# What does a lead really cost? 17 francs or 188?

**Cost per sale is the monthly cost of a listing channel divided by the cars sold from that channel in the same month. A ZHAW study for AutoScout24, presented in July 2025, gives three values: CHF 17 per lead from internal platform data, CHF 188 as the estimate of the dealers surveyed, and 3.2 leads per sale, from which the study derives CHF 54 to 147 per sale. The first two numbers measure different things, which is why your own calculation pays: on a published example subscription of CHF 323.10 a month, one sale costs CHF 161.55 at two sales and CHF 40.39 at eight.**

You know your monthly invoice by heart. The number that carries your decision sits next to it: what does one sold car cost you in listing fees?

That number appears on no invoice. It comes from two values you already have in the house. Ten minutes are enough.

## Two numbers, and both are right

In July 2025, AutoScout24 presented a study by the ZHAW School of Management and Law. Dr Andreas Block and Dr Anna Zakharova examined the quality, use and economics of leads in the Swiss car trade. Four values from it belong together.

| What was measured | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Cost per lead, estimate of the dealers surveyed | CHF 188 |
| Cost per lead, internal platform data | CHF 17 |
| Leads per sale, average | 3.2 |
| Cost per sale, derived in the study | CHF 54 to 147 |

_([aboutFLEET on the study presentation](https://www.aboutfleet.ch/news/autoscout24-studie-zu-lead-kanalen-im-autohandel-1), [HORIZONT Switzerland](https://www.horizont.net/schweiz/nachrichten/autoscout24-studie-deutliche-luecke-zwischen-geschaetzten-und-realen-lead-kosten-229190), both July 2025)_

The first glance says one of the two must be wrong. The second glance shows something more useful. The two numbers measure different things.

CHF 17 is an average across every lead a subscription produces. The division there runs over each single enquiry. CHF 188 is the number in the dealer's head, and it grows out of the monthly invoice and the enquiries a salesperson remembers.

Between them sits the quantity that carries your business: the sale. For that, the study names CHF 54 to 147. Check it yourself: CHF 17 times 3.2 leads gives CHF 54.40, the lower end of the range. The dealer estimate of CHF 188 sits in the order of magnitude of the upper end.

One simple rule follows. Agree on the unit first, then on the number. And the unit that pays your margin is the sold car.

One piece of context belongs here: the study was presented by the platform whose price it puts in perspective. That does not make the numbers wrong. It makes your own calculation valuable.

## The calculation that belongs to you

Four steps, one sheet of paper.

1. **Add up one full month of channel costs.** Subscription, highlights, extra options, vehicle value factor. Note the VAT separately, so you compare channels cleanly.
2. **Assign this month's sales to their channel.** One question in the sales conversation is enough: "Where did you find the car?"
3. **Count the enquiries that carry buying intent.** A tally sheet next to the phone covers the first month completely.
4. **Divide twice.** Channel cost divided by enquiries gives your cost per enquiry. Channel cost divided by sales from that channel gives your cost per sale.

The two values belong together. The first tells you how much attention you buy. The second tells you what that attention was worth in the end.

## An example with published tariffs

AutoScout24 prints two example calculations on its own dealer page. The first: the "Basic 10" package at a list price of CHF 359 a month, multiplied by the vehicle value factor of 0.9 at an average asking price of CHF 7'000. Result: CHF 323.10 a month. _([AutoScout24 listing packages, read on 12 September 2026](https://b2b.autoscout24.ch/insertionsangebote/))_

Now divide that amount by different months.

| Sales from this channel per month | Cost per sale |
| --- | --- |
| 2 | CHF 161.55 |
| 3 | CHF 107.70 |
| 5 | CHF 64.62 |
| 8 | CHF 40.39 |

The invoice stays identical across all four rows. The price per sale follows your month alone.

That is the nature of a fixed amount, and it is worth knowing: it is cheap in a strong month and expensive in a quiet one. Exactly when less comes in, every sale costs the most.

The same calculation at scale, the second example on the same page: "Professional Plus 50" at a list price of CHF 1'409, multiplied by the factor 1.1 at an average asking price of CHF 45'000, gives CHF 1'549.90 a month. At 8 sales that is CHF 193.74 per sale, at 12 sales CHF 129.16, at 20 sales CHF 77.50.

## What your number means

A number on its own is only a number. Put it next to your gross margin per car. The share is the answer.

