SmartAsset is worth it for a firm that closes at least 1 in 20 leads, wins clients paying $5,000 a year or more, keeps them for years, and can fund 6 to 12 months of leads before the wins add up. It usually isn’t worth it for a solo planner charging flat fees, a firm that can’t call a lead within minutes, or anyone who needs the option to stop after a bad month. The math is short: the price per lead divided by your close rate is your cost per client. Set that against what the client pays you.
The break-even formula
Two numbers decide it.
- Cost per client = price per lead ÷ close rate. At 5%, that’s 20 leads per client.
- Payback = cost per client ÷ what the client pays you each month.
SmartAsset doesn’t publish prices, so the inputs are reported figures. About $250 a lead for $1 million-plus prospects comes from SmartAsset’s CEO (Financial Planning, August 2023); $150 to $300 or more is a competitor’s estimate (Wealthtender, November 2025). For close rates, Kitces wrote in April 2024 that a 20/3/1 rate (20 leads, 3 meetings, 1 client, or 5%) was typical even among advisors “very successful with SmartAsset.” SmartAsset’s own AMP page models 3%.
For the client, we use the medians from fee-only firms that publish prices: 1% on assets, so $10,000 a year on $1 million, and $4,500 a year for ongoing planning (fee report).
| Price per lead | Close rate | Leads per client | Cost per client | Payback, $1M client at 1% | Payback, $4,500 planning client |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $150 | 5% | 20 | $3,000 | 4 months | 8 months |
| $250 | 5% | 20 | $5,000 | 6 months | 13 months |
| $300 | 5% | 20 | $6,000 | 7 months | 16 months |
| $250 | 3% | 33 | $8,333 | 10 months | 22 months |
Payback here is measured on revenue. Once you count the cost of serving the client, it takes longer.
Fees collected against $5,000 of leads ($250 a lead, 1 client per 20 leads)
Source: Financial Planning (2023) and Kitces (2024) for lead price and close rate; Wellspent fee report for client fees
Data
| Months | $1M client at 1% | $4,500 planning client | Leads for one client |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | $0 | $0 | $5,000 |
| 3 | $2,500 | $1,125 | $5,000 |
| 6 | $5,000 | $2,250 | $5,000 |
| 9 | $7,500 | $3,375 | $5,000 |
| 12 | $10,000 | $4,500 | $5,000 |
| 15 | $12,500 | $5,625 | $5,000 |
| 18 | $15,000 | $6,750 | $5,000 |
| 21 | $17,500 | $7,875 | $5,000 |
| 24 | $20,000 | $9,000 | $5,000 |
First-year and lifetime revenue
Over a long relationship, the per-client math looks good. Kitces noted in March 2024 that firms often report client retention of 95% to 97%. Held flat for ten years, the $1 million client pays $100,000 and the planning client $45,000. A $5,000 lead cost is 5% and 11% of that. Even at SmartAsset’s own 3% close rate, $8,333 is under a fifth of the planning client’s ten years.
So the per-client cost is rarely what sinks SmartAsset for an advisor. Three other things do.
What sinks it: cash, variance and time
Cash before revenue. At $250 a lead, a $5,000 monthly budget buys 20 leads, about one client a month at 5%. A 12 month term at that budget is $60,000 committed before you know your own close rate. AMP is sold on 6 or 12 month terms, billed monthly.
Variance. A 5% average hides long dry runs. One advisor called it “a pure numbers game.” (thread) A four-year user said: “I consistently pay myself back the cost [of] the program within a year. Budget is 6k/mo.” (thread) Another, after six months: “Haven’t converted one lead while sitting around 90 leads.” (thread) At $250 a lead, that’s $22,500 with nothing to show.
Time. Each prospect goes to about three advisors (Kitces, March 2024), so the first to call usually wins. SmartAsset’s SEC brochure says its phone staff may weigh an advisor’s “historical pickup rates” when choosing among matches. Someone has to be on the phone.
How it compares with other channels
Kitces’ 2026 marketing study found the typical firm spends $2,551 to win a client across all its marketing. At $5,000 a client, SmartAsset leads cost about twice that.
The study also measured cost per $1 of new yearly revenue. Put SmartAsset on the same scale and it lands behind the three cheapest channels, even before counting your time, which Kitces’ figures include.
When SmartAsset is worth it
- Your clients pay $10,000 a year or more, so one win covers 40 leads at $250.
- You can call every lead within minutes, or you have someone whose job that is.
- You can fund the full term without needing a client in month one.
- You track every lead and know your own close rate, so you can stop when it falls below your break-even.
When it isn’t
- Your typical client pays a flat planning fee near the $4,500 median, and you can’t wait more than a year for payback.
- You’re a solo advisor, and calling 20 shared leads per client crowds out the clients you have.
- You serve a niche or a lower asset band, where the reported prices and close rates above may not hold.
- You’d sign a 12 month term to find out whether it works.
What to ask before signing
- The price per lead in your asset band and area, and separately the price of a Live Connection or a set meeting.
- How many advisors receive each lead.
- Whether bad leads are credited. Advisors report that AMP contracts don’t allow invalidations. Get the answer in writing.
- The term, notice period and buyout terms. One advisor reported needing 30 days’ notice plus a two month buyout to leave early.
- The monthly referral range for your plan. AMP delivers a range, not a fixed count. Ask what the floor is.
- How budget affects matching. SmartAsset’s brochure says advisors with larger budgets may be matched more often.
- The close rate advisors like you actually see, in your market and band. If they won’t say, plan on 3% to 5%.
Every reported price is in how much SmartAsset leads cost, and the contract and product details are in our SmartAsset AMP review.
Where SmartAsset is the better choice
- You need volume you can buy. SmartAsset is one of the few channels you can turn up for next quarter. Wellspent can’t promise a number of introductions.
- Large asset-management clients. On a $1 million client at 1%, the lead cost pays back in about six months.
- A sales team built for speed. Shared leads reward the firm that calls first.
Where Wellspent is the better choice
- The break-even is one client. Wellspent is $890 a year billed yearly. One planning client at the $4,500 median covers it about five times; one $1 million client, more than ten.
- No cash committed before you know it works. $89 a month, cancel any time, no term and no buyout.
- No shared prospects. A prospect who writes to you from your record chose you.
- The cheap end of the Kitces table. Your verified record is read by AI assistants and search, a monthly report shows who they recommend for your ideal clients, and quarterly press placement with media partners is included.
The trade-off is real: Wellspent costs the same in a year when no one writes. See Wellspent vs SmartAsset and Zoe vs SmartAsset vs Wellspent for the full comparison.
Bottom line
SmartAsset can pay for itself. At reported prices and a 1 in 20 close rate, a client costs about $5,000 in leads, which a $1 million client repays in six months and a $4,500 planning client in about 13. The risk isn’t the per-client math. It’s committing $30,000 to $60,000, at $5,000 a month, to a 6 or 12 month term before you know your own close rate. If you’d rather start from a fixed $89 a month and a record prospects can find, start there, and keep leads as a lever for later.