CAC Payback
How many months of a customer's gross profit it takes to recover what it cost to acquire them.
Core MetricsTerm 32 / 81
Formula
CAC Payback (months) = CAC ÷ (Monthly ARPU × Gross margin)
In practice
In a cash-constrained company it is a more concrete signal than LTV, because it tells you when the money comes back. As a rough rule of thumb, around 12 months or less is often considered healthy for subscription businesses, but it varies by market and payment model.