# Customer Acquisition Cost Calculator

> Work out CAC: total marketing and sales cost divided by the new customers won in the same period, plus a marketing-only CAC.

Category: Marketing analytics · Applies to: Worldwide · Last updated: 2026-10-29
Interactive calculator: https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/customer-acquisition-cost-calculator

Customer acquisition cost is everything you spent to win customers in a period, divided by the number of new customers you won in that same period.

Also called: CAC calculator.

## Inputs
- Marketing spend (default 30000)
- Sales cost (default 20000; optional)
- Other acquisition costs (default ; optional)
- New customers acquired (default 250)
- Currency

## Results
- Customer acquisition cost
- Total acquisition cost
- Marketing-only CAC

## Formula

```
CAC = (Marketing + Sales + Other acquisition costs) ÷ New customers;  Marketing-only CAC = Marketing ÷ New customers
```

Where:
- Marketing, Sales, Other: costs incurred in the period to win new customers
- New customers: first-time paying customers acquired in the same period (the denominator)

## Worked example
1. Total cost = 30,000 + 20,000 = $50,000.
2. CAC = 50,000 ÷ 250 = $200.
3. Marketing-only CAC = 30,000 ÷ 250 = $120.

**Result:** Winning 250 customers for $50,000 of marketing and sales cost is a CAC of $200 each.

## What the result means

Compare CAC with the gross profit a customer brings over their lifetime (see the LTV:CAC calculator). Always state whether your CAC includes sales costs: a marketing-only figure can look far cheaper than the fully loaded one.

## Assumptions and limits
- Costs and new customers are measured over the same period.
- Existing customers who buy again are not counted as new customers.
- Long sales cycles mean some customers won this period were paid for in earlier periods; use a lagged period if that matters.

## Questions

### What is the difference between CAC and CPA?

CAC divides by new paying customers. CPA divides by any chosen conversion, such as a sign-up or a lead, so CPA is usually lower.

### What is blended CAC?

CAC calculated over all new customers, including those from free channels such as organic search and referrals. Paid CAC divides paid spend by customers from paid channels only.

## Related calculators
- [LTV to CAC Ratio Calculator](https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/ltv-cac-ratio-calculator)
- [Customer Lifetime Value Calculator](https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/customer-lifetime-value-calculator)
- [Cost Per Acquisition Calculator](https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/cost-per-acquisition-calculator)
- [ROAS Calculator](https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/roas-calculator)

Source: GM¹X CalcVerse — https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/customer-acquisition-cost-calculator