Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) Calculator
Find what one new customer really costs to win.
Customer acquisition cost is the total sales and marketing spend for a period divided by the number of new customers that spend produced. It is the number that decides whether growth is profitable or simply expensive, and it is the denominator behind every marketing budget conversation.
Include everything that goes into winning customers: ad spend, agency and freelancer fees, marketing software, trade shows, content production, and the wages or commission of anyone whose job is to sell. Leaving out salaries is the most common mistake and can understate real CAC by half.
Once you know CAC, compare it to the gross profit a customer generates. If a customer is worth $900 in lifetime gross profit and costs $300 to acquire, you have a healthy 3:1 ratio. If acquisition costs more than the first-year profit, you are buying growth with cash you may not have. Enter your figures below to see CAC and payback.
Your numbers
Customer acquisition cost
$500.00
🇺🇸 US · USD
- Total acquisition spend
- $20,000.00
- New customers
- 40
- Payback period
- 4.2 months
- Marketing share of spend
- 60.00%
Estimates only. Results from this calculator are for general informational purposes and are not tax, legal, accounting or financial advice. Rates change and individual circumstances vary — confirm figures with the CRA, the IRS, your state or provincial authority, or a licensed professional before acting on them.
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How it's calculated
- CAC = (Marketing spend + Sales costs) ÷ New customers acquired
- Payback period (months) = CAC ÷ Monthly gross profit per customer
Understand the numbers
Frequently asked questions
- What should be included in CAC?
- All sales and marketing costs for the period: ads, agencies, tools, events, content, and the fully loaded cost of sales and marketing staff.
- What is a good CAC?
- CAC is only meaningful next to customer value. Aim for lifetime value at least three times CAC and payback within 12 months.
- Should I include existing customer spend?
- No. Retention and upsell spend belongs in a separate figure; mixing it in understates true acquisition cost.
- What period should I measure?
- Monthly or quarterly for fast sales cycles, annually if your cycle runs longer than a quarter.
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