Customer Acquisition Cost Calculator
What does it cost me to win one customer?
Your numbers
Result
Customer acquisition cost
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How this is calculated
CAC is total acquisition spend divided by new customers won. Compared against what a customer is worth over their lifetime, it decides whether growth is worth funding at all.
- CAC = total marketing spend ÷ new customers acquired
- Cost per order = total marketing spend ÷ total orders
- Contribution per order = average order value × contribution margin %
- First-order profit = contribution per order − CAC
- Orders to recover CAC = CAC ÷ contribution per order
What to make of the number
The ratio that matters is how many orders it takes to recover CAC. Recovering on the first order means growth is self-funding. Needing three or more orders means you are financing growth out of working capital, which is viable only with strong repeat purchase and enough cash to bridge the gap.
Frequently asked questions
What should be included in marketing spend?
Ad spend across every channel, agency and freelancer fees, creative production, and marketing software. Excluding agency fees is the most common way CAC gets understated.
What is the difference between CAC and cost per order?
CAC counts new customers only. Cost per order counts all orders including repeats. A business with strong repeat purchase will have a much lower cost per order than CAC, which is exactly the point of retention.
What is a good CAC?
One that is comfortably below the contribution a customer generates over their lifetime. A common working rule is an LTV-to-CAC ratio of at least 3:1, though the right number depends on your cash position and how fast customers return.
Why does CAC rise as I scale?
Because the easiest customers are acquired first. Broader targeting reaches colder audiences with lower conversion rates. Watching CAC by channel and by campaign size shows you where the efficient spend still is.
Should branded search spend be included?
It should be measured separately. Branded search often captures demand created elsewhere, so including it makes other channels look better than they are. Track blended and non-branded CAC side by side.