CAC Calculator: Customer Acquisition Cost
Measure how much you spend to acquire each new customer by dividing total acquisition spend by new customers acquired.
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) is total acquisition spend divided by new customers. Formula: CAC = Total Acquisition Spend ÷ New Customers. Example: $80,000 ÷ 160 = $500 CAC.
Include ads, sales, tools, and agency fees
Customers acquired in the same period
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
$500.00
Customer Acquisition Cost
$500.00
Tier vs LTV:CAC, high if <3:1 · healthy at 3–4 · strong at 4–6 · low at 6+
LTV:CAC is strong
Unit economics support growth. Monitor payback and channel-level CAC as you scale.
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How it works
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) tells you the average cost to win one paying customer. Include ad spend, sales commissions, marketing tools, and agency fees in your acquisition spend. Divide by the number of new customers in the same period for an accurate CAC.
How to use this calculator
Follow these steps to get an accurate CAC Calculator result.
- Open the CAC Calculator and select your currency if needed.
- Enter Total Acquisition Spend: add up all ads, sales salaries and commissions, marketing tools (CRM, ad platforms), and agency fees for the same time period.
- Enter New Customers Acquired: count only paying customers who signed up in that same period (not trials or free users).
- Your CAC appears instantly. Check the benchmark insights below the result to see how your number compares to self-serve, SMB, and enterprise targets.
Worked examples
Plug in sample numbers to see how the CAC Calculator formula works in practice.
Fully loaded monthly CAC
- Sales + marketing spend
- $80,000
- New customers
- 160
CAC = $80,000 ÷ 160 = $500
Benchmarks
Directional ranges—always prefer your own baselines and unit economics.
| Context | Guidance |
|---|---|
| LTV:CAC target | Many SaaS aim for 3:1 or higher |
| Payback | Often target under 12 months |
| Self-serve | CAC often lower than sales-led |
| vs CPA | CAC is fully loaded; CPA is usually campaign media only |
Common mistakes
- Reporting CPA as CAC — Include salaries, tools, and agency fees for true CAC.
- Misaligned time windows — Match spend period to when customers were acquired (or use cohorts).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CAC?
CAC stands for Customer Acquisition Cost, the average amount your business spends to win one new paying customer. It is a core marketing and sales metric used to judge whether growth is efficient, sustainable, and worth scaling.
What is CAC in marketing?
In marketing, CAC measures the total cost of acquisition efforts, paid ads, campaigns, marketing tools, agency fees, and sales compensation, divided by the number of new customers those efforts produce. Marketers use CAC to compare channels, set budgets, and decide which campaigns deserve more spend.
How do you calculate CAC?
Divide total acquisition spend by new customers acquired in the same period: CAC = Total Acquisition Spend ÷ New Customers. Include all sales and marketing costs tied to winning customers, and align both numbers to the same time window. For example, $80,000 in spend and 160 new customers gives a CAC of $500. Use this calculator to run your numbers instantly.
What should be included in a CAC calculation?
Include paid media, sales salaries and commissions, marketing software (CRM, automation, ad platforms), agency and contractor fees, and campaign production costs. Exclude product engineering, customer success, and general admin unless you allocate a specific percentage to acquisition. The test: if the cost would not exist without trying to win new customers, include it.
What is the difference between blended CAC and channel CAC?
Blended CAC divides total acquisition spend across all channels by total new customers, useful for board reporting but it hides efficiency gaps. Channel CAC isolates spend and customers per source (e.g., paid search vs outbound). A blended CAC of $375 might mask $250 search CAC and $750 outbound CAC. Always track both, but optimize using channel-level data.
What is a good CAC?
There is no universal "good" CAC, it depends on customer value. Compare CAC to LTV and payback period: many SaaS companies target an LTV:CAC ratio of 3:1 or higher and CAC payback under 12 months. Self-serve SaaS often sees CAC from $50–$300; mid-market $1,500–$10,000; enterprise $10,000+. A "good" CAC is one that leaves healthy margin after LTV and cash recovery.
Is there a free CAC calculator?
Yes, this CAC calculator is free with no signup required. Enter your total acquisition spend and new customers acquired to get your customer acquisition cost instantly. Use it alongside our LTV calculator and LTV:CAC ratio tool for full unit economics.
Related Calculators
LTV Calculator
Estimate the total revenue a customer generates over their relationship with your business.
LTV = (ARPU × Gross Margin) ÷ Churn Rate
LTV:CAC Ratio
Compare customer lifetime value to acquisition cost to assess whether your growth is profitable and sustainable.
LTV:CAC Ratio = LTV ÷ CAC
CAC Payback Period
Find how many months it takes to recover the cost of acquiring a customer through their gross margin contribution.
Payback Period = CAC ÷ (ARPU × Gross Margin)
Budget Planner
A free marketing budget calculator that reverse-engineers the spend you need to hit revenue targets from CAC and funnel metrics.
Budget = Target Customers × CAC
CPA Calculator
Measure how much you spend for each conversion (lead, signup, or purchase) in a campaign or channel.
CPA = Total Ad Spend ÷ Conversions