Revenue & Profitability calculator
CAC Payback Calculator
CAC payback measures how quickly a new customer pays back its acquisition cost, which matters for cash flow. Everything runs in your browser — nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
Your numbers
Change any value — results update as you type
Values are estimates. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
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Months of gross profit needed to recover the cost.
Customer acquisition cost
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Monthly gross profit per customer
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12-month return on CAC
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Gross profit vs. acquisition cost
Cumulative gross profit from one customer, starting at minus the cost of winning them. The dot marks the payback month.
Read this estimate carefully
Use fully loaded spend (salaries, tools, ads) and customers won in the same period for an honest figure.
How to use it
- Enter total sales and marketing spend for a period.
- Enter the new customers won in the same period.
- Add monthly revenue per customer and your gross margin.
- Read the payback in months.
How it is calculated
- CAC = spend ÷ new customers
- Monthly gross profit = monthly revenue × gross margin
- Payback (months) = CAC ÷ monthly gross profit
- 12-month return = (12 × monthly profit − CAC) ÷ CAC
Common questions
What payback is good?
Under 12 months is common for SMB software; longer can work with strong retention.
Should I include salaries?
Yes, for a fully loaded CAC.
Does it include churn?
No. If customers leave early, real payback is longer.