Artisan Strategies

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) Calculator

Calculate your blended and channel-specific customer acquisition costs to optimize marketing efficiency.

Your Spend & Customers

Enter your acquisition data to calculate CAC

Ads, content, events, tools, etc.

Salaries, commissions, tools, etc.

Total new paying customers in period

Your CAC Results

Enter your metrics to see results

Enter your metrics on the left to calculate CAC

CAC Benchmarks by Segment

SMB SaaS

$50-200

Mid-Market

$200-1,000

Enterprise

$1,000-5,000

Consumer

$5-50

Why CAC Matters

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is the total cost of acquiring a new customer, including all marketing and sales expenses. Understanding your CAC is essential for sustainable growth and profitability.

How to Calculate CAC

Blended CAC = (Total Marketing Spend + Total Sales Spend) / New Customers Acquired

For channel-specific CAC, divide channel spend by customers acquired through that channel.

CAC Optimization Strategies

  • Improve conversion rates: Better landing pages and sales processes reduce CAC
  • Channel mix optimization: Shift budget to more efficient channels
  • Referral programs: Incentivize customers to bring in new customers cheaply
  • Content marketing: Build organic acquisition for lower long-term CAC

The CAC:LTV Ratio

  • 3:1 or better: Healthy unit economics, room for growth investment
  • 1:1 to 3:1: Optimize CAC or improve retention before scaling
  • Below 1:1: Losing money on each customer, requires urgent attention