Customer Acquisition Cost Calculator
Calculate customer acquisition cost and a simple gross-profit payback period from sales and marketing spend, new customers, and monthly customer contribution.
02 / YOUR RESULT
Start with your numbers.
The example calculates when this page loads.
How the calculation works
CAC = sales and marketing spend / new customers. Simple payback months = CAC / monthly gross profit per new customer.
A calculation you can check.
If $6,000 in acquisition spending produces 20 new customers, CAC is $300. At $100 monthly gross profit per customer, simple acquisition payback is three months.
When to use this calculator
Use this customer acquisition cost calculator to understand how much you spend to acquire a new customer. Define a cohort and align spending with the customers it helped acquire. Include the relevant advertising, agency, sales, and marketing labor costs for your chosen definition. For recurring customers, estimate monthly gross profit after direct service costs to calculate the simple payback period.
Assumptions and limits
The payback calculation assumes constant monthly gross profit and no churn before payback. It ignores financing and payment timing. For one-off projects, a monthly payback measure may not fit your business; focus on CAC and the total contribution from the project instead. Avoid dividing this month’s spending by customers acquired from a different campaign or an earlier sales cycle.
Before you use the result.
Should I include only ad spend?
Only if you intentionally want an ad-spend-only measure. A broader CAC normally includes the relevant sales and marketing costs, and the definition should be stated.
What happens if no customers were acquired?
CAC per acquired customer is undefined. The calculator requires at least one customer rather than displaying a misleading zero.
Does payback account for customer churn?
No. It assumes the entered monthly gross profit continues. Check retention before relying on that assumption.
Calculator inputs are processed on your device and are not saved by this tool or sent to MNMVL. The optional CSV download includes your current inputs and result. These are simplified business planning models, not accounting, tax, or investment advice.