Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) Calculator
Customer Acquisition Cost is the foundational unit-economics metric every SaaS founder, growth marketer, and investor scrutinizes, because it reveals exactly how many dollars it takes to win a single paying customer. It is calculated by dividing your total sales and marketing investment over a period — ad spend, salaries, tooling, and commissions — by the number of new customers those efforts produced. A rising CAC signals that growth is getting more expensive and margins are thinning, while a falling CAC points to an efficient, scalable go-to-market engine. On its own CAC is only half the story; it becomes powerful when paired with lifetime value and payback period. Enter your spend and new customer count to pinpoint your acquisition cost and start optimizing every channel.
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Results
Results update live as you type. Estimates only — not financial, tax, or investment advice.
The Formula
CAC = (Total Sales + Marketing Spend) ÷ New Customers Acquired
Understanding the Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) Calculator
The accuracy of your CAC depends entirely on what you include in the numerator. A 'blended' CAC divides all sales and marketing costs by all new customers, including those who arrived organically — it flatters the number and hides the real cost of paid growth. A 'paid' CAC counts only the spend and customers attributable to paid channels, and it is the figure investors actually want to see. Always include fully loaded costs: salaries, commissions, ad spend, software, and agency fees.
CAC is meaningless in isolation. A $2,000 CAC is excellent for an enterprise product with a $50,000 annual contract and disastrous for a $10-per-month app. That is why CAC is always read alongside customer lifetime value (the LTV:CAC ratio) and the CAC payback period. Together they tell you whether each new customer is a profitable investment and how long your cash is tied up before that customer pays you back.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good customer acquisition cost?
There is no universal target — a healthy CAC is defined relative to lifetime value. The widely used benchmark is an LTV:CAC ratio of at least 3:1, meaning a customer should generate three times more lifetime value than they cost to acquire. What matters is that CAC is comfortably recovered within your payback period.
What costs should be included in CAC?
Include all fully loaded sales and marketing costs for the period: paid advertising, marketing and sales salaries and commissions, software and tooling, agency and contractor fees, and content production. Excluding salaries or overhead produces an artificially low CAC that misleads you and investors.
What's the difference between blended and paid CAC?
Blended CAC divides total sales and marketing spend by all new customers, including organic ones, so it looks lower. Paid CAC counts only customers and spend from paid channels. Investors focus on paid CAC because it reflects the true cost and scalability of your growth engine.