Months to recover acquisition cost. The CAC Payback Period Calculator takes customer acquisition cost, monthly revenue per customer, gross margin and returns cac payback period plus monthly gross profit per customer, reading. Results update as you type, and the formula is shown under the result so you can repeat it in your own spreadsheet.
Marketing metrics are most useful as trends and comparisons between channels. Measure every campaign the same way, over the same period, and judge it against your gross margin rather than against revenue alone. Use the worked example below to check the maths against your own figures.
How the CAC Payback Period Calculator works
How many months of gross profit it takes to earn back what a customer cost to acquire. Under 12 months is comfortable; beyond 24 the business needs a lot of cash to grow.
Worked example
With the example values (customer acquisition cost of $400, monthly revenue per customer of $60, gross margin of 70%), the cac payback period is 10 months; monthly gross profit per customer $42.00, reading Good: under 12 months. Change any figure above and the result updates immediately; use Copy results to paste the summary into a note or email.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How is cac payback period calculated?
payback months = CAC ÷ (monthly revenue per customer × gross margin).
Which figures do I need?
Customer acquisition cost, monthly revenue per customer, gross margin. Take them from the same period and the same set of accounts or reports so the ratio is consistent, and check the example values as a guide to the units expected.
How often should I track this metric?
Weekly for live campaigns, monthly for channel comparisons, and always over the same period for spend and results so the figures line up.
