For business owners

Free customer acquisition cost calculator

Use the customer acquisition cost calculator to combine marketing and sales expenses, calculate CAC per new customer and compare acquisition scenarios.

  • Free to use
  • No account needed

Your result

Starting example. Replace these figures with your own.

$150.00Acquisition cost per new paying customer

Total acquisition expense
$15,000.00
Marketing acquisition expense
$12,000.00
Sales acquisition expense
$3,000.00
New paying customers
100
Calculation

CAC = (marketing acquisition expense + sales acquisition expense) ÷ new paying customers.

Read with the result

All amounts use USD and one reporting scope. Align acquisition spend and customer counts; long sales cycles may require a cohort analysis.

Include acquisition payroll, tools, agency work and commissions. Exclude fulfillment, COGS and retention expense unless intentionally allocated to acquisition.

CAC is different from cost per lead and cost per ad conversion.

Change numbers
More options

Your numbers

Add acquisition expenses and divide by new paying customers from the same period and scope.

Use one reporting period for every input. The result uses that same period.

Use the same currency for every amount. Changing this label does not convert values.

Include acquisition ads, agency work, tools and allocated marketing payroll.

Include allocated sales payroll, acquisition commissions and sales tools. Exclude product delivery costs.

Count customers acquired in this reporting scope, rather than leads or repeat orders.

More options

Calculated in this browser. No signup required to copy or download.

Compare another scenario

Scenario B has its own inputs and result. Changes here do not replace Scenario A.

Use it from an AI browser

This page has site tools: actions an AI agent can call directly, with no plugin or API key. The ChatGPT desktop app’s browser can use them where site tools are available, and so can Chrome with WebMCP turned on. The agent works on this page, with the same steps and limits as its buttons, so you can check the result before you use it.

Try this prompt
Open doany.ai/tools/customer-acquisition-cost-calculator and calculate CAC for USD 12,000 of marketing acquisition expenses, USD 3,000 of sales acquisition expenses and 100 new paying customers from the same month.

Site tools work only while this page is open. They never send messages, invoices or payments for you.

Find the cost of acquiring a new customer

Define the customer cohort first, then match its acquisition expenses. A blended business CAC and a single-channel CAC answer different questions.

  1. Choose one acquisition period

    Use a month, quarter or campaign cohort. Count first-time paying customers on that basis, and allow for the delay between spending money and winning their business.

  2. Include marketing and sales expenses

    Enter the marketing and sales costs assigned to that cohort, such as advertising, content, agency fees and the relevant share of team or software costs. Avoid counting the same expense in both fields.

  3. Compare acquisition options

    Calculate the cost per new customer, then use the second scenario to compare a different spend or customer count. Keep the cost basis unchanged if you want a meaningful comparison.

Keep your customer count and costs aligned

A useful CAC depends on what you include, rather than on the abbreviation alone.

  • Blended monthly acquisition

    What to change

    Combine marketing and sales expenses across channels and divide by all new paying customers in the same cohort.

    Before you use it

    Include acquisition work outside paid ads instead of treating organic channels as automatically free.

  • A channel comparison

    What to change

    Use only the costs and new customers attributable to that channel, with the same attribution rule in both scenarios.

    Before you use it

    A customer touched by several channels should not be counted as a full new customer in each channel without an explicit allocation.

  • A longer sales cycle

    What to change

    Compare a mature cohort or a longer window when sales commonly close well after the first marketing contact.

    Before you use it

    Dividing this month’s costs by this month’s closes may mismatch the customers those costs helped acquire.

Review what the CAC includes

  • Customers are newly acquired paying customers, not leads or orders.
  • The cohort and expense period use a consistent basis.
  • Marketing and sales expenses do not overlap.
  • Shared staff and software costs have an explicit allocation.
  • CAC alone does not establish customer profitability.

Add acquisition expenses once

Total acquisition cost = marketing expenses + sales expenses. With 2,400 marketing costs and 1,200 sales costs, the entered acquisition pool is 3,600.

Divide by new customers

CAC = total acquisition cost ÷ new customers. Acquiring 60 new customers from a 3,600 cost pool gives 60 per customer. Zero new customers leaves CAC undefined.

Compare cost with customer contribution

A customer’s revenue is not all available to repay CAC. Compare acquisition cost with the contribution remaining after delivery and other variable costs, and consider how long recovery takes.

Sources checked on October 9, 2026: Shopify: acquisition costs and the CAC formula

Questions about this tool

What is the customer acquisition cost formula?

Add the marketing and sales expenses assigned to acquiring a customer cohort, then divide by the number of new paying customers in it. A 5,000 cost pool and 100 new customers gives CAC of 50.

Which costs belong in CAC?

Include the acquisition expenses relevant to your definition: advertising, creative, agency fees, sales and marketing team time, commissions and allocated tools. Enter the combined totals and document any excluded costs so comparisons use the same basis.

Should I divide by leads or customers?

Use newly acquired paying customers for CAC. Dividing by enquiries or form submissions measures cost per lead or action instead. Repeat orders from an existing customer are not additional newly acquired customers.

Is CAC the same as cost per acquisition in an ad platform?

Not always. A platform acquisition can mean a signup, lead or purchase event, and platform cost often includes ad spend only. Business CAC can include wider sales and marketing expenses and a deduplicated count of new customers.

What is the difference between blended and channel CAC?

Blended CAC combines acquisition costs and customers across the business. Channel CAC assigns both to one channel. Neither is inherently better; label the scope and use consistent allocation before comparing the values.

What happens if no customers were acquired?

The cost pool still exists, but dividing it by zero customers does not produce a defined CAC. Review the cohort, conversion delay and customer count rather than treating the result as zero acquisition cost.

What is a good CAC for my business?

It depends on customer contribution, repeat business, retention and payback time. This tool does not import lifetime value or recommend an industry benchmark. A low CAC is only useful if the customers produce enough value on an acceptable timescale.

Can I calculate CAC without creating an account?

Yes. Enter your marketing costs, sales costs and customer count in the browser. Compare a second scenario, copy the result or download it without connecting a CRM or advertising account.