Track CPL Across All Channels with HubSpot Formula Fields

If you’re serious about data-driven marketing, you’ve probably wasted hours trying to calculate cost per lead (CPL) across all your channels.

Ads, email, organic, events — each one lives in a different report, with different attribution rules, and different “total spend” numbers that never seem to line up.

Now, HubSpot’s Formula Fields fix that.

Why Formula Fields Are a Big Deal

Formula fields let you run real-time math inside HubSpot properties — no more exporting data to Excel or Sheets to calculate metrics like CPL, ROAS, or conversion rates.

That means you can finally automate what used to be one of the most manual parts of marketing reporting: calculating CPL across all channels.

The Problem Before

Before formula fields, marketers had to:

• Export ad spend data from Google, Meta, or LinkedIn.

• Export lead data from HubSpot.

• Merge them in a spreadsheet.

• Divide spend by leads to get CPL.

• Repeat every week.

That’s not reporting - that’s punishment.

How to Set Up a CPL Formula in HubSpot

Here’s how to track cost per lead (CPL) automatically with HubSpot’s new Formula Fields.

Step 1: Create Your Custom Property

1. Go to Settings > Data Management > Properties.

2. Create a Number property called “Cost per Lead (CPL).”

3. Set the calculation to “Formula.”

Step 2: Build the Formula

Your formula will depend on how you track spend and leads. A basic setup might look like this:

If you’re breaking it down by channel, create one per channel:

Step 3: Use in Dashboards

Once your CPL formulas are built, you can:

• Add them to HubSpot dashboards.

• Filter by campaign, channel, or lifecycle stage.

• Compare CPL trends over time.

You get real-time ROI visibility, not delayed spreadsheet reports.

CPL and Attribution: What to Watch For

Formula fields calculate CPL using whatever attribution model you’ve set in HubSpot. That means your numbers will shift slightly depending on whether you’re using first touch, last touch, or multi-touch attribution.

Our recommendation:

• Use multi-touch attribution if you want a true reflection of CPL across your entire funnel.

• Use first touch if you’re focused on top-of-funnel channel efficiency.

Real-World Example

Let’s say you’re spending $5,000 on Meta ads and $3,000 on Google ads this month.

• Meta drives 100 leads → CPL = $50

• Google drives 75 leads → CPL = $40

HubSpot’s formula fields automatically update those values as new leads and spend data roll in — no manual tracking.

Now you can see which channel is performing in real-time and shift your budget accordingly.

Why This Matters for SMBs

Small and mid-sized teams don’t have data analysts sitting around cleaning spreadsheets. Formula fields make data accuracy automatic and reporting scalable.

When your CPL numbers are always current, your marketing decisions get sharper — and your ROI actually means something.

The Bottom Line

HubSpot’s Formula Fields are more than a math upgrade - they’re a RevOps unlock.

You can finally track cost per lead across every channel in one dashboard, with zero manual work.
No more exports. No more pivot tables. Just clean, live CPL data where it belongs - inside HubSpot.