between "lead" and "customer" can be long. It lets marketing evaluate channel performance well before revenue outcomes are known.
In a sentence
"CPL on the webinar campaign was higher than the gated whitepaper, but the leads converted to opportunities at twice the rate."
Related terms
- Often confused with: CPA (CPL specifically refers to a lead; CPA is a broader term that can refer to any defined action, sometimes including a lead, sometimes a sale).
- Synonyms: Cost per inquiry.