CAC Calculator
Customer acquisition cost and payback period.
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This CAC calculator works out your customer acquisition cost: how much you spend on marketing and sales to win each new customer. It shows the blended CAC and the marketing-only CAC, and if you add average monthly revenue per customer and gross margin, the number of months it takes to earn the CAC back.
What is a CAC Calculator?
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is the total cost of winning a new customer: marketing and sales spend for a period divided by the number of new customers in that period. It is one of the most important numbers for startups, subscription businesses and online shops.
CAC means little on its own. It matters in relation to what a customer is worth (lifetime value) and how quickly the customer’s profit pays back the acquisition cost. This CAC calculator shows the cost and the payback period.
Tracking CAC every month shows whether growth is getting cheaper or more expensive. Rising CAC is often the first sign that a channel is saturating, competition for ads is increasing or conversion rates are slipping. Investors look at CAC trends, CAC payback and the LTV to CAC ratio together when they judge whether a startup can grow profitably.
How does the CAC Calculator work?
Blended CAC is marketing plus sales spend divided by new customers. Marketing-only CAC uses marketing spend alone. CAC payback is CAC divided by the monthly gross profit per customer, which is average monthly revenue times gross margin.
How to use the CAC Calculator step by step
- Choose your currency.
- Enter marketing spend for the period.
- Enter sales costs.
- Enter the number of new customers won.
- Optionally add monthly revenue per customer and gross margin.
- Read CAC and payback.
CAC Calculator example with real numbers
A SaaS startup spent $20,000 on marketing and $10,000 on sales last quarter and won 150 new customers paying $50 a month at a 70% gross margin.
| Example input | Value |
|---|---|
| Currency | US dollar ($) |
| Marketing spend (ads, content, tools) | 20,000 |
| Sales costs (salaries, commissions, tools) | 10,000 |
| New customers won | 150 |
| Average monthly revenue per customer (optional) | 50 |
| Gross margin (optional) | 70% |
| Example output | Value |
|---|---|
| Customer acquisition cost | $200.00 |
| Total acquisition spend | $30,000 |
| Marketing-only CAC | $133.33 |
| Customers per $1,000 spent | 5.00 |
| Monthly gross profit per customer | $35.00 |
| CAC payback period | 5.7 months |
The CAC calculator shows a customer acquisition cost of $200.00, recovered in 5.7 months of gross profit.
Key features of this CAC Calculator
- Blended and marketing CAC
- CAC payback months
- Customers per 1,000 spent
- Gross margin aware
- 8 currencies
Who should use the CAC Calculator?
Who is this CAC Calculator for?
- Startup founders
- Growth and performance marketers
- SaaS finance teams
- E-commerce owners
Practical use cases
- Reporting to investors
- Comparing marketing channels
- Setting ad budgets
- Checking unit economics
Key benefits
- Clear: one cost per customer.
- Actionable: payback months.
- Simple: few inputs.
- Private: runs in your browser.
Tips for better results
- Calculate CAC by channel as well as blended.
- Include salaries and tools, not just ad spend.
- Compare CAC with customer lifetime value.
- Track CAC monthly to catch rising costs.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Counting only ad spend.
- Mixing periods for spend and customers.
- Counting returning customers as new.
- Ignoring gross margin in payback.
Limitations of this CAC Calculator
- Assumes spend and customers match in time.
- Does not split by channel.
- Payback ignores churn.
CAC Calculator vs other ways to calculate
| Metric | Question it answers |
|---|---|
| CAC | What does a customer cost to win? |
| LTV | What is a customer worth? |
| LTV:CAC | Is acquisition profitable? |
| CAC payback | How fast is the cost recovered? |
To see what customers are worth, use the customer lifetime value calculator. To track losses, try the churn rate calculator.
Privacy and data handling
This CAC Calculator runs entirely in your browser. The numbers you type are not sent to Qorico or stored on any server, and nothing is saved after you close the page. The Copy and Download buttons create the result on your own device. If the page has analytics turned on, it may count that a calculation happened, but it does not record the values you entered.
CAC Calculator FAQs
How do I calculate CAC?
Add marketing and sales spend for a period and divide by the number of new customers won in that period.
What is a good CAC?
One that is well below customer lifetime value; an LTV:CAC of about 3:1 is a common target.
What is CAC payback?
The months of gross profit from a customer needed to recover their acquisition cost.
Should salaries be included?
Yes, for a fully loaded CAC include sales and marketing salaries and tools.
What is blended CAC?
CAC across all channels, including organic and paid.
How can I lower CAC?
Improve conversion rates, focus on efficient channels, and grow referrals and organic traffic.
Related tools
Sources and references
We checked the method and the current figures used in this CAC Calculator against these official and primary sources:
- U.S. Small Business Administration
- SBA: Manage your business (finances)
- U.S. Census Bureau: Business data
- Startup India
Written and reviewed by the Qorico Team
