Customer Acquisition Cost Calculator.

What is customer acquisition cost (CAC)?

Customer acquisition cost is the total amount you spend on marketing and sales to win one new customer. It's the single clearest gauge of whether your growth is efficient or quietly burning money — and it's the number every ad platform, sales hire, and campaign is ultimately judged against.

CAC = Total marketing & sales spend ÷ New customers acquired

On its own, CAC only tells half the story. The other half is what each customer is worth — which is why CAC is almost always read alongside customer lifetime value (LTV).

How to calculate CAC (worked example)

Say you spend $6,000 on marketing and sales in a month and win 20 new customers:

• CAC = $6,000 ÷ 20 = $300 per customer
• If each customer is worth $1,500 over their lifetime, your LTV:CAC ratio is 5:1
• If each pays $150/month, your CAC payback period is $300 ÷ $150 = 2 months

Change any input in the calculator above and every number updates instantly.

What counts as a good CAC?

There's no universal "good" CAC — it depends entirely on what a customer is worth. That's why the two benchmarks that matter are:

• LTV:CAC ratio ≥ 3:1 — you earn at least $3 in lifetime value for every $1 spent acquiring. Below 1:1 you lose money on each customer.
• CAC payback under ~12 months — you recover the acquisition cost quickly enough to reinvest in more growth.

How to lower your CAC

• Improve conversion — a faster, clearer website turns more of the same traffic into customers
• Tighten targeting — spend only on the searches and audiences that actually buy
• Follow up fast — instant response captures leads you already paid for instead of losing them
• Build organic channels — local SEO and reviews lower your blended CAC over time