What to include in CAC
Include the costs that were actually used to acquire the customers in the same period: ad spend, sales compensation, tools, agency fees and campaign costs. Do not mix one month of spend with customers acquired from a much longer sales cycle without noting that lag.
Example
If sales and marketing cost is $20,000 and the period produced 100 new customers, CAC is $200 per customer.
Common mistakes
Do not compare paid-channel CAC with blended CAC without naming the definition. Sales-led businesses should also account for sales-cycle lag.
How to use CAC
CAC is most useful when compared with gross-margin CLV, payback period and channel quality. Blended CAC can hide expensive or low-quality channels, so separate paid, organic and sales-led acquisition when the detail matters.
Last reviewed: 2026-05-17