Organic Growth Compounding
Happy customers refer others. A 20% referral rate effectively reduces CAC by the same amount.
CAC Wizard
3 StepsStep 1: Core Metrics
Spend & Customers
Core Acquisition Metrics
Enter your monthly spend and new customer count
$0$100,000
1100
$500$100,000
3 months60 months
Local-First
Calculations are performed in your browser. Sensitive business metrics are never transmitted to or stored on our servers.
Live Results
Fully-Loaded CAC
$13,290.00
True cost per customer
LTV:CAC Ratio
0.8x
Below 3:1
Payback Period
31.9 mo
Above target
Basic CAC
$10,900.00
Marketing + Sales only
Customer LTV
$10,000.00
Over 24 months
CAC % of LTV
132.9%
Lower is better
Cost Breakdown
Marketing
$20,000.00Sales
$34,500.00Hidden
$6,500.00Overhead
$5,450.00Total$66,450.00
Your acquisition efficiency is lagging
With a CAC of $13,290, you're spending more than industry benchmarks. Build a high-intent discovery feed with Glimpss to lower CAC by 40%.
Lower your CAC with GlimpssRelated Calculators
Calculator Knowledge Base and Scientific Documentation
Quick Reference
Quick Reference
The average B2B SaaS CAC in 2026 is $847, but fully-loaded CAC (including hidden costs) averages $1,200-1,500. A healthy LTV:CAC ratio is 3:1 or higher. Payback period should be under 18 months. If your CAC exceeds $1,500 or LTV:CAC is below 2:1, you need to optimize your acquisition funnel or increase customer lifetime value.
The Scientific Model
The Scientific Model
Fully-Loaded Customer Acquisition Cost
Formula
This formula captures the complete cost of acquiring each customer by including marketing spend, sales costs, and often-overlooked hidden costs like recruiting, training, and management overhead.
Why this approach: Most companies underestimate CAC by 25-40% by excluding hidden costs. The 'CAC iceberg' includes recruiting costs ($2-5K per sales hire amortized), training time, management overhead (10-15%), and office allocation.
People Also Ask
People Also Ask
- What is a good LTV:CAC ratio for SaaS?
- The benchmark LTV:CAC ratio for healthy SaaS is 3:1 or higher. Below 2:1 indicates unsustainable unit economics. Top-performing SaaS companies achieve 4-5:1. VCs typically require 3:1+ for Series A+ funding.
- How do you calculate customer acquisition cost?
- CAC = (Total Marketing Costs + Total Sales Costs) / New Customers Acquired. Include: ad spend, content costs, tools, sales salaries, commissions, CRM software, and overhead allocation.
- What hidden costs should I include in CAC?
- Hidden costs typically add 25-40% to basic CAC: recruiting costs (amortized per hire), sales training and onboarding, management overhead (10-15% of team costs), office/remote work allocation.
- What is a healthy CAC payback period?
- Healthy CAC payback is 12-18 months for B2B SaaS. Under 12 months is excellent. Over 24 months strains cash flow. Calculate: CAC / (Monthly Revenue per Customer).
- How does CAC differ between sales-led and product-led growth?
- Product-led growth (PLG) CAC is typically 50-70% lower than sales-led due to self-serve acquisition. Sales-led CAC averages $1,200-2,500 for SMB SaaS; PLG averages $200-600.
Contextual ROI: The Intangibles
Contextual ROI: The Intangibles
CAC efficiency goes beyond the numbers. These strategic factors determine whether your acquisition investment builds sustainable competitive advantage:
Sales Efficiency Learning
Each customer acquisition teaches your team. Improved processes compound over time.
Market Position Moat
High CAC with strong retention creates barriers to entry for competitors.
Expansion Revenue Potential
CAC is one-time; expansion revenue is recurring. Factor in upsell potential.
Assumptions & Limitations
Assumptions & Limitations
Key Assumptions
- *All costs are for the same time period as new customer count
- *Hidden costs include recruiting, training, and management overhead at standard rates
- *LTV calculation uses average customer lifetime based on churn rate
- *Overhead allocation follows industry standard 10-15% markup
Limitations
- !Does not account for cohort-level CAC variations
- !Channel-specific CAC may differ significantly from blended average
- !Seasonal variations in acquisition efficiency not captured