CAC
The CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) report shows how much you spend to acquire each new customer by combining Google Ads campaign data with subscription metrics from your billing provider. CAC is a critical metric for understanding the efficiency of your marketing spend and forms the foundation for calculating the LTV:CAC ratio.
CAC is calculated by dividing total ad spend by the number of new customers acquired in the same period.
Note: This report requires the Google Ads integration to be configured. You can enable it from your integrations settings.
For an in-depth explanation of CAC as a metric, see the CAC guide in the SaaS Metrics Academy.
Overview
The CAC report is organized into three tabs: CAC, CAC Payback, and CAC/LTV. This page covers the CAC tab. For the other tabs, see CAC Payback and CAC/LTV.
Timeline chart
The timeline chart displays your calculated CAC over the selected period. This allows you to track how your acquisition cost changes over time as you optimize campaigns or adjust targeting. The currently ongoing period is marked as a dashed line.
Breakdown table
The table underneath the chart displays the key metrics used to calculate CAC, along with supporting campaign performance data.
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Ad spend | Total advertising spend for the period, automatically converted to your selected base currency using historical exchange rates. |
| Impressions | Number of times your ads were displayed. |
| Clicks | Number of clicks on your ads. |
| Conversions | Google Ads conversion events tracked in your campaigns. |
| New customers | Number of new paying subscribers acquired during the period (from your billing provider). |
| CAC | The calculated Customer Acquisition Cost (Ad Spend / New Customers). |
All monetary values are shown in your selected base currency.
Filters
The report supports a wide range of filters to help you analyze CAC within specific segments of your business. These include:
Date range
Select a custom range or preset periods (last 30 days, last quarter, etc.)
Interval
Choose how CAC is aggregated: daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly.
Currency Select your reporting currency. Ad spend from Google Ads is automatically converted to your selected base currency using daily historical exchange rates. If you want to fix/freeze FX rates in your reports, you can tick a checkbox, and all FX rates are fixed at the start date of the report.
Additional filters – plan, region/country, acquisition channel, etc. (see all filters)
Filters are applied to both the chart and the table simultaneously.
Exporting the data
You can export the table as a CSV file for offline analysis or reporting by clicking the "Export" icon next to the date picker.
Practical tips
- Track Trends: Monitor CAC over time to identify whether your acquisition costs are improving or deteriorating. Rising CAC may indicate increased competition or declining campaign effectiveness.
- Campaign Optimization: Use the Impressions, Clicks, and Conversions columns to identify inefficient campaigns that drive high spend but few conversions.
- Segment by Channel: Apply Additional filters to compare CAC across different acquisition channels, allowing you to allocate budget to the most cost-effective sources.
- Compare with LTV: Always evaluate CAC in relation to LTV. Switch to the CAC/LTV tab to see the LTV:CAC ratio. A ratio of 3:1 or higher is generally considered healthy for SaaS businesses.
