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CAC Calculator

Full unit economics command center — analyze CAC, LTV, payback period, channel mix, and what-if scenarios.

CAC

$0.00

Select Industry

LTV:CAC Ratio

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No Data

Payback Period

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Unit Profit $0
CAC = Total Spend ÷ New Customers

Acquisition Data

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Total $0

LTV Assumptions

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%
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Calculated LTV
$0
Unit ROI --
1-Yr Revenue --
Blended MER --

Enter your spend and customer count above to see your CAC analysis.

Enter per-channel spend & customers. Totals auto-fill above and unlock the Channel Mix chart.

Channel Spend ($) Customers CAC
Google/Search
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Meta/Social
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Email
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SEO/Content
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Events
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Other
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Spend Change 0%
Customer Volume Change 0%
Scenario CAC --
LTV:CAC --
Payback --
Move sliders to model a scenario
Target CAC (Optional)
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Break-even: --
Enter LTV parameters to visualize payback timeline

CAC Mastery Guide

01

Input Spend

Enter Total Marketing Spend and New Customers, or use quick-fill chips to get a baseline CAC instantly.

02

Add LTV & Channels

Fill in LTV assumptions to unlock the ratio, payback timeline, and profitability analysis. Add channel data for a spend-mix donut chart.

03

Model & Export

Use the What-If Scenario sliders to stress-test your economics, set a target CAC, then copy or export your analysis.

How to Use This Calculator

1

Enter Marketing Spend

Input total marketing and sales costs for the period, broken down by channel if desired.

2

Enter Customers Acquired

Input the number of new customers gained during the same period.

3

Analyze CAC

Review your cost per acquisition overall and by channel, plus the CAC-to-LTV ratio health check.

Formula & Methodology

Customer Acquisition Cost

CAC = Total Sales & Marketing Spend / New Customers Acquired

All-in cost including salaries, tools, ad spend, content, and agency fees.

CAC Payback Period

Payback = CAC / (ARPU × Gross Margin)

Months to recoup acquisition cost from gross profit per customer.

CAC-to-LTV Ratio

Ratio = LTV / CAC

A healthy ratio is 3:1 or higher — each dollar of CAC returns $3+ in lifetime value.

About this calculation · Accuracy & Methodology

Key Terms

CAC
Customer Acquisition Cost — the average cost to acquire one new paying customer.
LTV:CAC Ratio
Lifetime value divided by acquisition cost; 3:1+ is healthy, below 1:1 means losing money.
Payback Period
The time required to earn back the cost of acquiring a customer through their revenue.
Blended CAC
The overall CAC across all channels, combining organic and paid acquisition.
Channel CAC
The acquisition cost for a specific marketing channel (e.g., Google Ads, content marketing, referrals).

Real-World Examples

Example 1

E-Commerce Brand

Ad Spend: $45,000, Sales Team: $15,000, Tools: $3,000, New Customers: 840

CAC: $75. With LTV of $320, ratio is 4.3:1. Payback: 1.8 months at $42/mo margin.

Example 2

B2B SaaS Startup

Marketing: $120,000, SDR Team: $80,000, New Customers: 48

CAC: $4,167. With LTV of $18,000, ratio is 4.3:1. Payback: 8.3 months at $500/mo ARPU.

CAC Benchmarks by Industry

IndustryAverage CACIdeal LTV:CACPayback Period
E-Commerce (DTC)$45-$1203:11-3 months
SaaS (SMB)$200-$8003:16-12 months
SaaS (Enterprise)$3,000-$15,0005:112-18 months
Financial Services$500-$2,0004:16-12 months
Consumer App$1-$53:11-2 months

Mastering Customer Acquisition Cost

Why CAC Matters

CAC is the fundamental unit economics metric. If it costs more to acquire a customer than they will ever pay you, the business is unsustainable regardless of revenue growth. Investors scrutinize the LTV:CAC ratio because it reveals whether growth spending is efficient. A ratio below 1:1 means you are literally paying customers to use your product.

Reducing CAC Over Time

The most effective CAC reduction strategies include improving conversion rates (doubling conversion halves CAC), building organic channels (content, SEO, referrals), optimizing ad targeting and creative, and shortening the sales cycle. Best-in-class companies see CAC decline 20-30% year over year as brand awareness and word-of-mouth compound.