CAC Calculator
Calculate Customer Acquisition Cost, LTV:CAC ratio, and payback period. The three most important unit economics metrics for any business.
Part of our Business Calculators collection.
CAC Calculator
Free online calculator
$
Total sales + marketing spend
$
%
How to Use This Calculator
- 1
Enter monthly sales & marketing spend.
- 2
Enter new customers acquired that month.
- 3
Add revenue and churn for LTV:CAC ratio.
- 4
See CAC, LTV, ratio, and payback period.
CAC & LTV Formulas
CAC = Total S&M Spend / New Customers Acquired LTV = Avg Monthly Revenue / Monthly Churn Rate LTV:CAC Ratio = LTV / CAC CAC Payback = CAC / Avg Monthly Revenue Benchmarks: LTV:CAC ≥ 3:1 = healthy Payback ≤ 12 months = efficient
Example Calculation
Example: $10k S&M, 20 new customers, $99 ARPU, 2% churn
Inputs
salesMarketingSpend: 10000newCustomers: 20avgMonthlyRevenue: 99monthlyChurnRate: 2
Result
CAC: $500 | LTV: $4,950 | Ratio: 9.9:1
$10k / 20 = $500 CAC. $99 / 0.02 = $4,950 LTV.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good LTV:CAC ratio?
3:1 is the minimum healthy benchmark — you make $3 for every $1 spent acquiring customers. Under 1:1 means you're losing money on every customer. Above 5:1 usually means you're underinvesting in growth.
How do I reduce CAC?
Improve conversion rates (landing pages, sales process), invest in SEO for organic traffic, build referral programs, reduce sales cycle length, and better qualify leads before passing to sales.