Customer Acquisition Cost Calculator
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is the total cost of acquiring one new customer. Calculate your CAC across all channels or for a specific campaign to understand marketing efficiency.
How it's calculated
CAC = Total acquisition cost ÷ Number of new customers acquired
Include all costs: ad spend, agency fees, sales salaries, tools, and any other expense directly related to acquiring customers.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a good CAC?
- CAC only means something next to customer lifetime value. The benchmark is an LTV:CAC ratio of 3:1 or better — each customer returns at least three times what they cost to win. Below 1:1 you lose money on every customer, and growing faster only loses it faster. Between 1:1 and 3:1 the model works but has little margin for error.
- What costs should be included in CAC?
- Include every marketing and sales cost that goes into winning customers. That means advertising spend, agency fees, content creation, sales salaries and commissions, CRM software and marketing tools. The common mistake is counting only ad spend. Leaving out salaries and tooling can understate your true CAC by a wide margin and make a channel look far more efficient than it is.
- How can I reduce my CAC?
- There are four reliable levers. Improve conversion at each stage of the funnel, so more of the traffic you already pay for converts. Shift spend towards lower-cost organic channels such as SEO and content. Build referral programmes, where existing customers do the acquiring. Retarget audiences who already know you. The first is usually the cheapest place to start, because it needs no additional spend at all.