Cost per acquired customer and supporting figures
Marketing and sales costs are added for the chosen period, then divided by new paying customers. Marketing share is zero when there is no entered acquisition spending.
Before comparing acquisition spending with revenue, use the Profit Margin Calculator to distinguish sales from gross or net profit.
The formula
Marketing and sales costs are added for the chosen period, then divided by new paying customers. Marketing share is zero when there is no entered acquisition spending.
Worked customer acquisition cost example
Marketing spend of 12,000 and sales spend of 8,000 total 20,000. Acquiring 100 new paying customers produces CAC of 200, with marketing accounting for 60% of that spending.
How to use this calculator
- Enter acquisition marketing spend, acquisition sales spend.
- Set new paying customers acquired using the stated units or choices.
- Calculate and compare cost per acquired customer, total acquisition spending, marketing share of acquisition spend.
Choosing inputs for customer acquisition cost
Define an acquired customer consistently before counting the denominator. A lead, website session, trial signup, and new paying account are different outcomes. This calculator uses new paying customers so the result can be compared with the economic value of a paying relationship rather than the cost of a preliminary action.
Acquisition spending may include advertising, acquisition-related salaries, commissions, agency work, and marketing software. Assign shared costs with a documented method and avoid counting the same expense under both sales and marketing. A paid-media-only numerator describes a narrower metric than fully loaded CAC.
Interpreting cost per acquired customer
The reporting period should reflect the time required for sales activity to become a paid customer. In a long sales cycle, this month’s costs may produce next quarter’s customers. Channel or cohort analysis can make that relationship clearer. The calculator performs the ratio you supply; it does not attribute customers to campaigns or label any particular CAC as universally good.
Assumptions & limitations
What this calculation assumes
- Spending and customer counts describe the same acquisition definition and period.
- New paying customer count is a positive whole number.
What to keep in mind
- Attribution delays, retention costs, lifetime value, and channel allocation must be handled before entering totals.
Common questions
Can I include free trials?
Not in the paying-customer denominator. Include them only after they satisfy your definition of an acquired paying customer.
What if no customers were acquired?
CAC cannot be divided by zero. The tool requires at least one acquired customer rather than displaying a misleading zero cost.
Should I include retention spending?
Include acquisition expenses in these controls. Support or retention spending creates a different cost boundary unless deliberately allocated to acquisition.
Sources & further reading
Reviewed on