CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

unit economics metric

01 Definition

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) meaning: The average cost of acquiring a new customer.

CAC divides the relevant sales and marketing costs for a period or cohort by the number of new customers acquired. Included costs and attribution windows must be stated.

Also called

customer acquisition cost

Why it matters

How CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) fits the work

It shows whether the growth engine can acquire customers at sustainable economics.

In context

The company reduced CAC by improving product-led trial conversion.

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Practical note

Compare CAC with gross margin retention payback period and customer lifetime value.