---
title: "Lead Score Cutoff Calculator"
category: Lending
canonical: https://plato.ai/tools/lead-score-cutoff/
---

# Lead Score Cutoff Calculator

Which lead score cutoff maximizes profit, given what leads cost, how conversion rises with score, and what a conversion is worth?

Free interactive calculator at https://plato.ai/tools/lead-score-cutoff/ (runs in the browser).

## How it works

A lead score is only useful once you decide where to draw the line. This calculator groups leads into score bands, each with its own share of volume and conversion rate, and shows the leads, conversions, cost, revenue, profit and cost per conversion for every possible cutoff. Use it to see which cutoff earns the most and how that cutoff moves when lead prices or the value of a conversion change.

Each band's leads are monthly leads times its share of volume (shares are scaled to add up to 100%), and its conversions are those leads times its conversion rate. A cutoff buys every band at or above it. Profit is conversions times the value of a conversion minus leads times the price per lead, and the calculator picks the cutoff with the highest profit. Each band adds its conversion rate × value − price per lead, so it is worth buying while its conversion rate is above price ÷ value. Every lead in a band is assumed to cost the same and convert at the band's average rate.

`Profit at cutoff c = Σ over bands b ≥ c of leads_b × (conversion rate_b × value per conversion − price per lead); buy band b while conversion rate_b > price per lead ÷ value per conversion`

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is a lead score cutoff?
The score below which you stop buying, calling or routing leads. Leads at or above it are bought; leads below it are declined or sent to a cheaper path.

### How do I find the break-even conversion rate?
Divide the price per lead by what a conversion is worth. At $30 a lead and $600 a conversion, a band needs to convert above 5% to pay for itself. Bands above that rate add profit; bands below it subtract it.

### What should count as a conversion?
The outcome that actually earns money, such as a funded loan rather than an approval or an application, valued at what it is worth to you. A score trained on the wrong outcome can rank leads well on paper and still put the cutoff in the wrong place.

### Where do the band inputs come from?
From your own history: score past leads you bought, group them into bands such as deciles or quintiles, and measure each band's share of volume and conversion rate. The defaults (five equal bands converting from 1% to 9%, $30 a lead, $600 a conversion) are an illustrative example, not benchmarks.

## Read the article

[Predicting Intent: The Digital Body Language of Borrowers](https://plato.ai/md/predicting-borrower-intent.md)