CAC Calculator

The CAC Calculator finds customer acquisition cost from the sales and marketing expenses used to acquire a group of new customers. Use costs and customers from the same reporting period so the result is comparable.

Customer acquisition cost formula

$\text{CAC}=\frac{\text{Sales expenses}+\text{Marketing expenses}}{\text{New customers}}$

Include acquisition-related payroll, agency fees, advertising, software, commissions, and other costs consistently. Do not divide one quarter's spending by customers acquired across a different period.

Worked example

A company spends $8,000 on sales and$12,000 on marketing and acquires 100 customers. CAC is (8,000 + 12,000) / 100 = $200 per customer.

How to interpret CAC

Compare CAC with gross profit or customer lifetime value using the same customer definition. A low CAC can still be unprofitable if customers churn quickly, while a higher CAC may be sustainable when retention and margins are strong.

Limitations

This calculation does not assign multi-touch attribution or estimate lifetime value. Reconcile inputs with finance and analytics records before using CAC for budgets or forecasts.