Quick answer
Spending $5,000 on ads and $1,500 on other acquisition to win 400 new customers gives a blended CAC of $16.25. The paid-only CAC is $20.00, because only 250 of the 400 came from ads. At a $65 first order, acquisition costs 25% of the first sale.
How the Customer Acquisition Cost works, step by step
Enter all acquisition spending for one period, split into paid ad spend and everything else: content, tools, agency fees and the team's time. Then enter the total new customers in the same period and how many of them came from paid ads. Using the same period for every input is what makes the figure honest. Mixing a month of spend with a quarter of customers is the most common way to produce a flattering CAC.
Blended CAC divides all acquisition spend by all new customers: $6,500 divided by 400 is $16.25. It is the number that matters for the business as a whole, because organic customers are not free: the content and tools that attracted them are in the spend. A blended CAC that falls as you grow usually means organic channels are doing more of the work.
Paid CAC isolates the ad channels: ad spend divided by customers from paid ads, $5,000 divided by 250, or $20.00. Comparing the two figures shows what organic acquisition is worth. Here the gap is $3.75 per customer, which is the saving from the 150 customers who arrived without a paid click. If paid CAC rises while blended CAC holds steady, your organic channels are subsidizing worsening ad efficiency.
The CAC-to-AOV line puts the cost next to the first order. At $16.25 of CAC against a $65 first order, acquisition takes 25% of the first sale, leaving 75% to cover product cost, fulfilment and profit. If CAC ever exceeds the gross profit on the first order, the business depends on repeat purchases to survive, which is a much riskier position.
CAC alone cannot tell you whether acquisition is profitable: it needs the lifetime value beside it. A $16.25 CAC is cheap if the customer is worth $378 over three years and expensive if they never buy again. Use the LTV to CAC calculator next, and judge the pair together rather than either figure alone.
The formula
Total spend = paid ad spend plus other acquisition spend. Blended CAC = total spend divided by total new customers. Paid CAC = paid ad spend divided by new customers from paid ads. Organic customers = total new customers minus paid customers. CAC to AOV = blended CAC divided by average first order value.
Worked example — try it on the calculator above
Worked example: $6,500 of spend, 400 new customers
A store spends $5,000 on ads and $1,500 on content, tools and team time in one month, for $6,500 of total acquisition spend. It wins 400 new customers, of whom 250 came from paid ads and 150 arrived organically. Blended CAC is $6,500 divided by 400, or $16.25. Paid CAC is $5,000 divided by 250, or $20.00. The average first order is $65, so blended CAC is 25% of the first sale. If the ad budget doubled but only added 100 more paid customers, paid CAC would rise to $28.57. That is the shape of diminishing returns: the next customer always costs more than the last one did.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good CAC?
There is no universal number: a $16.25 CAC is excellent for a $65 first order and ruinous for a $10 one. Judge CAC against the gross profit on the first order and against lifetime value. The useful test is the LTV to CAC ratio, where 3 to 1 or better is generally considered healthy.
What is the difference between blended and paid CAC?
Blended CAC divides all acquisition spend by all new customers, including organic ones. Paid CAC divides ad spend by customers from ads only. Blended is the number that matters for the business; paid isolates ad efficiency. When they drift apart, organic channels are either subsidizing or failing to offset paid costs.
Should salaries count in CAC?
Yes, if the work is acquisition: the marketing team's salaries, agency fees, content production and tools all belong in the spend. Leaving them out produces a CAC that flatters the ads and hides the real cost of growth. The other spend field in this calculator is where those costs go.
How often should I recalculate CAC?
Monthly, on a rolling basis, using the same period for spend and customers. CAC moves with seasonality, ad auctions and channel mix, so a single month can mislead. Watch the trend over three to six months, and split it by channel when one channel's CAC starts rising.
Estimates, not advice. This calculator provides educational estimates based on the inputs you enter and the assumptions shown on this page. It is not financial, tax or investment advice, and it cannot see your full situation. Verify important figures against official sources, and consider a qualified professional for decisions about your own money. See our Disclaimer and Methodology.