Your 2027 marketing budget, from your revenue
Type your revenue. The benchmarks and the dollars move. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Your 2027 plan
$3.48M a year, or $290K a month, at 17.4% of revenue.
Companies in your band averaged 17.4% in 2026, or $3.48M on your revenue.
Where $3.48M goes at the 2026 mix
- Paid media$1.09M31.4% of the budget
- People$853K24.5% of the budget
- Technology$675K19.4% of the budget
- Agencies and other$860K24.7% of the budget
Of the total, the average company puts 15.3% into AI work, or $532K for you. That spend sits inside the four lines above. Benchmarks are survey means, not targets. Band and sector cells hold 15 to 61 responses each.
Where the numbers come from
- Revenue bands and sectors. The CMO Survey 2026, Firm and Industry Breakout Report (Duke University Fuqua School of Business, Deloitte and the American Marketing Association), January 2026.
- All US companies, 9%. The CMO Survey 2026, Highlights and Insights Report, 308 US marketing leaders.
- Large companies, 7.8%, and the AI share, 15.3%. Gartner CMO Spend Survey 2026, 401 CMOs, January to March 2026.
- The mix. Chief Marketer on the Gartner 2026 survey: paid media 31.4%, labor 24.5%, technology 19.4%. Agencies and other lines are the remaining 24.7%.
The data behind the calculator
Marketing budget as a share of revenue, by company size
| Annual revenue | Average share of revenue, 2026 | Responses |
|---|---|---|
| Under $10M | 13.3% | 20 |
| $10M to $25M | 17.4% | 15 |
| $26M to $99M | 11.1% | 18 |
| $100M to $499M | 5.9% | 34 |
| $500M to $999M | 6.9% | 17 |
| $1B to $9.9B | 5.7% | 33 |
| $10B and over | 9.5% | 15 |
Smaller companies spend a larger share of revenue. Above $100 million, the averages sit between 5.7% and 9.5%. Every number above comes from The CMO Survey 2026 breakout report.
The full data, with B2B and B2C splits, budget trends since 2020 and the rules of thumb you will see elsewhere, is on marketing budget as a percentage of revenue.
2027 budget planning
2027 marketing budgets: what to fund and what to cut
Leaders expect more money next year. Forrester reports that 91% of marketers expect budget increases in 2027. More than 80% of all leaders expect increases, and up to a quarter expect 10% or more.
Last year moved less. Marketing spending grew 1.7% in the 12 months to January 2026 (The CMO Survey). And 56% of CMOs say they lack the budget for their strategy (Gartner).
| Move | Where | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | Being named in AI answers | Forrester tells marketers to prioritize brand visibility in AI-generated results in 2027. |
| Fund | Clean customer and sales data | Forrester lists data that AI tools can act on as a 2027 increase. |
| Cut | AI pilots with no owner | Forrester says to stop AI work with no owner, no success criteria and no path to scale. |
| Cut | Old systems that slow the team | Forrester lists tech debt that slows AI as a 2027 decrease. |
For the first line, see how a business gets cited by AI answers.
How to pick the rate
Set the number by size first, then by goal
My read of the data: 8% of revenue is the floor for a business that wants to hold its position. Under $25 million, a business that wants to grow sits at 10% to 13%. That is a judgment from the surveys. No survey reports it as a target.
The rate matters less than where the money goes. Before you raise it, check that the money you spend now turns into booked work. A higher budget on a leaking process buys more leaks.
Before the budget is approved
What to check this week
- Divide last year’s marketing cost by last year’s revenue. Count ads, people, tools and agencies.
- Put your revenue in the calculator. Compare your rate with your band.
- Split your cost into the four lines. Ask which line returned booked work, not clicks.
- Before you move money between campaigns, run the Attribution Stress Test.
- Before you add tools, run a martech audit.
Questions owners ask
Marketing budget for 2027, answered
How much should a business spend on marketing in 2027?
Start from what companies your size spent in 2026. US companies averaged 8.96% of revenue (The CMO Survey). Companies under $10 million averaged 13.34%, and $10 to $25 million averaged 17.40%, from 20 and 15 responses. Large companies averaged 7.8% (Gartner).
How do I calculate a marketing budget?
Multiply annual revenue by a share of revenue. A $20 million company at 9% spends $1.8 million a year, or $150,000 a month. Then split it. In 2026 the average split was 31.4% paid media, 24.5% people and 19.4% technology (Gartner).
Will marketing budgets go up in 2027?
Most leaders expect so. Forrester reports that 91% of marketers expect budget increases in 2027. Actual growth was small last year: spending rose 1.7% in the 12 months to January 2026 (The CMO Survey).
How much of a marketing budget goes to AI?
15.3% on average in 2026, across 401 companies (Gartner). Only 30% of those companies say they are ready to scale their AI work.
Does a marketing budget include salaries?
In the Gartner survey, yes. It counts paid media, technology, labor and agencies. Count all four when you compare your number with a benchmark.
What percentage of revenue should a small business spend on marketing?
In the 2026 CMO Survey, companies under $10 million in revenue spent 13.34% on average, from 20 responses. Treat small samples as a direction, not a target.
Sources
Every number on this page
- The CMO Survey (2026): Firm and Industry Breakout Report, Duke University Fuqua School of Business, Deloitte and the American Marketing Association. Shares of revenue by company size and sector
- The CMO Survey (2026): Highlights and Insights Report, 308 US marketing leaders, January 2026. US average 8.96% of revenue, spending growth 1.7%
- Gartner (May 2026): CMO Spend Survey, 401 CMOs. Budgets 7.8% of revenue, 15.3% of budgets allocated to AI, 30% ready to scale AI, 56% lack the budget for their strategy
- Chief Marketer (June 2026): Gartner 2026 budget mix. Paid media 31.4%, labor 24.5%, technology 19.4%
- Forrester (July 15, 2026): 2027 Budget Planning Guides, 2,600+ business and technology decision-makers. 91% of marketers expect budget increases in 2027
All figures are survey means in US dollars, checked October 2026. You may quote any number here with a link to this page.