Find your true cost to acquire a customer in seconds — and, if you add your LTV, see your LTV:CAC ratio against the 3:1 benchmark that decides if growth pays off. Free, no signup.
CAC only tells the full story next to lifetime value. A 3:1 LTV:CAC ratio is the healthy benchmark; 4:1+ is elite; under 2:1 is unsustainable.
Get a plan to lower CACFormulaCAC = Total Sales & Marketing Spend ÷ New Customers Acquired
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is the total amount you spend to win one new customer. You calculate it as total sales and marketing spend ÷ new customers acquired. On its own CAC is just a number — it matters next to lifetime value, where a 3:1 LTV:CAC ratio is the benchmark for sustainable growth.
There’s no universal “good” CAC — it depends on lifetime value. The benchmark that matters is the ratio between them.
LTV:CAC is the healthy benchmark — $3 of lifetime value per $1 of acquisition cost
CAC should include ad spend, salaries, tools, and agency fees — not just media
See your CAC and ratio above, then book a call — we’ll show you where acquisition cost is inflated and the fastest ways to bring it down.
Add up everything spent to win customers in the period — ad spend, sales and marketing salaries, tools, and agency fees.
Count only the genuinely new customers that spend produced over the same window.
Spend ÷ new customers is your CAC. Divide lifetime value by CAC for the LTV:CAC ratio that shows whether acquisition is actually profitable.
A $500 CAC sounds expensive until you learn each customer is worth $3,000 — that’s a 6:1 return, and you should be spending more, not less. CAC in isolation tells you nothing; CAC next to lifetime value tells you everything. That’s why the businesses that grow fastest obsess over the LTV:CAC ratio, not the raw cost. Lower CAC through faster lead follow-up and better conversion, raise LTV through retention, and the ratio takes care of itself.
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is the total amount a business spends to acquire one new customer. You calculate it as total sales and marketing spend ÷ the number of new customers acquired in the same period. A complete CAC includes ad spend, salaries, software, and agency fees — not just media cost.
CAC = total sales and marketing spend ÷ new customers acquired. For example, $10,000 of spend that produced 20 new customers gives a CAC of $500. Use the calculator above to run your numbers, and add your lifetime value to instantly see your LTV:CAC ratio.
There’s no universal “good” CAC — it depends entirely on customer lifetime value. The benchmark that matters is the LTV:CAC ratio: 3:1 is healthy, 4:1 or higher is elite, and below 2:1 is generally unsustainable. A high CAC can be perfectly healthy if lifetime value is high enough.
Include every cost tied to winning customers: paid ad spend, sales and marketing salaries, software and tools, and any agency or freelancer fees. Leaving costs out understates your true CAC and leads to overspending. An all-in figure is the only one you can safely make budget decisions on.
Yes. This customer acquisition cost calculator is completely free, needs no signup, and runs entirely in your browser — nothing is stored or sent anywhere. Enter your spend and new customers to get your CAC, and add your LTV to see your LTV:CAC ratio.
Tell us about your business. We’ll show you where acquisition cost is inflated — and the fastest moves to bring it down.
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