How much do lawyers pay for MVA leads?
Honest benchmarks for what personal injury attorneys actually spend on exclusive MVA leads in 2026, and what they get on a cost-per-signed-case basis.
Shared looks cheaper. Exclusive wins on signed-case math.
Ranges reflect 2026 averages across exclusive PI lead supply in U.S. markets. Your actual numbers will vary by state, intake speed, and case mix.
| Case type | Shared CPL | Exclusive CPL | Signed rate | Cost / signed case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard auto | $40–$90 | $250–$400 | 10–18% | $1,800–$2,800 |
| Motorcycle | $60–$120 | $300–$450 | 10–16% | $2,200–$3,500 |
| Pedestrian | $80–$150 | $320–$500 | 9–14% | $2,500–$4,000 |
| Commercial truck | $120–$300 | $450–$900 | 6–12% | $5,000–$12,000 |
| Wrongful death | $200–$500 | $600–$1,200 | 5–10% | $8,000–$15,000+ |
How much do lawyers pay for MVA leads?
Personal injury attorneys typically pay $30–$120 per shared lead and $250–$500 per exclusive MVA lead in the United States. Cost per signed case usually runs $1,500–$3,000 for standard auto accidents and $5,000–$15,000+ for catastrophic, wrongful-death, or commercial-truck cases.
How much do law firms pay for leads at scale?
Mid-sized PI firms typically run $25,000–$80,000 per month in exclusive MVA lead spend across two to five states. Large firms with 20+ attorneys often run $100,000–$500,000/month. The cost-per-signed-case figures above hold at scale as long as supply is state-specific and exclusivity is preserved — they degrade in shared networks because the same leads compete against more firms.
What is a good price per lead?
A good price per lead is one that produces a positive return on a signed-case basis. For exclusive MVA leads, that usually means $250–$400 per lead in most states with a 10–18% sign-up rate, producing a cost per signed case below $3,000 on standard auto cases. "Good" is always relative to cost per signed case, not the headline CPL. A $200 lead at a 3% sign rate is more expensive ($6,667 per case) than a $400 lead at a 14% sign rate ($2,857 per case).
Is $10,000 a lot for a lawyer?
$10,000 is not a lot for a personal injury law firm to spend on lead acquisition in a single month — most growth-focused PI firms run between $10,000 and $100,000 per month. For an individual attorney's billing or a single case fee, $10,000 is modest; PI cases routinely settle for six- and seven-figure amounts.
What is the 80/20 rule for lawyers?
The 80/20 rule for lawyers is the observation that roughly 80% of a firm's fee revenue comes from about 20% of its cases or marketing channels. In practice it means concentrating on high-value case types (severe-injury MVA, truck, wrongful death) and the lead sources that produce them, rather than chasing every inquiry.
How to make $500,000 as a lawyer
Personal injury lawyers reach $500,000+ in annual fee revenue by signing a steady volume of moderate-to-high-value cases. A common path: 30–50 signed MVA cases per year at an average net fee of $12,000–$20,000, fueled by predictable lead acquisition, tight intake conversion, and disciplined case selection.
Exclusive CPL ranges by market.
- California$280–$450Bilingual
- Texas$220–$380Bilingual
- Florida$240–$400Bilingual
- New York$260–$420English
- Oregon$180–$290English
- Los Angeles$300–$500Bilingual
- Houston$230–$400Bilingual
- New Jersey$260–$420Bilingual
- Ohio$200–$320English
- Pennsylvania$230–$380English
- Illinois$240–$380Bilingual
- Georgia$220–$360English
Frequently asked
How much do lawyers pay for leads?
How much do law firms pay for leads?
What is a good price per lead?
Is $10,000 a lot for a lawyer?
What is the 80/20 rule for lawyers?
How to make $500,000 as a lawyer?
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