Free tool

What does it cost to win a customer?

Divide your sales and marketing spend by the customers it won, and see your customer acquisition cost. Then see how slow lead response quietly pushes it up.

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Your own spend and customer count, no invented figures.

Run the numbers

Work out your CAC

Enter your sales and marketing spend and the customers it won.

1
Spend
2
Customers
3
Result

What did it cost to win them?

Total sales and marketing spend for the period.

$10,000
$100$500,000

Understand the metric

How to calculate customer acquisition cost (CAC)

Customer acquisition cost, or CAC, is what it costs you on average to win one new customer. It is the number that tells you whether growth is affordable, because it sits directly against the value each customer brings back. This calculator works out CAC from your sales and marketing spend and the customers it won, so you can track it honestly and see what quietly pushes it up.

How to read your result

CAC is the price of a customer, not a lead. Read it against customer lifetime value: if a customer is worth far more than they cost to acquire, growth pays; if the two are close, every inefficiency matters. A rising CAC on flat spend means the same budget is winning fewer customers.

What to include in the spend

Include the sales and marketing costs that went into winning those customers: ad spend, tools and the relevant team cost. A consistent, honest basis matters more than a perfect one.

How slow response inflates CAC

You spend the same whether or not you reach a lead in time. Let more leads go cold and the same budget wins fewer customers, so CAC climbs. Converting more of the leads you already pay for, by answering instantly, lowers CAC without spending a penny more.

How it is calculated

CAC = sales and marketing spend ÷ new customers won

  1. 1
    Total the spend
    Sales and marketing spend for the period.
  2. 2
    Count new customers
    The customers that spend won in the same period.
  3. 3
    Divide
    Divide spend by new customers for your CAC.

The build

Slow replies push your CAC up

Lost leads raise the cost of the rest

Every enquiry you let go cold means the same spend won fewer customers, so each one costs more. Reaching leads faster lowers CAC without spending a penny more. See the leak with the [revenue leak calculator](/tools/revenue-leak-calculator).

Instant reply wins more from the same spend

An always-on front desk converts more of the leads you already paid for, which is the cheapest way there is to bring CAC down.

You own it

Built for your business and handed over.

Read next

Where this goes next

Revenue Leak Calculator →Cost Per Lead Calculator →Read the blog →

Questions

Questions

Total sales and marketing spend divided by the number of new customers it won, over the same period. If you spent 10,000 and won 40 customers, your CAC is 250. Your numbers, not a benchmark.
The sales and marketing costs that went into winning those customers: ad spend, tools, and the relevant team cost. A consistent, honest figure matters more than a perfect one.
Directly. You spend the same whether or not you reach a lead in time. Let more leads go cold and the same spend wins fewer customers, so CAC rises. Reaching them fast lowers it for free.
Convert more of the leads you already pay for, by answering them instantly. That beats cutting spend or chasing cheaper leads, and it is usually the fastest lever.

Want to lower your CAC by catching the leads you already pay for? Book a 30-min call.

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