How Much Does It Cost to Acquire a Customer in Australia?

Why CAC is the metric that matters

Customer acquisition cost measures how much you spend to gain each new customer. It includes all marketing, advertising, and sales expenses divided by the number of new customers acquired in a given period.

Understanding your CAC tells you whether your business model is sustainable. If it costs you more to acquire a customer than they spend with you over their lifetime, you are losing money on every sale.

Australian CAC benchmarks by industry

These figures represent typical ranges for Australian businesses. Your actual CAC will vary based on your specific approach, market, and competitive landscape.

E-commerce (consumer goods): $20 to $80 per customer. Higher for premium products, lower for impulse purchases. Driven primarily by digital advertising costs.

SaaS and software: $200 to $1,500 per customer. Enterprise SaaS sits at the high end. Self serve products with free trials can achieve much lower CAC.

Professional services: $500 to $3,000 per client. Reflects the consultative sales process and longer decision cycles typical of services businesses.

Financial services: $300 to $2,000 per customer. Heavily regulated industries face higher acquisition costs due to compliance requirements and competitive markets.

Health and fitness: $30 to $150 per customer for consumer products, $200 to $800 for B2B fitness equipment.

Real estate services: $1,000 to $5,000 per client. High value transactions justify the higher acquisition cost.

Trades and home services: $50 to $300 per customer. Driven by a mix of digital ads, referrals, and local marketing.

How to calculate your CAC

Total all sales and marketing expenses for a period. Include advertising spend, sales team salaries and commissions, marketing software subscriptions, content creation costs, event and sponsorship expenses, and the portion of your own time dedicated to sales and marketing.

Divide that total by the number of new customers acquired in the same period. This gives you your blended CAC.

Why your CAC is probably higher than you think

Most businesses undercount their acquisition costs because they exclude hidden expenses. The founder's time spent on sales calls. The support team member who handles onboarding. The designer who creates sales presentations. All of these contribute to acquisition cost.

Be honest in your calculation. An accurate CAC, even if it is uncomfortable, is infinitely more useful than an optimistic one.

The commission only advantage

One of the most effective ways to control CAC is to shift to commission only sales channels. When you use agents through platforms like Zepys, your sales acquisition cost is exactly the commission rate multiplied by the average deal size. No hidden costs, no overhead, no surprises.

If your commission rate is 15% and your average sale is $1,000, your sales CAC is $150. Period. Compare that to the uncertainty of salaried sales teams or the volatility of digital advertising.

CAC in context

CAC only matters in relation to customer lifetime value. A $500 CAC is excellent if your average customer spends $5,000 over their lifetime. It is terrible if they spend $400.

The standard benchmark is a lifetime value to CAC ratio of 3:1 or better. If your ratio is below that, focus on either reducing CAC or increasing lifetime value through better retention, upselling, and customer experience.