Customer acquisition cost calculator.

Calculate your CAC, payback period, and acquisition efficiency. The metric that tells you whether more growth is profitable — or just more expensive.

Why CAC is the metric that decides everything.

Customer Acquisition Cost is the total marketing + sales spend divided by new customers. It's the line between a business that scales and one that just burns cash faster.

  1. 01
    Decide if you can scale.If CAC outruns customer value, more growth means more loss. Know the number before you pour more money in.
  2. 02
    Allocate spend smarter.CAC by channel reveals which acquisition routes actually pay back and which ones quietly leak cash.
  3. 03
    Plan cash flow.Payback period tells you when the dollar you spent on acquisition comes back — critical for runway and fundraising conversations.
  4. 04
    Set realistic targets.A 3:1 LTV:CAC is the SaaS benchmark. Knowing your current ratio anchors growth plans in reality.

Calculate your CAC.

Ads, content, SEO, tools, agency, marketing salaries.

Sales salaries, commissions, tools, training, travel.

Total paying customers acquired in this period.

Match the spend and customer numbers above.

Required for payback period and efficiency benchmark.

What to include in CAC.

  1. 01
    Marketing costs.Ad spend, content, SEO, tools (HubSpot, SEMrush), agency fees, marketing-team salaries.
  2. 02
    Sales costs.Sales salaries, commissions, bonuses, CRM and outreach tools, training, travel.
  3. 03
    Allocated overhead.Software subs and office space attributable to sales/marketing — easy to forget, real cost.

Underestimating CAC is the most common analytics mistake. If a cost would disappear when you stop trying to acquire customers, include it.

CAC benchmarks by industry.

B2B SaaS — payback 12-18 months$200-500 (LTV:CAC 3:1 - 5:1)
B2C SaaS — payback 6-12 months$50-200 (LTV:CAC 3:1 - 4:1)
E-commerce — payback 3-6 months$10-50 (LTV:CAC 2:1 - 3:1)
Enterprise B2B — payback 18-36 months$5,000-50,000 (LTV:CAC 5:1 - 10:1)
Consumer Apps — payback 1-3 months$1-10 (LTV:CAC 2:1 - 3:1)

Higher CAC is fine if LTV scales with it — enterprise B2B is the classic example. The ratio is what matters.

How to reduce CAC.

  1. 01
    Lift conversion rates.A/B test landing pages, qualify leads tighter, cut friction in signup and purchase flows.
  2. 02
    Lean into organic.SEO, content, and referral programs compound — paid does not. Budget for the long game.
  3. 03
    Prune paid channels.Kill underperforming campaigns ruthlessly. Most paid spend hides in mediocre channels.
  4. 04
    Increase customer value.Raise prices, improve retention, upsell. Higher LTV makes the same CAC suddenly look fine.

Common CAC mistakes.

  1. 01
    Not including all costs - agency fees, tools, salaries, etc.
  2. 02
    Only counting paid marketing - forgetting sales team costs
  3. 03
    Not segmenting CAC by channel or customer segment
  4. 04
    Ignoring CAC increases as you scale (diminishing returns)
  5. 05
    Comparing to industry benchmarks without adjusting for business model
  6. 06
    Not tracking CAC payback period for cash flow planning

More CAC optimisation tips.

  1. 01
    Track CAC by channel to identify your most efficient sources
  2. 02
    Improve conversion rates at every funnel stage
  3. 03
    Focus on customer retention to improve LTV:CAC ratio
  4. 04
    Test organic channels (SEO, content, referrals) to reduce costs
  5. 05
    Optimize your sales process to close deals faster
  6. 06
    Use customer segmentation to focus on highest-value prospects
  7. 07
    Implement referral programs to leverage existing customers

More growth calculators.

  1. LTV:CAC ratio calculator

    Pair CAC with Customer Lifetime Value to know if your unit economics work.

  2. Marketing ROI calculator

    Return on investment for marketing campaigns — find the channels that actually pay.

  3. MRR calculator

    Monthly Recurring Revenue, growth rate, and Quick Ratio for SaaS.

  4. All business tools

    The complete collection of free calculators for startups, SaaS, and freelancers.

High CAC? Often it's a website problem.

Most CAC problems trace back to two things: weak conversion and over-reliance on paid channels. I build websites and SEO foundations that lift conversion and grow organic traffic — the two best ways to bring CAC down.

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Built by Taro Schenker — full-stack developer who works with startups and local businesses.