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Customer Acquisition Cost

Calculate cost to acquire new customers.

Customer Acquisition Cost Calculator

Marketing & Sales Data

Marketing Expenses

Google Ads, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

Blog, SEO, social media content

Conferences, webinars, networking events

PR, partnerships, referral programs

Sales Expenses

Base salaries for sales team

Variable compensation for sales

CRM, sales automation, lead tools

Results

Number of new customers in the period

Please enter a valid number of customers

Period for the above expenses and acquisitions

About CAC

CAC measures how much it costs to acquire each new customer.

Lower CAC means more efficient customer acquisition.

CAC should be compared with Customer Lifetime Value (LTV).

CAC Analysis

Customer Acquisition Cost

Cost per new customer

Total Marketing Costs:
Total Sales Costs:
Total Acquisition Costs:
New Customers:

Cost Breakdown

Digital Advertising:
Sales Team:
Content Marketing:
Other Costs:

Efficiency Metrics

Cost per Lead:
Conversion Rate:
Marketing ROI:
*Assumes 3:1 lead to customer ratio and 20% marketing ROI baseline

LTV to CAC Analysis

Customer Lifetime Value (Optional)

Total revenue expected from average customer

Expected time to recover CAC

LTV:CAC Analysis

LTV:CAC Ratio

✅ Excellent - Sustainable growth model ⚠️ Acceptable - Monitor closely ❌ Poor - Unsustainable acquisition costs

Customer LTV
Customer CAC
Net Customer Value:

Enter Customer LTV above to see LTV:CAC analysis

Poor Ratio (< 2:1)

Unsustainable business model

High acquisition costs

Need to reduce CAC or increase LTV

Risk of burning cash

Acceptable (2:1 - 3:1)

Borderline sustainable

Monitor closely

Room for improvement

Focus on optimization

Excellent (> 3:1)

Sustainable growth model

Efficient acquisition

Good unit economics

Scale with confidence

Understanding Customer Acquisition Cost

What is CAC?

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is the total cost of acquiring a new customer.

It includes all marketing and sales expenses divided by the number of new customers acquired.

CAC is a critical metric for understanding the efficiency of your growth strategy.

Why CAC Matters

Unit Economics: Determines if your business model is profitable

Growth Strategy: Helps optimize marketing spend allocation

Investor Metrics: Key indicator of business sustainability

CAC Formula

CAC = (Total Marketing Costs + Total Sales Costs) ÷ Number of New Customers

Marketing Costs: Advertising, content, events, tools, and marketing team costs

Sales Costs: Sales team salaries, commissions, tools, and related expenses

Optimization Strategies

Reduce CAC
  • • Improve targeting and segmentation
  • • Optimize conversion rates
  • • Focus on high-performing channels
  • • Implement referral programs
  • • Improve sales process efficiency
Increase LTV
  • • Improve customer retention
  • • Increase average order value
  • • Develop upselling strategies
  • • Enhance customer experience
  • • Create subscription models

Common Mistakes

  • • Not including all acquisition costs (overhead, tools, etc.)
  • • Using too short a time period for measurement
  • • Ignoring the relationship between CAC and LTV
  • • Not segmenting CAC by channel or customer type
  • • Focusing only on CAC without considering payback period
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