How to calculate CAC and payback
CAC (customer acquisition cost) is everything you spend on marketing and sales in a period divided by the number of new customers in that period. If you spent $20,000 and won 10 customers, CAC is $2,000.
CAC payback is the number of months it takes a customer to return, in gross margin, what you spent to earn it. To calculate, divide CAC by monthly revenue per customer multiplied by gross margin.
Your CAC
Resultado
Formula
Payback (months) = CAC ÷ (monthly revenue per customer × gross margin)
Example
CAC of $600, monthly revenue per customer of $200 and gross margin of 60%.
Monthly margin per customer: $200 × 0.60 = $120.
Payback: $600 ÷ $120 = 5 months.
Glossary
CAC: how much you spend, on average, on marketing and sales to acquire a new customer.
Margin bruta: the portion of revenue that remains after the direct costs of delivering the product or service.
Payback: the time it takes for an investment to pay off with what it generates.
LTV: the total margin a customer generates over the entire time they buy from you.
Frequently asked questions
What is CAC payback?
It's the number of months it takes a customer to return, in gross margin, what you spent to earn them.
How to calculate CAC payback?
Divide CAC by monthly revenue per customer multiplied by gross margin. For example, CAC of $600, revenue of $200 per month and margin of 60% give 5 months.
Why use gross margin and not revenue?
Because the whole recipe doesn't stay with you. Part of it pays for the costs of delivering the product, and only the gross margin helps to recoup what you invested in acquisition.
What is a good CAC payback?
It depends on your business model, available cash and how long customers stay with you.The main point is that the payback is less than the average lifetime of the customer.
My company sells once, with no monthly fee.Does the calculator work?
Fits with an adjustment. Compare the CAC to the margin of the first sale or use as monthly revenue the average customer spend per month in a period you know.
Are my data saved anywhere?
I don't save the values you type. The calculation happens in your browser. If you click "Copy link", the values are in the URL of that link, so share only if you want the other person to see the same numbers.
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