CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

Category: Metrics

The fully loaded cost of acquiring one paying customer.

CAC = (all sales & marketing spend for a period) ÷ (new customers won in that period). Include salaries, tools, agency retainers, and paid media, not just ad spend. Blended CAC covers the whole business; paid CAC isolates ad-driven acquisition. Healthy SaaS businesses target LTV:CAC ≥ 3:1 with CAC payback under 12 months.

Related terms

• LTV (Customer Lifetime Value)
• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)

Part of the AMA Orlando marketing glossary. See also the chapter's free marketing calculators and templates and playbooks.