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Ad budget from a target CAC calculator

Enter the target CAC and the planned number of new customers for the period. The calculator works out the required ad budget.

If you haven't computed it yet — use the separate maximum acceptable CAC calculator

Result

Required budget

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This calculation is for informational purposes only and does not replace advice from a qualified professional. Formulas and rates may not fit your exact situation — double-check the figures before making decisions.

How it is calculated

Required budget = target CAC × planned number of customers. This directly inverts the CAC formula (CAC = spend ÷ customers): instead of checking the actual CAC from money already spent, an acceptable customer cost and a customer count plan are set upfront and the budget is derived from them.

The calculation assumes the campaign's actual CAC stays at the target level throughout the period — in practice, acquisition cost usually rises as a campaign scales and exhausts the most responsive part of the audience, so the real budget needed to hit the same plan can end up higher than calculated here.

This budget covers only ad spend to hit the customer count plan — it doesn't include retention spend for already-acquired customers or the cost of the product itself.

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