CAC Payback Period Matrix
Find how many months it takes to earn back acquisition cost.
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Payback should be measured on margin, not revenue.CAC payback (margin)
12.5 mo
CAC ÷ margin-adjusted MRR
Payback (revenue basis)
10.0 mo
Ignoring margin (optimistic)
Health
Acceptable
Capital efficiency
~13 months is reasonable for mid-market/enterprise, but it ties up cash. Lifting margin or ARPA shortens it directly.
Always compute payback on gross margin, not raw revenue — the revenue-basis number flatters you by ignoring the cost of serving the customer.
About this calculator
Divide fully-loaded CAC by gross-margin-adjusted monthly revenue to get the months to recoup acquisition spend — the speed at which your growth self-funds.
Everything runs in your browser — nothing you type is sent anywhere or stored. Use it to sanity-check a plan, pressure-test a channel, or brief a team before you commit budget.