CAC Calculator
Calculate customer acquisition cost (CAC) from total sales and marketing costs or a cost breakdown.
Use CAC Calculator
Examples are not benchmarks; currency selection changes labels, not amounts. Free, no sign-up. Runs in your browser; nothing you enter is uploaded.
How to use it
Find the cost of acquiring one new customer across all channels, using costs and first-time customers from the same period.
- Enter sales and marketing costs as one total or by type, using one period and currency.
- Enter first-time customers for that period; exclude repeat orders and returning accounts.
- Compare CAC with customer lifetime value and CAC payback before changing your budget.
Formula
CAC = total sales and marketing cost ÷ new customers
In breakdown mode, total cost = ad spend + payroll + software and tools + agency and other spend
Empty cost parts count as 0; enter at least one
Example
Skincare brand, India
Monthly skincare acquisition costs give ₹1,250 CAC; ads alone show ₹700 and miss other costs.
- Ad spend
- ₹3,36,000
- Sales and marketing payroll
- ₹1,80,000
- Software
- ₹24,000
- Agencies and other costs
- ₹60,000
- New customers
- 480
Questions
How do you calculate customer acquisition cost?
Divide total sales and marketing cost by first-time customers in the same period. A cost of ₹6,00,000 and 480 new customers gives a CAC of ₹1,250.
Which costs belong in CAC?
Include ads, sales and marketing payroll, commissions, software, agencies, freelancers, events and content; exclude production and serving existing customers. Ad spend alone is not full CAC.
Which customers count as new?
Count first-time customers or new paying accounts from the same period as your costs; exclude repeat orders and returning accounts.
What if I acquired no customers or spent nothing?
CAC is undefined with zero new customers. Zero cost with new customers gives zero CAC; check for missing acquisition costs.
What is a good CAC?
There is no universal target. Compare CAC with customer lifetime gross profit, LTV:CAC ratio and CAC payback.
How does CAC differ from CPA?
CPA is ad spend per conversion, such as a lead or order. CAC includes all sales and marketing costs per new customer, without attributing customers to individual channels.
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