An example: CHF 108 of channel cost against CHF 1'800 gross margin is 6 percent. The same CHF 108 against CHF 900 margin is 12 percent. The channel invoice has not moved. Your position has.

And the yardstick does move. The OBT Branchenspiegel 2026, published on 24 July 2026, records falling gross margins in the Swiss car trade, most clearly in the used-car business, with uncertainty over the residual values of electrified cars as the driver. _([OBT Branchenspiegel 2026](https://www.obt.ch/de/infoboard/branchenspiegel-2026-stabile-basis-wachsender-druck))_

So the calculation pays off once a quarter. Your channel costs can stay flat while their share of your margin climbs.

## Three points that sharpen your number

- **Assign every sale to a channel.** One question in the conversation, one field in the system. After 30 days you hold a reliable distribution.
- **Count the extra options in.** Highlights, image packages and value factors belong to the channel bill, because they sit on the same invoice.
- **Count enquiries with buying intent.** A question about towing capacity is interest. A request for an appointment is intent. Count the second one.

## How we calculate

At Auto Power Search the sale is the unit from the start. The base fee is CHF 3 per car per month. On top of that come fees for events that actually happen: CHF 3 for a started conversation, CHF 15 for a booked test drive, CHF 50 for a confirmed purchase intent.

Above all of it sits the Price Shield. It caps the entire monthly bill, and the ceiling comes from your fleet size times the rate of your tier. With 20 cars that is CHF 360 a month, however strong the month runs.

Work it through with your own figures:

_[Interactive Price Shield calculator on the web page.]_

## In short

- CHF 17 and CHF 188 both measure something real, and something different. The unit decides which number carries.
- Your unit is the sold car. Channel cost divided by sales from that channel, fresh every month.
- On a published example subscription of CHF 323.10, one sale costs CHF 161.55 in a quiet month and CHF 40.39 in a strong one.
- The value becomes meaningful against your gross margin. Check it once a quarter.

Would you like to work through your own number together? Write us a line and we will go through it with you:

_[Contact form on the web page.]_

## More on this topic

- [What a car listing really costs](https://autopowersuche.com/en-ch/dealer/page/what-a-car-listing-really-costs) — the comparison of billing models this calculation builds on.
- [The Price Shield: your ceiling is set in advance](https://autopowersuche.com/en-ch/dealer/page/price-shield-ceiling-explained) — how the ceiling per fleet size comes about.
- [Measure visibility, do not guess it](https://autopowersuche.com/en-ch/dealer/page/measure-visibility-do-not-guess-it) — the metric that comes before the enquiry.

## Sources

- [aboutFLEET: AutoScout24, study on lead channels in the car trade](https://www.aboutfleet.ch/news/autoscout24-studie-zu-lead-kanalen-im-autohandel-1) — ZHAW School of Management and Law, Dr Andreas Block and Dr Anna Zakharova, July 2025.
- [HORIZONT Switzerland: a clear gap between estimated and real lead costs](https://www.horizont.net/schweiz/nachrichten/autoscout24-studie-deutliche-luecke-zwischen-geschaetzten-und-realen-lead-kosten-229190), July 2025.
- [AutoScout24: listing packages and vehicle value factor](https://b2b.autoscout24.ch/insertionsangebote/), read on 12 September 2026.
- [OBT: Branchenspiegel 2026, a stable base under growing pressure](https://www.obt.ch/de/infoboard/branchenspiegel-2026-stabile-basis-wachsender-druck), 24 July 2026.

## FAQ

### I do not run a CRM. How do I count enquiries reliably?

A sheet next to the phone for 30 days, one stroke per enquiry with buying intent and one letter for the channel. That gives a distribution which is entirely sufficient for the first calculation.

### A buyer finds the car on one channel and buys after a call on another. Where does the sale belong?

To the channel of the first contact, because that one made the car visible. Note the second channel beside it. After three months you will see which combination actually sells for you.

### How many months should I calculate?

Three months in a row. A single month swings too much, and a quarter smooths out holidays, fairs and seasonal demand.

### Does my sales team's working time belong in the calculation?

For comparing two channels the invoice amount is enough, because the time per enquiry comes out similar. As soon as one channel asks for noticeably more follow-up, carry the minutes per enquiry as a second column.

### How do I treat cars that sell off the forecourt without an online enquiry?

Count them separately. Credited to a listing channel, that channel looks better than it is, and the number loses exactly the value you calculate it for.

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Source: https://autopowersuche.com/en-ch/dealer/page/what-a-lead-really-costs — Auto Power Search