Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) Calculator
Calculate blended CAC and optional channel CAC so you can see whether acquisition is efficient enough on its own or only looks acceptable because other metrics are hiding the problem.
Your Spend & Customers
Use fully loaded spend and paying customers from the same time period.
Ads, content, events, contractors, software, and other marketing costs
Salaries, commissions, software, and other sales costs
Total new paying customers in period
Your CAC Results
Enter your metrics to see results
Enter your metrics on the left to calculate CAC
What to compare CAC against
LTV
3:1+
Payback
<12 mo
Conversion Quality
fit matters
Retention
don’t ignore
How to use this CAC calculator
CAC matters when it helps you make allocation decisions. The number by itself is not enough. It becomes useful when compared against LTV, payback period, conversion quality, and the contribution of different channels.
How to Calculate CAC
Blended CAC = (Total Marketing Spend + Total Sales Spend) / New Customers Acquired
For channel-specific CAC, divide channel spend by customers acquired through that channel.
What this tool is best for
Use it to compare channels, judge blended acquisition efficiency, and identify whether the real issue is expensive traffic, weak conversion, or weak retention.
CAC Optimization Strategies
- Improve conversion rates: Better landing pages and sales processes reduce CAC
- Channel mix optimization: Shift budget to more efficient channels
- Referral programs: Incentivize customers to bring in new customers cheaply
- Content marketing: Build organic acquisition for lower long-term CAC
The CAC:LTV Ratio
- 3:1 or better: Healthy unit economics, room for growth investment
- 1:1 to 3:1: Optimize CAC or improve retention before scaling
- Below 1:1: Losing money on each customer, requires urgent attention