CAC Calculator
Customer acquisition cost answers one uncomfortable question: what does it cost to win one more customer? Advertising, sales salaries, commissions and tools blur together until someone forces them into a single rupee figure. This calculator turns period spend and customers-won into CAC, then restates both per month so campaigns of different lengths finally become comparable.
Enter values
Results
- Customer acquisition cost
- ₹6,000.00
- New customers per month
- 16.67
- Spend per month
- ₹1,00,000.00
How is the CAC calculated?
Enter the total sales and marketing spend for the period — ads, salaries, commissions, every rupee spent on winning customers — along with how many new customers that money bought. Choose the length of the period so the figures can be restated monthly. Spend divided by customers gives CAC, while the remaining rows show customers per month and spend per month for your own reporting.
Formula
CAC = Sales & marketing spend ÷ New customers acquired. Customers per month = New customers ÷ Months in the period, where a month counts as 1, a quarter as 3 and a year as 12. Spend per month = Spend ÷ Months. Both inputs must cover exactly the same window, and customers means customers won during it, not the total you already serve.
Example
A subscription skincare brand spends ₹3,00,000 in one quarter on ads and two salespeople, winning 50 new customers. CAC = 3,00,000 ÷ 50 = ₹6,000 per customer. Spread monthly, that is ₹1,00,000 of spend and 50 ÷ 3 = 16.67 customers a month. Against ₹14,400 of lifetime gross profit the channel looks healthy; if a customer were worth only ₹6,000 you would be buying them at exactly their value.
Things to remember
CAC only means something next to lifetime value: ₹6,000 is a bargain for a customer who brings ₹14,400 of gross profit and a disaster for one who leaves after a single order. Track it channel by channel rather than in total, and review quarterly, because rising ad prices push the number up long before revenue notices.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate customer acquisition cost?
Add every sales and marketing cost for the period — ads, salaries, commissions, software — then divide by the new customers won in that same period. Spending ₹3,00,000 to win 50 customers gives a CAC of ₹6,000 each, whatever the length of the period.
What is a good CAC for a small business?
There is no fixed number; the test is whether a customer earns back the cost with room to spare. A common target is lifetime value of at least three times CAC. When LTV sits below 2×, acquisition is eating the margin before customers have paid for themselves.
Why does our CAC keep rising every month?
Ad auctions get more expensive as you buy more, competitors bid on your keywords, and the early adopters who were cheapest to win are already on board. When CAC climbs while win rates hold steady, the market is saturating rather than your pitch weakening.
Should CAC include salaries and software bills?
Yes, if those people and tools exist to win customers. Some teams also report a narrower paid-only CAC alongside the full figure — pick one definition, apply it every month, and say which version you are quoting whenever you compare numbers.
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