Free tool
Customer Acquisition Cost Calculator
Enter what you spent to win customers and how many you won. You get your cost per customer, how long it takes to earn it back, and how it compares with what a customer is worth.
Ads, tools, agencies and sales pay for the period.
In the same period as the spend.
Share of revenue left after the direct cost of serving a customer.
Typical customer lifetime. For one-off sales, use 1.
The numbers above are examples. Replace them with yours.
Customer acquisition cost
$200.00
Payback time
3.3 months
Lifetime value
$1,080
$60.00 gross profit a month
LTV to CAC
5.4:1
Healthy: each customer is worth about three times or more what they cost to win.
$5,000 spent to win 25 customers is $200.00 each. The 3 to 1 benchmark is a common rule of thumb, not a law.
How this calculator works
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is your total sales and marketing spend divided by the new customers you won in the same period. Include ad spend, tools, agency fees and sales salaries if you want a fully loaded number.
Payback is CAC divided by the monthly gross profit from one customer. Gross profit is monthly revenue per customer multiplied by your gross margin.
Lifetime value (LTV) is the monthly gross profit multiplied by the number of months a customer typically stays. The LTV to CAC ratio compares what a customer is worth with what they cost to win.
A common rule of thumb is an LTV to CAC ratio of about 3 to 1 or better, and below 1 to 1 means each customer loses you money. It is a guide, not a law: a business with fast payback and strong cash can run a lower ratio.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good customer acquisition cost?
It depends on what a customer is worth. A $200 CAC is excellent for a customer worth $2,000 and unsustainable for one worth $150. Compare CAC with gross profit per customer and with LTV, not in isolation.
How do I calculate CAC?
Add up everything you spent to win customers in a period, then divide by the number of new customers in that same period. Use the same period for both numbers.
What is LTV to CAC?
It is the lifetime gross profit of a customer divided by the cost of winning them. A ratio of about 3 to 1 or higher is a common target, and below 1 to 1 means you lose money on each customer.
Should CAC include organic customers?
For a fully loaded view, count every new customer and all your sales and marketing costs. For a paid-channel view, count only customers that came from paid spend and only the paid spend. Say which one you used.
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Sources
- LocaliQ (WordStream) 2026 Search Advertising Benchmarks. Average Google Ads cost per click and cost per lead for 23 US industries.
Estimates, not guarantees. Your own results depend on your offer, market and execution.