Calculate acquisition cost per new paying customer using your sales and marketing spend and a consistent customer count.
01 / YOUR INPUTS
USD
Include relevant sales and marketing costs, not just advertising.
Use the same month for your goal and costs. Changing period relabels; it does not convert inputs. Use consistent tax-exclusive amounts. Currency changes formatting, not exchange rates. Inputs reset when you leave or reload this page.
02 / YOUR PLANLive calculation
Customer acquisition cost
$50.00
for your month
Acquisition spend$6,000.00
New customers120
Divide sales and marketing acquisition costs by first-time paying customers for a matched period or cohort. Include relevant staff, agency and creative costs. Orders and repeat buyers are not new customers; a sales-cycle delay can distort a single month's CAC.
No sign-up. No financial inputs sent to a server.
UNDERSTAND YOUR NUMBERS
The formula, without the mystery.
CAC = acquisition spend / new paying customers
A worked example
6,000 spent acquiring 120 first-time paying customers gives a CAC of 50. If only 80 customers are acquired for the same spend, CAC rises to 75.
Should I count repeat orders?
No. Count new customers, not all orders. Match the spend to the period or cohort being measured, especially when the sales cycle spans several months.
Keep the assumptions consistent
Use one planning period and one currency. Enter amounts consistently excluding sales tax or VAT. These simplified models do not account for uncertainty, inventory limits, working capital or progressive taxes. Results are planning estimates.