SaaS CAC Calculator

Customer Acquisition Cost · LTV:CAC Ratio · Payback Period

Customer Acquisition Cost
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Enter your spend and customer data
CAC
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LTV:CAC Ratio
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CAC Payback
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Cost Per Lead
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Magic Number
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ARR added per $1 of S&M
Mktg Efficiency
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customers per $1k

Spend Breakdown

Chart: spend breakdown.
CAC = Spend ÷ Customers
Payback = CAC ÷ (ARPU × GM%)
LTV:CAC = LTV ÷ CAC
Bear Case
+30% Spend, -20% Customers
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Base Case
Current Inputs
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Bull Case
-30% Spend, +20% Customers
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Sensitivity Matrix — CAC by Spend × Customers

Heat map: green = lower CAC, red = higher CAC

CAC Benchmarks by Company Stage

Chart: cac benchmarks by company stage.

LTV:CAC Ratio Gauge

Chart: —.
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Critical <1 Poor 1–2 Good 3–5 Excellent >5

Industry CAC Comparison

IndustryAvg CACLTV:CAC TargetPayback
Consumer SaaS$100–$5003:16–12 mo
SMB SaaS$500–$2,0003:112–18 mo
Mid-Market SaaS$2,000–$10,0003–5:112–24 mo
Enterprise SaaS$10,000–$100k3–5:118–36 mo
E-commerce$10–$1002–3:13–6 mo
Fintech$200–$1,0003:112 mo
HR Tech$1,000–$5,0003–4:115–24 mo
Your Company———
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How to Use This Calculator

1

Enter Sales & Marketing Costs

Input total spend including salaries, commissions, tools, ad spend, content, and events for the period.

2

Enter New Customers

Input the number of new paying customers acquired (not trials or free users) during the same period.

3

Analyze SaaS Unit Economics

Review your fully-loaded CAC, CAC payback period, CAC:LTV ratio, and magic number for sales efficiency.

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Formula & Methodology

Fully-Loaded CAC
CAC = (Total Sales Cost + Total Marketing Cost) / New Customers
Includes all headcount, tools, commissions, and overhead — not just ad spend.
CAC Payback
Payback Months = CAC / (ARPU × Gross Margin)
Months of subscription gross profit needed to recoup the cost of acquiring a customer.
Magic Number
Magic Number = Net New ARR (Quarter) / S&M Spend (Prior Quarter)
Above 0.75 = efficient. Above 1.0 = very efficient. Below 0.5 = need to optimize.

About this calculation · Accuracy & Methodology

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Key Terms Explained

Fully-Loaded CAC All sales and marketing costs including salaries, benefits, tools, travel, and commissions divided by new customers.
CAC Payback The number of months of subscription profit needed to recoup the acquisition cost.
Magic Number SaaS sales efficiency metric comparing new ARR generated to the sales & marketing spend that created it.
Organic CAC Cost to acquire customers through non-paid channels like SEO, referrals, or word-of-mouth.
Paid CAC Cost to acquire customers through paid channels only — ads, sponsored content, paid partnerships.
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Real-World Examples

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PLG SaaS

Marketing: $35,000, Sales: $15,000, New Customers: 120

Result
CAC: $417. With $49/mo ARPU and 85% margin: payback = 10 months. LTV:CAC = 4.8:1.
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SaaS CAC: The Full Picture

Fully-Loaded vs. Partial CAC

Many companies undercount CAC by excluding salaries, benefits, and overhead. A fully-loaded CAC includes every dollar spent on sales and marketing: team salaries and benefits, commissions and bonuses, software tools, ad spend, content creation, events, and allocated overhead. Partial CAC (ad spend only) can be 3-5× lower than fully-loaded, giving a dangerously optimistic view of unit economics.

The Magic Number

The SaaS Magic Number (popularized by Scale VP) measures how efficiently sales and marketing spend converts to recurring revenue. Calculate it as: Net New ARR this quarter divided by total S&M spend last quarter. Above 0.75 means each dollar of S&M generates $0.75+ of new ARR — a signal to invest more aggressively. Below 0.50 signals that the go-to-market motion needs fundamental optimization before scaling.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How does the SaaS CAC Calculator differ from a general CAC calculator?+

The SaaS CAC Calculator is tailored for subscription businesses and includes metrics specific to recurring revenue models such as CAC payback period in months, LTV:CAC ratio based on monthly churn, and fully-loaded CAC that accounts for sales team ramp time and tooling costs that general calculators often miss.

What costs should I include in my SaaS CAC calculation?+

Include all sales and marketing expenses: ad spend, content creation costs, sales team salaries and commissions, marketing tools and software, event sponsorships, and any agency fees. For a fully-loaded CAC, also include the proportional cost of sales engineers, onboarding staff, and free trial infrastructure that directly support customer acquisition.

What is the CAC payback period and why does it matter?+

The CAC payback period is how many months it takes to recover the cost of acquiring a customer through their subscription payments. For SaaS, a payback period under 12 months is considered healthy. Longer payback periods tie up more capital in growth and increase the risk if customers churn before you break even on acquisition costs.

What is a good LTV:CAC ratio for a SaaS business?+

The widely cited benchmark is 3:1 or higher. Below 1:1 means you are spending more to acquire customers than they will ever generate. Between 1:1 and 3:1 indicates room for improvement. Above 5:1 may suggest you are under-investing in growth. The ideal ratio depends on your stage, with earlier-stage companies often accepting lower ratios to build market share.

How does churn rate affect my SaaS CAC efficiency?+

Churn has a massive compounding effect on CAC efficiency. High churn shortens customer lifetime, reducing LTV and making each acquisition less valuable. For example, going from 5% monthly churn to 3% extends average customer lifetime from 20 months to 33 months, increasing LTV by 65% without spending an extra dollar on acquisition.

SaaS CAC Benchmarks by Motion

Go-to-MarketTypical CACTarget PaybackLTV:CAC Goal
Self-Serve / PLG$50-$500< 6 months> 5:1
Inside Sales (SMB)$500-$3,000< 12 months> 3:1
Inside Sales (MM)$3,000-$15,000< 15 months> 3:1
Field Sales (Enterprise)$15,000-$100,000< 18 months> 5:1