CAC Calculator

Find your customer acquisition cost from marketing & sales spend.

Calculate CAC (customer acquisition cost) — the average spend to win one new customer. Enter your marketing cost, sales cost and the number of new customers acquired to get the CAC. Add the lifetime value of a customer to see your LTV:CAC ratio, the key health metric for unit economics. Runs fully in your browser — nothing is uploaded.

How to use CAC Calculator

  1. Enter marketing cost

    Type the total marketing spend for the period into the free online CAC Calculator, covering ad budgets, campaign tools and marketing salaries.

  2. Add sales cost

    Enter your sales spend for the same window, including sales salaries, commissions and software, so the customer acquisition cost reflects every acquisition expense.

  3. Set new customers

    Input the number of new customers won in that period, the denominator the CAC Calculator divides your combined spend by to compute cost per customer.

  4. Add lifetime value

    Optionally enter customer lifetime value to instantly reveal your LTV:CAC ratio, the key unit-economics health check that ideally sits at 3x or higher.

  5. Read your CAC

    View the calculated customer acquisition cost, total spend breakdown and donut chart split between marketing and sales, all computed instantly in your browser.

  6. Share or reset

    Share your CAC result with a link or hit reset to model new figures, comparing acquisition costs across channels and periods for free, online.

Frequently asked questions

What costs go into CAC?

Everything spent to acquire customers in the period — ad spend, marketing salaries and tools, plus sales salaries, commissions and software. Sum the marketing and sales totals, then divide by new customers.

What is a good LTV:CAC ratio?

Around 3:1 is the widely-cited healthy benchmark — you earn three times what you spend to acquire a customer. Below 1:1 you lose money on every customer; far above 3:1 may mean you’re under-investing in growth.

What time period should I use?

Pick a consistent window (a month, quarter or year) and use the marketing and sales costs from that same window alongside the customers acquired in it.

How do I calculate customer acquisition cost (CAC)?

Add up all your marketing and sales spend for a period, then divide by the number of new customers won in that same period. This free CAC calculator does it for you — CAC = (marketing cost + sales cost) ÷ new customers — and shows a spend breakdown.

How do I work out my LTV:CAC ratio?

Enter your customer lifetime value (LTV) in the optional field and the calculator divides it by your CAC to give the LTV:CAC ratio. Aim for 3× or higher — it means you earn at least three times what you spend to acquire each customer.

What is the difference between CAC and CPA?

CAC (customer acquisition cost) includes all marketing and sales spend divided by new customers won — a company-wide unit-economics metric. CPA (cost per acquisition) usually measures a single campaign's ad cost per conversion. CAC is broader; CPA is campaign-level.

What is a healthy LTV:CAC ratio?

Around 3:1 is the classic benchmark — you earn about three times what it costs to acquire a customer. Below 1:1 you lose money on each customer; well above 3:1 can mean you're under-investing in growth. Enter your LTV above to see your ratio instantly.

Is my data sent anywhere?

No. Everything is calculated in your browser with JavaScript — nothing you enter is uploaded.

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