What is my CAC?
Enter what you spent on marketing and on sales in a period and how many new customers you won in it. The calculator gives your customer acquisition cost (CAC) and how much of it came from marketing and from sales.
- Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
- $400.00
$50,000.00 of sales and marketing for 125 new customers is a CAC of $400.00.
- Sales and marketing costs
- $50,000.00
- Marketing cost per new customer
- $240.00
- Sales cost per new customer
- $160.00
Customer acquisition cost (CAC): $400.00. $50,000.00 of sales and marketing for 125 new customers is a CAC of $400.00.
The results are estimates for information only. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice. Check the numbers with your lender or a qualified professional before you decide. Terms of use
How to calculate
Computes customer acquisition cost (CAC): what you spent on sales and marketing in a period ÷ the new customers you won in it, with the marketing and sales cost per customer.
Example with the default inputs (Marketing costs $30,000.00, Sales costs $20,000.00, New customers 125): $50,000.00 of sales and marketing for 125 new customers is a CAC of $400.00.
Method: CAC = (marketing costs + sales costs) ÷ new customers; marketing cost per customer = marketing costs ÷ new customers; sales cost per customer = sales costs ÷ new customers.
- The costs and the new customers cover the same period.
- New customers are first-time buyers won in the period; returning customers do not count.
- Arithmetic is exact on the typed decimals; money shows to the cent, halves up.
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- Marketing costs $30,000.00, Sales costs $20,000.00, New customers 125 gives Customer acquisition cost (CAC) $400.00, Sales and marketing costs $50,000.00, Marketing cost per new customer $240.00, Sales cost per new customer $160.00.Source: OpenStax, Principles of Marketing, 2.4 Marketing Plan Progress Using Metrics (CAC is the cost of sales and marketing efforts divided by the number of new customers). https://openstax.org/books/principles-marketing/pages/2-4-marketing-plan-progress-using-metrics
- Marketing costs $10,000.00, Sales costs $0.00, New customers 20 gives Customer acquisition cost (CAC) $500.00, Sales and marketing costs $10,000.00.Source: OpenStax, Principles of Marketing, 2.4 Marketing Plan Progress Using Metrics (CAC is the cost of sales and marketing efforts divided by the number of new customers). https://openstax.org/books/principles-marketing/pages/2-4-marketing-plan-progress-using-metrics
- Marketing costs $8,345.67, Sales costs $4,000.00, New customers 7 gives Customer acquisition cost (CAC) $1,763.67, Sales and marketing costs $12,345.67.Source: OpenStax, Principles of Marketing, 2.4 Marketing Plan Progress Using Metrics (CAC is the cost of sales and marketing efforts divided by the number of new customers). https://openstax.org/books/principles-marketing/pages/2-4-marketing-plan-progress-using-metrics
How it works
With the marketing costs M and the sales costs S for a period, and the new customers N won in the same period:
- Sales and marketing costs = M + S
- Customer acquisition cost CAC = (M + S) ÷ N
- Marketing cost per new customer = M ÷ N
- Sales cost per new customer = S ÷ N
The two costs per customer add up to the CAC.
Rules:
- Each cost is $0 to $1 trillion. The new customers are a whole number from 1 to 1 billion.
- A result too large or too small to show as a number gives no answer.
- The arithmetic is exact on the decimals you type. Money shows to the cent, with halves rounded up (away from 0).
Assumptions
- The costs and the new customers cover the same period.
- New customers are first-time buyers in the period.
Worked examples by hand
A quarter of sales and marketing. M = $30,000, S = $20,000, N = 125. Costs = $50,000, so CAC = 50,000 ÷ 125 = $400. Marketing per customer = 30,000 ÷ 125 = $240, and sales per customer = 20,000 ÷ 125 = $160.
Marketing only. M = $10,000, S = $0, N = 20. CAC = 10,000 ÷ 20 = $500.
A CAC that does not come out even. M = $8,345.67, S = $4,000, N = 7. Costs = $12,345.67, and CAC = 12,345.67 ÷ 7 = 1,763.667…, shown as $1,763.67.
Other questions people ask
What is CAC?
CAC, customer acquisition cost, is what it costs a business on average to win one new customer. It counts the money spent on sales and marketing in a period against the new customers won in the same period.
How do I calculate customer acquisition cost?
Add up your sales and marketing costs for the period and divide by the number of new customers. $30,000 of marketing and $20,000 of sales for 125 new customers is (30,000 + 20,000) ÷ 125 = $400 per customer.
What costs go into CAC?
Everything you spend to win customers: advertising, content, events, marketing and sales software, and the pay and commissions of your marketing and sales staff. Leave out the cost of serving customers you already have.
Which customers count?
Only new customers: people or businesses who bought from you for the first time in the period. Returning customers, free sign-ups and leads who have not bought yet do not count.
What is a good CAC?
A good CAC is well below what a customer is worth to you. Compare it with your customer lifetime value: if winning a customer costs more than the profit they bring, each new customer loses money.
Why does my CAC change from month to month?
Spending often wins customers later than it is paid: an ad seen in March may win a customer in May. Measuring over a longer period, such as a quarter, makes that delay matter less.