E-commerce CAC Calculator
Calculate your e-commerce customer acquisition cost from ad, marketing, influencer and creative spend — plus paid vs blended CAC, CAC as a percentage of AOV, and LTV:CAC.
Written by the CalcBundle Research & Editorial Team · Reviewed by the Quality Review Team · Transparent formulas · results are estimates, not advice. · Updated
E-commerce CAC
Enter the number of new customers (greater than zero).
What is an e-commerce CAC calculator?
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is what it costs, on average, to win one new customer. For e-commerce it spans paid ads, marketing, influencer partnerships, creative production and agency fees. Knowing CAC — and how it compares to order value and lifetime value — is the heart of profitable growth.
How to calculate CAC
- Blended CAC = All acquisition costs ÷ new customers
- Paid CAC = Paid media & creative ÷ new customers
- CAC % of AOV = CAC ÷ AOV × 100
Add AOV, gross margin and LTV and the calculator also shows your first-order contribution after CAC and your LTV:CAC ratio.
CAC vs AOV
CAC as a percentage of AOV tells you whether a first order covers acquisition. If CAC is a large share of AOV, profitability depends on repeat purchases and margin — which is why raising AOV and retention matters so much.
CAC vs LTV
Acquisition only makes sense if customers are worth more than they cost. Compare CAC to e-commerce LTV and check the LTV:CAC ratio. Benchmarks vary by business, so treat them as guides.
The payback period behind CAC
CAC on its own does not tell you whether a customer is affordable — what matters is how quickly you earn it back. Payback period is the number of orders, or months, it takes for a customer's cumulative gross profit to repay the cost of acquiring them. A CAC of $50 looks fine if it is recovered on the first order, and dangerous if it takes a year of repeat purchases, because that gap has to be funded from cash while you wait. Fast payback is what lets a brand reinvest into more acquisition and grow without running out of money; slow payback caps how aggressively you can spend, no matter how attractive the eventual lifetime value looks.
Worked example
Suppose $20,000 of acquisition spend brings in 400 new customers — a $50 CAC. At a $100 average order value, that CAC is 50% of the first order. With a 50% gross margin, the first order generates exactly $50 of gross profit, so it precisely covers CAC and you break even on order one. Every repeat purchase after that is profit. Now imagine competition pushes CAC to $70: the first order no longer covers acquisition, and the business only becomes profitable on the second order — which makes retention, not just the ad account, the thing that keeps the model viable.
Frequently asked questions
What is e-commerce CAC?
E-commerce CAC (customer acquisition cost) is the average cost to acquire one new customer, including advertising, marketing, influencer, creative and agency costs, divided by new customers.
How do you calculate CAC?
CAC = total acquisition cost ÷ new customers. For $20,000 of acquisition spend that brings 400 customers, CAC is $50. Paid CAC uses only the paid media portion.
What is CAC as a percentage of AOV?
CAC ÷ AOV × 100 shows how much of a first order is consumed by acquisition. If CAC is $50 and AOV is $100, CAC is 50% of AOV — you rely on margin and repeat orders to profit.
How does CAC compare to LTV?
LTV:CAC compares the lifetime value of a customer to what you spent to acquire them. Many e-commerce businesses look for an LTV several times their CAC, but the right ratio depends on margins and payback.
What is the difference between blended and paid CAC?
Blended CAC divides all new customers into your total acquisition cost, including customers who arrived organically through word of mouth, SEO or referrals. Paid CAC counts only the customers won through paid channels against paid media spend. Blended CAC flatters your efficiency because free customers lower the average, while paid CAC tells you the true cost of the marginal customer you are buying. Watch both: blended for overall economics, paid to judge whether you can profitably scale advertising.
Why is CAC rising for most e-commerce brands?
Acquisition costs have climbed across the industry as ad platforms become more competitive, auction prices rise, and privacy changes make targeting and tracking harder. This structural trend means brands can no longer rely on cheap first-order profits to fund growth. The response is to compete on the other side of the equation — raising average order value, improving retention and lifting lifetime value — so that a higher CAC is still comfortably outweighed by what each customer is worth.
How can I lower my CAC?
The durable levers are improving conversion rate so more of your existing traffic buys, sharpening targeting and creative so ad spend works harder, and building organic and referral channels that bring customers at little or no marginal cost. Improving the post-click experience — landing pages, checkout, offer — often lowers CAC more cheaply than simply bidding higher. Because CAC is spend divided by customers, anything that lifts the customer count without a matching rise in spend pulls it down.
Related calculators
CAC
Work out how much it costs to acquire one customer — blended, marketing and sales CAC.
LTV
Estimate a customer's lifetime value from order value, frequency and lifespan — or churn.
LTV:CAC Ratio
Compare lifetime value to acquisition cost and interpret the ratio.
AOV
Work out average order value and the revenue impact of raising it.
Disclaimer. This calculator provides estimates for informational purposes only. Results are based on the information you enter and the assumptions used by the calculator. Actual financial, tax, business valuation, lending, marketplace or investment outcomes may differ. Consider consulting a qualified professional for decisions involving significant amounts of money. Customer acquisition cost is an estimate based on the assumptions entered and may vary significantly by business.