Glossary/Marketing Finance/Paid CAC
Marketing Finance
Paid CAC
Paid media spend divided by customers acquired through paid channels, excluding organic and referral customers.
By Brandon Mina·CEO, BrandPilot AI·Updated November 2026
Short answer
Paid CAC is paid media spend divided by customers acquired through paid channels, excluding organic and referral customers. It isolates the true cost of buying customers through advertising, which blended CAC can understate. Accurate paid CAC depends on reliable attribution, since customers influenced by ads may arrive through channels recorded as organic.