What is CAC?
Customer Acquisition Cost
TL;DR
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) is how much money you spend, on average, to get one new customer.
Example
You spend 100,000 kr on marketing in a month. You get 50 new customers.
Your CAC is 2,000 kr per customer (100,000 ÷ 50).
What goes into CAC:
- Advertising spend (Google Ads, Facebook, etc.)
- Marketing team salaries
- Sales team salaries
- Marketing software costs
- Content creation costs
- Agency fees
CAC varies wildly by business:
| Business Type | Typical CAC |
|---|---|
| E-commerce | 100-500 kr |
| B2C SaaS | 500-2,000 kr |
| B2B SaaS | 5,000-50,000 kr |
| Enterprise sales | 50,000-500,000+ kr |
A high CAC isn't necessarily bad if your customers are worth enough (see LTV).
Explanation
The CAC Formula
Basic CAC: Total Sales & Marketing Costs ÷ Number of New Customers
Fully-loaded CAC: (Marketing + Sales + Related Overhead) ÷ New Customers
Be consistent in what you include. What matters is tracking changes over time.
CAC by Channel
Smart companies track CAC per acquisition channel:
- Google Ads CAC: 1,500 kr
- Facebook Ads CAC: 2,200 kr
- Content/SEO CAC: 800 kr
- Referrals CAC: 300 kr
This tells you where to invest more and where to pull back.
CAC Payback Period
How long until a customer pays back their acquisition cost?
If CAC is 2,000 kr and customers pay 500 kr/month, payback is 4 months.
Shorter payback = faster you can reinvest in growth.
Why It Matters
For Business Owners
The CAC:LTV ratio is king. The relationship between what you spend to get a customer and what that customer is worth determines whether your business model works.
A healthy ratio is at least 3:1 (LTV is 3x CAC). If your LTV is 6,000 kr, you can afford a CAC up to 2,000 kr.
CAC rising is a warning sign. If it costs more and more to acquire customers, either you're exhausting easy-to-reach audiences or your marketing is becoming less effective.
CAC affects fundraising. Investors look closely at CAC trends. High and rising CAC makes growth expensive.
Reducing CAC
- Optimize marketing campaigns for efficiency
- Invest in organic channels (SEO, content, referrals)
- Improve conversion rates on your website
- Focus on higher-value customer segments
- Build word-of-mouth and referral programs
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