The short answer: paid ads in Kenya have three costs: media spend, management and production. A realistic starting budget for a focused SME campaign is usually KES 50,000 to KES 150,000 per month in media spend, plus management and creative. The right number depends on your category, offer and follow-up capacity.
Most quotes only show the management fee. That makes comparison easy and budgeting dangerous. If you cannot produce the creative or handle the leads, the campaign fails regardless of the platform.
The three budgets
| Cost | Typical range | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Media spend | KES 50,000 to KES 300,000+ per month | Google, Meta or LinkedIn inventory |
| Management | KES 30,000 to KES 150,000 per month | Strategy, setup, optimisation, reporting |
| Production | KES 20,000 to KES 150,000 per campaign | Creative, video, landing page, copy |
| Tracking | One-off setup | Analytics, conversions, call tracking |
What drives the number
- Category competition: finance, insurance and legal keywords cost more.
- Offer strength: a clear, valuable offer lowers cost per lead.
- Landing page quality: speed, clarity and proof affect conversion rate.
- Creative volume: more variations usually improve performance.
- Follow-up speed: a lead called in five minutes is worth more than one called tomorrow.
How to judge performance
Calculate cost per qualified lead, not cost per click. Then calculate lead-to-sale rate and revenue per lead. A campaign with expensive clicks and strong sales can be healthier than cheap traffic that never buys.
Use this formula: cost per qualified lead = total spend รท number of leads sales accepts. Compare that to your average margin, not to what a competitor claims.
A realistic first 90 days
- Weeks 1 to 2: tracking, landing page, offer and creative.
- Weeks 3 to 6: run a controlled test, gather signal, fix leaks.
- Weeks 7 to 12: scale what works, cut what does not, add a second channel only if operations can handle it.
See social media and paid ads for the scope, and Google Ads vs Meta Ads in Kenya for channel selection. If your landing page is weak, start with web design.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good cost per lead in Kenya?
It depends on what you sell. Compare cost per qualified lead to your average margin and close rate. A KES 2,000 lead can be excellent for a KES 200,000 service and terrible for a KES 3,000 product.
Do I need a minimum ad budget?
Yes. Very small budgets cannot gather enough data to optimise. Start with a budget you can sustain for at least six to eight weeks, then judge results.
Is the management fee separate from ad spend?
Usually yes. Ad spend goes to the platform; management covers strategy, setup, optimisation and reporting. Confirm both numbers in writing.
How long before paid ads become profitable?
Expect a learning period of two to four weeks, then ongoing iteration. Profitability depends on offer, landing page, lead quality and follow-up, not only the ads.
Can we run ads ourselves?
You can, especially with a small, focused budget and a clear offer. Get tracking and landing pages right first. A specialist becomes valuable when spend, creative volume or complexity increases.
Next step: if you want a realistic budget for your category, send us the offer and average sale value. We will tell you what a test should cost and what to measure.