CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

CAC quantifies the average cost of acquiring a new customer, including marketing and sales expenditure. A clean CAC definition distinguishes between blended CAC (all channels) and paid CAC (paid acquisition only).

In combination with lifetime value (LTV), CAC provides an indicator of profitability and scalability. CAC is relevant in almost all business models but represents a particularly important KPI for SaaS companies. Common market benchmarks in SaaS are, for example, an LTV/CAC ratio of at least 3:1 with a CAC payback of under 12–18 months.