CAC Calculator
Calculate Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) from total acquisition spend and new customers.
Prefer an explanation? Read the guide.
CAC: How to calculate Customer Acquisition CostCAC Payback Period: What it means and how to improve itLTV:CAC ratio: how to interpret the ratio (and avoid mistakes)
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Tip: you can type commas (e.g., 10,000).
Example
Using the default inputs, the result is:
$500.00
- Sales + marketing spend
- $20,000
- New customers acquired
- 40
Formula
CAC = Sales & Marketing Spend ÷ New Customers
- Spend includes only acquisition-related costs for the same period.
FAQ
Should I include salaries in CAC?
Many teams include the portion of sales/marketing salaries and tools attributable to acquisition; keep your definition consistent over time.
How to interpret
How to calculate CAC well
- Use ‘new customers acquired’ for the same period as spend.
- Decide whether to include salaries/tools and stick to it consistently.
- Segment CAC by channel and customer type (SMB vs enterprise).
What to pair with CAC
- LTV and payback period determine if CAC is sustainable.
- Retention/churn explains whether CAC will rise over time.
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Estimate how many months it takes to recover CAC via gross profit.
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Calculate customer churn rate for a period.
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Calculate retention rate for a period accounting for new customers.
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Calculate Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) for a period.