Unit Economics
Break-Even CAC Calculator
The most you can pay to acquire a customer before the relationship stops making money — the ceiling for every ad budget.
Inputs
- Average order value
- Contribution margin
- Expected orders per customer
How to use this calculator
- Enter your average order value and contribution margin percentage.
- Set how many orders a typical customer places over their lifetime (use 1.0 if you have no repeat data).
- The result is the most you can pay to acquire a customer before losing money. Keep real CAC well under it.
What each term means
- Break-even CAC
- The maximum acquisition cost at which a customer still nets to zero profit.
- AOV (average order value)
- Average revenue per order across your sales.
- Repeat rate
- How many orders one customer places over the whole relationship.
Educational disclaimer: Outputs are simplified educational estimates built from the numbers you enter — they are not financial, legal, tax, or investment advice, and real decisions deserve verified figures and qualified professionals.