CAC Calculator
Calculate Customer Acquisition Cost — the total sales and marketing cost to acquire one new customer.
Include salaries, ads, tools, and all acquisition costs
Your CAC
CAC
$150.00
Each new customer costs $150.00 to acquire on average.
$12,000 ÷ 80 customers
Total S&M Spend
$12,000
New Customers
80
Want to understand what this number means for your overall growth?
Run a free Growth Audit to review your ROAS, CAC, LTV, margin, and ad spend together.
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Example Calculation
You spent $12,000 on sales and marketing and acquired 80 new customers.
Your customer acquisition cost is $150. Compare against LTV to assess unit economics.
How to Interpret CAC
CAC is most meaningful compared to LTV. A healthy SaaS business typically targets an LTV:CAC ratio of 3:1 or higher.
Also track CAC payback period: CAC ÷ Monthly Gross Profit per Customer. Under 12 months is generally healthy for SaaS.
Common Mistakes
- ✕Including only ad spend, excluding salaries and tools.
- ✕Mixing new customer CAC with expansion revenue.
- ✕Using blended CAC without separating paid vs organic.
- ✕Not accounting for sales cycle lag.
Frequently Asked Questions
All costs directly related to acquiring customers: paid advertising, sales and marketing salaries and commissions, marketing software and tools, events and trade shows, and content production costs.