Calculate customer acquisition cost (CAC) for marketing campaigns. Free tool with CAC formulas, benchmarks, and ROI analysis.
CAC measures how much it costs to acquire a new customer. It includes marketing and sales expenses divided by new customers acquired.
Enter your total marketing/sales spend and new customers acquired to calculate CAC.
Ideal payback is <12 months for SaaS. Longer payback = cash flow strain.
Get our free guide with 20 strategies to reduce CAC and improve acquisition efficiency.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is one of the most important metrics for growing businesses. It tells you how efficient your marketing and sales are at acquiring new customers.
Example 1: SaaS Company CAC
Marketing: $10,000 | Sales: $5,000 | Other: $2,000 | New Customers: 100
Total Spend: $17,000
CAC = $17,000 / 100 = $170 per customer
Example 2: E-commerce CAC
Ad Spend: $5,000 | Agency: $1,000 | New Customers: 75
Total Spend: $6,000
CAC = $6,000 / 75 = $80 per customer
A good CAC depends on your industry, business model, and customer lifetime value (LTV). The key is to maintain a healthy LTV:CAC ratio (ideally 3:1 or higher). Lower CAC is better, but not at the expense of customer quality.
What expenses should I include in CAC?
Include all marketing and sales expenses: advertising, content creation, marketing software, salaries of marketing/sales teams, agency fees, and commissions directly tied to acquisition.
What is the LTV:CAC ratio and why does it matter?
LTV:CAC ratio compares customer lifetime value to acquisition cost. A 3:1 ratio means you earn $3 for every $1 spent on acquisition. Above 3:1 is excellent, below 1:1 means you're losing money.
How to reduce CAC?
Focus on organic channels, optimize ad performance, improve conversion rates, implement referral programs, and nurture leads before handing to sales. Target high-intent keywords and use retargeting strategically.