Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Marketing cost per signed lease
$373
Total marketing spend
$1,490
Leasing staff time cost
$480
Leases signed
4
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How to use this
- 1Enter listing site fees (monthly) ($).
- 2Enter photography / tour cost (monthly) ($).
- 3Enter signage / flyers (monthly) ($).
- 4Enter total referral incentives paid ($).
- 5Enter leasing staff hours spent (hrs).
- 6Enter leasing staff hourly cost ($/hr).
- 7Enter leases signed in the period.
- 8Read your marketing cost per signed lease on the right — it updates as you type.
- 9Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Marketing cost per lease is a metric multifamily operators track closely because it directly affects the breakeven math on any given vacancy. This calculator adds listing site fees, photography or virtual tour cost, signage, referral or resident incentive payouts, and a share of leasing staff time, then divides by the leases actually signed in the period to give a true cost-per-lease figure — not just a marketing budget number. Tracking this by source (organic vs. paid listing vs. referral) over time is how operators figure out which channels are actually worth paying for versus which just generate lookers who never sign.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Listing site fees (monthly): 300 $
- Photography / tour cost (monthly): 150 $
- Signage / flyers (monthly): 60 $
- Total referral incentives paid: 500 $
- Leasing staff hours spent: 20 hrs
- Leasing staff hourly cost: 24 $/hr
- Leases signed in the period: 4
Results
- Marketing cost per signed lease: $373
- Total marketing spend: $1,490
- Leasing staff time cost: $480
- Leases signed: 4
What each field means
Inputs
- Listing site fees (monthly) ($)
- The listing site fees (monthly) used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 300 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Photography / tour cost (monthly) ($)
- The photography / tour cost (monthly) used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 150 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Signage / flyers (monthly) ($)
- The signage / flyers (monthly) used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 60 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Total referral incentives paid ($)
- The total referral incentives paid used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 500 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Leasing staff hours spent (hrs)
- The leasing staff hours spent used in the calculation, measured in hrs. Starts at 20 hrs so you have a working example on load.
- Leasing staff hourly cost ($/hr)
- The leasing staff hourly cost used in the calculation, measured in $/hr. Starts at 24 $/hr so you have a working example on load.
- Leases signed in the period
- The leases signed in the period used in the calculation. Starts at 4 so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Marketing cost per signed lease
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total marketing spend
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Leasing staff time cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Leases signed
- Returned as a whole number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
What's a reasonable cost per lease?
For conventional multifamily, $200-$500 per lease is typical when spread across normal operations; it climbs to $600-$1,200+ during a difficult lease-up of a new property competing against established buildings offering concessions. Anything consistently above one month's rent per lease signals a pricing or marketing-channel problem worth investigating.
Should staff time really be included?
Yes — leasing agent salary is a real cost of filling units, and excluding it understates true cost-per-lease, especially at properties with dedicated leasing staff rather than a manager doing it part-time. If you skip it, at least note that the number is marketing-only, not fully loaded.
How do I track cost-per-lease by channel?
Use unique tracking (a specific phone extension, promo code, or UTM-tagged listing link) for each source and run this calculation separately for paid listings, organic/SEO traffic, and referrals. Most operators find referrals and resident-loyalty programs beat paid listing sites once staff time is factored in.
Does a rent concession count as a marketing cost?
It's usually tracked separately as a concession against revenue rather than a marketing expense, since it reduces the top-line rent rather than being a cash outlay. But it should still factor into your overall cost-per-lease-up analysis when comparing the true economics of filling a unit fast versus holding out for full rent.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Lease-Up Marketing Cost Per Lease Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/lease-up-marketing-cost
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/lease-up-marketing-cost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lease-Up Marketing Cost Per Lease Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Lease-Up Marketing Cost Per Lease Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/lease-up-marketing-cost) (2026).