Free Customer Acquisition Cost Calculator
What does each new customer actually cost you? Total spend divided by customers won - with the honest cost list, per-channel guidance, and the CLV:CAC ratio that says whether the spending pays. Free, no sign-up.
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The honest CAC vs the flattering one
A shop spends 300,000 on Instagram ads in a month and wins 30 customers - "10,000 per customer," says the flattering math. But the agency retainer was 100,000, the design tools 20,000, and someone spent half their salaried time answering DMs. The honest CAC is closer to 15,000-18,000 - half again what the ad dashboard claims.
The gap matters because CAC decides what you can afford: at a 90,000 customer lifetime value, both numbers are fine; at 30,000, the flattering one says grow and the honest one says stop.
CAC Calculator FAQ
How is customer acquisition cost calculated?
CAC = total sales and marketing spend for a period ÷ new customers won in that period. Spend 450,000 in a month and win 30 new customers, and each one cost you 15,000. Enter your numbers above and it's computed live.
What costs should be included in CAC?
Everything spent to win customers, not just the ad budget: agency fees, marketing tools and subscriptions, sales commissions, content production, and the salary time of whoever does the selling. Counting only ad spend is the classic way businesses convince themselves acquisition is cheaper than it is.
What is a good CAC?
There's no universal number - only a relationship. Compare CAC to what a customer is worth over the relationship (their lifetime value): the common health benchmark is a CLV at least 3x the CAC. A 15,000 CAC is excellent for customers worth 90,000 and ruinous for customers worth 12,000.
Should I calculate CAC per channel?
Yes - the blended number hides the story. Instagram ads, referrals, and the market association each acquire customers at wildly different costs. Run this calculator once per channel with that channel's spend and customers, then feed the winners.
How do I reduce CAC?
The cheapest customer is the one who comes to you: referrals from happy customers, repeat buyers who need no re-acquiring, and content that keeps working after you've paid for it once (which is exactly what these free tools are for us). Paid channels then top up growth rather than carry it.
How is this different from a Growpins Ledger account?
This calculator needs you to know how many new customers you won and what they're worth. A free Growpins Ledger account knows both: every new client and every invoice is recorded, so the customer counts and lifetime values you feed into CAC math come from records, not estimates.
Counting new customers from memory?
A free Growpins Ledger account records every client and every invoice, so the customer counts and lifetime values behind your CAC math come from records - built by the team behind Growpins, founded by Dokun Bamigboye.
Know your real numbers - sign up freeNeed the other half of the ratio? Use the Customer Lifetime Value Calculator, or browse all free tools.