GrowingAlgo Conversion Tools · Measure
CAC Calculator
CAC is customer acquisition cost: sales and marketing spend divided by new customers. It is not CPA (cost per the action you track) unless that action is a customer and the cost is only ads.
The tool
Try it here
Use this when you have a period’s sales-and-marketing spend and a count of new customers. Pair it with LTV. CAC alone has no ceiling.
Why it helps
Why you need a CAC Calculator
CPA is often ads ÷ leads. CAC should be fuller cost ÷ customers. Mixing them is how cheap leads look like a healthy business.
Say what spend includes: ads, tools, people, agency. If you only have media, label it ads-only CAC.
New customers in the denominator. Not all customers, not MQLs.
When
When to use it
- Monthly or quarterly, not hour six of a campaign.
- When ROAS is fine and finance still hates the channel.
- When you set an LTV:CAC rule and need the real CAC.
How
How to use it
- 1Sum sales and marketing spend for the period. Write the rule.
- 2Count new customers from that motion, with the same period or a stated lag.
- 3CAC = spend ÷ new customers.
- 4Put LTV next to it. A common working rule is LTV at least 3× CAC - only with honest LTV.
Example
Example: Acme 2026q3 CAC
Paid demo motion including google-in-demo-exact-2026q3. Q3 ads ₹4,00,000. Tools and a contractor ₹1,00,000. 50 new customers from that motion.
You put in
- Ads
- ₹4,00,000
- Other sales & marketing
- ₹1,00,000
- New customers
- 50
You get
CAC = 500000 / 50 = ₹10,000 Ads-only = 400000 / 50 = ₹8,000 (label it if you use it)
₹10,000 is the fuller CAC. Demo CPA was ₹2,000 in the ads example - different number, different job. If LTV is ₹40,000, the ratio is 4×. If LTV is a slide that multiplies hope, do not quote the ratio.
Result
What this changes for you
The channel has a company number, not only a campaign CPA. You stop reporting form-fill cost as “CAC” in a board slide.
Common mistakes
- Dividing ad spend by leads and writing CAC on the slide.
- Including existing customer revenue spend in acquisition.
- A 7-day window for a 60-day sales cycle.
- Blending self-serve and enterprise in one CAC without a split.
FAQ
CAC Calculator FAQ
How does a CAC calculator work?
CAC = sales and marketing spend ÷ new customers. 5,00,000 / 50 = ₹10,000. Write what spend includes. Count customers, not leads.
What is the difference between a CAC calculator and CPA?
CPA is cost per the conversion you track (often a lead) from campaign spend. CAC is cost to acquire a customer, usually with a fuller cost stack. Do not swap the words.
Should a CAC calculator include salaries?
If you are deciding whether the motion is viable, include a fair share of people and tools. If you only have media, call it ads-only CAC so nobody is misled.
What is a good CAC from a CAC calculator?
One that sits under a real LTV with margin. A “good CAC” from another SaaS blog is not your number. Pair with the LTV calculator.