📣 CAC Calculator
Enter your total marketing and sales spend plus the number of new customers acquired to instantly calculate your Customer Acquisition Cost — then optionally add ARPU and gross margin to see how many months it takes to recoup each customer.
About
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is one of the most critical unit-economics metrics for any business: it answers how much you spend, on average, to win each new paying customer. The formula is straightforward — divide the total marketing and sales expenditure for a given period by the number of new customers acquired in that same period. This calculator goes a step further by offering an optional CAC payback period calculation. If you supply your Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) and gross margin percentage, the tool computes how many months of customer revenue it takes to recover the original acquisition cost. Everything runs live in your browser; no data is sent to any server.
How to use
- Enter your total marketing and sales spend for the period (e.g., ad budget, salaries, agency fees) in the first field.
- Enter the number of new customers acquired during that same period in the second field.
- Your CAC is calculated instantly. For payback analysis, optionally enter ARPU (monthly revenue per customer) and gross margin percentage.
- Review the results: CAC value and, if ARPU and margin were provided, the CAC payback period in months.
- Adjust inputs to model different scenarios — compare CAC across channels or time periods to guide budget decisions.
FAQ
- What is Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)?
- CAC is the average cost to acquire one new paying customer. It equals total marketing and sales spend divided by the number of new customers gained in the same period.
- What costs should I include in my marketing and sales spend?
- Include all direct costs: paid advertising, content creation, SEO tools, sales team salaries and commissions, CRM software, events, agency fees, and any other spend directly tied to customer acquisition.
- What is a good CAC payback period?
- For most SaaS businesses, under 12 months is considered healthy. Under 6 months is excellent. Over 18 months may indicate the business model needs adjustment, though it varies widely by industry and average contract length.
- How is CAC different from CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)?
- CPA is usually a narrower advertising metric — the cost of one conversion event from a specific channel. CAC is broader, covering all sales and marketing costs across all channels to acquire a fully paying customer.
- How do I use CAC alongside LTV to evaluate business health?
- The LTV:CAC ratio is a key health indicator. A ratio of 3:1 or higher is typically considered sustainable — meaning each customer generates three times what it cost to acquire them. Below 1:1 means you lose money on every customer.