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Lead Gen Calculator

CAC Calculator

Calculate the fully-loaded cost to acquire one new customer — the foundation of healthy growth economics.

Customer Acquisition Cost$0.00

What is customer acquisition cost (CAC)?

Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is the total amount you spend on sales and marketing to win one new customer. It’s the single most important efficiency metric in growth: if you can’t acquire customers for less than they’re worth, you can’t scale profitably no matter how good your ads look.

How to calculate CAC

The formula is:
CAC = Total sales & marketing cost ÷ New customers acquired
If you spent $50,000 across ads, salaries, tools, and agency fees and acquired 40 customers, your CAC is $1,250. Use the same time window for both numbers.

Why CAC matters for scaling

CAC only means something next to two other numbers: lifetime value (is a customer worth more than they cost?) and payback period (how fast do you recover the cost?). Growth-stage companies live and die on these ratios — they determine how aggressively you can invest in acquisition. Check yours with the LTV:CAC calculator next.

Frequently asked questions

  • How do you calculate CAC?

    CAC = total sales & marketing cost ÷ new customers acquired in the same period. If you spent $50,000 and won 40 customers, your CAC is $1,250.

  • What costs should I include in CAC?

    Everything it takes to acquire customers: ad spend, salaries and commissions for sales and marketing, agency or contractor fees, software, and creative production — not just media spend.

  • What’s the difference between CAC and CPA?

    CPA usually measures the cost of a single conversion (a lead or sale) on a channel, while CAC is the fully-loaded cost to acquire a paying customer across all sales and marketing.

  • What is a good CAC?

    A good CAC is one your unit economics can support — generally an LTV:CAC ratio of about 3:1 or better, with a payback period your cash flow can absorb.

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