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Calculate CAC payback period from CAC, ARPU and gross margin — see months and breakeven revenue.
Calculate CAC payback period from CAC, ARPU and gross margin — see months and breakeven revenue.
Enter values above and click Calculate — results will appear here with the formula explained.
CAC payback is months to recoup customer acquisition cost from gross profit. It is CAC divided by monthly gross profit per customer (ARPU times gross margin). A $1,200 CAC at $49 ARPU and 80% margin is $39.20 gross profit per month, so payback is 30.6 months — far too long. At $99 ARPU, payback drops to 15.2 months. Short payback funds growth without endless fundraising.
To use the CAC Payback Calculator, enter CAC, ARPU and gross margin. The tool shows payback in months, weeks and breakeven revenue (CAC). Model: cutting CAC 20% or lifting ARPU 20% both cut payback proportionally. Use the example to avoid using revenue instead of gross profit, which understates payback and hides unprofitable acquisition.
CAC Payback Calculator: Calculate CAC payback period from CAC, ARPU and gross margin — see months and breakeven revenue. Formula: Payback months = CAC / (ARPU × margin). Example: $1,200 CAC / ($49 ×0.
CAC payback is months to recoup customer acquisition cost from gross profit. It is CAC divided by monthly gross profit per customer (ARPU times gross margin). A $1,200 CAC at $49 ARPU and 80% margin is $39.20 gross profit per month, so payback is 30.6 months — far too long. At $99 ARPU, payback drops to 15.2 months. Short payback funds growth without endless fundraising.
To use the CAC Payback Calculator, enter CAC, ARPU and gross margin. The tool shows payback in months, weeks and breakeven revenue (CAC). Model: cutting CAC 20% or lifting ARPU 20% both cut payback proportionally. Use the example to avoid using revenue instead of gross profit, which understates payback and hides unprofitable acquisition.
$1,200 CAC / ($49 ×0.8) = 30.6 months payback. At $99 ARPU, 15.2 months. At 60% margin, $49 ARPU is 40.8 months — unprofitable.
Formulas are standard public references (see our methodology). External standards are cited in the text where they apply.
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