How Much Do Personal Injury Leads Cost?

Personal injury lead prices span two orders of magnitude — from about $20 to well over $1,000. That range isn’t random. It tracks one thing: how likely the lead is to turn into a paying case. Here’s the breakdown and, more importantly, the number you should actually watch.

The price ranges, by lead type

• Shared form-fill leads: ~$20–$100. The same inquiry is sold to several firms; low intent, low conversion.
• Exclusive form-fill leads: ~$100–$300. Yours alone, so they convert better.
• Inbound / live-transfer calls: ~$200–$700+. A qualified person already on the phone — you’re paying for intent and immediacy.
• Signed cases: low-to-mid four figures. Not a lead at all — a client who already signed. (See signed MVA retainers.)

Higher-value case types (truck, wrongful death, catastrophic injury) cost more per lead than soft-tissue MVA, because the potential fee is bigger and the competition for them is fiercer.

What actually drives the price

Five factors move a PI lead’s price:

• Exclusivity. Exclusive costs more than shared — and is usually worth it.
• Intent. A live call beats a form fill beats a content download.
• Case type. Truck and wrongful death command a premium over soft-tissue.
• Channel. Leads from high-intent search (someone Googling "car accident lawyer") cost more than social-media leads, and convert better.
• Geography. Competitive metros (big PI advertising markets) cost more.

The only number that matters: cost per signed case

Cost per lead is a vanity metric. Two firms can buy the "same" $50 lead and get completely different economics depending on how many they sign. The math that runs your firm is:

Cost per signed case = (cost per lead) ÷ (the share of leads you actually sign)

A $40 shared lead you sign 1-in-30 of costs $1,200 per signed case. A $250 exclusive lead you sign 1-in-5 of costs $1,250 — basically the same, but with far less wasted staff time and a better client experience. Cheap leads aren’t cheap if you can’t sign them. (This is the same logic behind lowering cost per signed case.)

Why your intake changes the price you effectively pay

Here’s the part lead-buyers underestimate: your conversion rate is mostly within your control, and it swings the real cost more than the lead price does. Answer every lead in under a minute, qualify well, and sign on the first call, and a mediocre lead becomes affordable. Let leads sit in a voicemail queue and even premium leads get expensive. Fixing intake often beats shopping for cheaper leads — see what slow response costs in the Case Leak calculator, or hand it to managed intake.

The bottom line

Personal injury leads cost anywhere from $20 to $1,000+, scaling with exclusivity, intent, case type, and market. But the sticker price is a distraction. Track cost per *signed case*, fix your intake so you sign more of what you buy, and — for the long game — build owned channels so your blended cost per case falls instead of rising. (Weighing buying against building? Start with how much PI marketing costs.)