The fastest red flag in any investor diligence
- <12 mo
- Healthy CAC payback target
- 100%
- Of investors check CAC efficiency
- 12
- Languages supported
- Free
- No credit card required
Free founder calculator
Customer acquisition cost, calculated
Drop in your marketing spend, sales spend, and new customers. We give you blended CAC plus the LTV/CAC and payback ratios investors check first.
- Blended CAC, marketing-only CAC, and payback period
- Compare against sector benchmarks investors use
- Free. Localized in 12 languages. No card.
Used by founders raising on growth efficiency at every stage.
Created by founders from top global accelerators
How it works
Three numbers. One clear CAC. Zero diligence anxiety.
- 01
Drop in spend and customer counts
Marketing spend, optional sales spend, and new customers acquired over the same period (90 days recommended).
- 02
We compute blended and marketing CAC
Blended CAC includes sales. Marketing CAC isolates paid acquisition efficiency. Both numbers matter.
- 03
Compare to your LTV and benchmarks
LTV/CAC ratio, CAC payback in months, and sector benchmarks ready for your deck and diligence.
See what you'll get
Blended CAC plus the LTV/CAC and payback ratios investors care about. Sign up to calculate yours.
Sample result
Blended CAC$750Total marketing and sales spend divided by new customers acquired. The standard CAC investors compare across deals.
LTV/CAC ratio4.0xHealthy. Above 3x signals strong unit economics. Below 3x is a red flag for SaaS investors.
CAC payback period9 monthsMonths to recover the cost of acquiring a customer. Under 12 months is investor-ready. Under 6 months is top-tier.
Sign up to calculate your own CAC and benchmark against your sector.
What CAC actually tells investors
Investors look at CAC for two things: efficiency and scalability. Four moves to make sure yours pass.
01
Always present blended CAC, not just paid
Founders love to quote 'organic CAC' or 'paid-only CAC' to make the number look smaller. Investors see through it. Always quote blended CAC (paid + organic + sales spend / total customers). Selective CAC quotes lose trust faster than high CAC.
02
Match CAC to LTV from the same cohort
Comparing today's CAC against last year's LTV inflates ratios. Use the same time window for both. Investors who notice the mismatch (and they will) discount everything you say afterward.
03
Track CAC by channel, not just blended
Blended CAC hides which channels work. Break it down by paid search, paid social, content, referral, outbound. Investors at Series A will ask for the channel breakdown. Prep it before they do.
04
Watch CAC trend, not just point
Current CAC matters less than CAC trend. If CAC is dropping monthly, you have efficiency tailwind. If rising, you are running out of cheap acquisition channels. Investors fund the trend, not the point.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good CAC for SaaS?
Depends on ACV. SMB SaaS: $300 to $1,500 CAC. Mid-market: $2k to $10k. Enterprise: $20k+. The absolute number matters less than LTV/CAC ratio (target 3x+) and payback (target under 12 months).
Should I include founder salary in CAC?
If founders spend material time on sales or marketing, yes. Allocate proportionally. Investors will adjust your numbers if you skip this, and prefer founders who present the adjusted number first.
What period should I use for CAC?
Trailing 90 days for most companies. Monthly is too noisy for early-stage. Annual hides recent improvements. 90 days balances signal and freshness.
How do I lower CAC?
Three levers: improve conversion rate (better landing pages, demo flow), lower channel costs (organic, content, referral), or shorten sales cycle. Most early-stage founders find conversion improvements have the biggest CAC impact.
What is the difference between CAC and CPL?
CPL is cost per lead, CAC is cost per paying customer. Most B2B businesses have multiple leads per customer, so CAC is always higher than CPL. Investors care about CAC, not CPL.
Keep going
CAC alone is incomplete. Pair it with LTV and payback.
Round Funded
Know your CAC. Pass diligence.
Round Funded gives you the calculators, the investor list, and the outreach so unit economics conversations close. Track every diligence call in one pipeline.