CAC Payback Period Calculator
Months to recover Customer Acquisition Cost
📚 Learn more — how it works, FAQ & guide Click to expand
Learn more — how it works, FAQ & guide
Click to expand
CAC Payback Period Calculator
Months until a new customer becomes net-positive. Critical SaaS metric: shorter payback = capital-efficient growth, longer = need more funding to scale.
How to use this tool
- 1
CAC input
Total cost to acquire one customer.
- 2
ARPU + margin
Monthly revenue + gross margin.
- 3
See payback months
Healthy SaaS: <12 mo. SMB: <6 mo.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's healthy CAC payback?
B2B SaaS: <12 months. SMB SaaS: <6 months. Enterprise: <18 months. Above these = capital-inefficient growth.
Should I include sales rep cost in CAC?
Yes — fully loaded sales cost (salary + commissions + tools) is part of CAC. Some companies report "marketing-only CAC" which is misleading.
CAC payback vs LTV/CAC?
Different lenses. CAC payback = how fast you recover cash. LTV/CAC = total profit per dollar spent. Both matter — VCs scrutinize both.
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