Real CAC Calculator · free · 2 minutes, with last month’s numbers

What does a customer really cost you?

Most brands work out CAC as ad spend divided by orders. That leaves out the welcome discount, the free shipping and the orders that came back, which is usually where the margin went.

Ad spend

Last month, across every platform — Meta, Google, marketplaces, influencers paid per post.

Agency, freelancer and creative costs (optional)

What it cost to run those ads and make the creative that month. 0 if you do it yourself.

First-time orders

Orders from customers who had never bought before. From your store, not the ad platform.

All orders, new and repeat (optional)

Optional. Used only for the “dashboard” number. Leave blank to use first-time orders.

Discounts given on first orders (optional)

The total rupee value of welcome codes and coupons used on those first orders.

Shipping absorbed and COD/RTO losses on first orders (optional)

Free shipping you paid for, COD charges, and what refused COD orders cost you.

First orders returned, cancelled or refused (optional)

An order that came back acquired nobody.

How it works

Total cost of winning first orders = ad spend + agency and creative costs + first-order discounts + shipping and COD/RTO losses on those orders.
Customers won = first-time orders − the ones returned, cancelled or refused.
Real CAC = total cost ÷ customers won. The dashboard number it is compared with is ad spend ÷ all orders.
Use one month, and take orders from your store or order export, not the ad platform: platforms count repeat buyers as conversions.

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How it works

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