GLOSSARY

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

What is CAC?

DefinitionCAC is the total sales and marketing cost to acquire one paying customer, calculated as total acquisition spend divided by new customers acquired in the same period.
FormulaCAC = Total acquisition spend ÷ New customers acquired

In health, always separate fully-loaded CAC (cost per paying patient) from consult or lead CAC, which runs 40–60% lower and is the single most common misreport in telehealth. A GLP-1 program might show a $90 consult CAC but a $250 paying-patient CAC. Across AdBoost Health partner accounts, blended CAC typically lands at $150–350 for GLP-1, $80–180 for hair and dermatology, $120–280 for mental health, $200–450 for hormone and longevity, and $40–110 for subscription supplements; a paying-patient CAC sitting well above your vertical’s range usually points at the intake flow, where 40–60% of ad clickers are commonly lost before checkout.

Related terms

LTV (Lifetime Value)LTV:CAC RatioROAS (Return on Ad Spend)Payback Period

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