Free calculator
Marketing Budget & CAC Payback Calculator
Set a target new-member volume and acquisition cost, and see the budget, lead volume, and payback that implies.
Your inputs
What you're willing to pay to acquire one member
Match this to your actual channel performance, not a generic average
Optional — leave at 0 to skip the actual-vs-target comparison
Your results
Required Monthly Budget
$3,000
Implied Leads Needed
120
CAC Payback
2 months
For full lifetime-value modeling (average member lifetime, LTV:CAC ratio), pair this with the Membership LTV Calculator.
Email these results
A copy of your inputs and numbers, so you can compare scenarios later.
How this is calculated
This calculator sizes a monthly marketing budget against your target member-acquisition volume and cost, and checks how fast that spend pays back through membership margin. It's a top-level planning check, not a media-buying plan.
- Required monthly budget = target new members per month × target CAC (cost to acquire one member).
- Implied leads needed = required monthly budget ÷ your assumed cost per lead. Raise or lower cost-per-lead to match your actual channel performance, not a generic industry average.
- CAC payback = target CAC ÷ (membership price × gross margin %). Longer than 12 months is flagged as slow — a sign to lower CAC, raise price, or improve margin before scaling spend.
- If you provide your current monthly ad spend, actual CAC = current spend ÷ target new members, so you can see how it compares to your target.
- This is a planning model based on a single blended CAC and lead-cost assumption. Real channels (paid social, referral, walk-in) have very different costs — use this for a top-level budget check, and the Membership LTV Calculator for full lifetime-value modeling.
Worked example
Targeting 20 new members/month at a $150 CAC needs a $3,000 monthly budget. At $25/lead, that implies 120 leads/month. At $149/month membership and 60% margin, payback lands around 2 months — check your own numbers above.
All outputs are planning estimates, not guarantees. Consult the brand FDD and your advisors for decisions.
Local marketing is the engine that fills a new studio, but spend without a target CAC is just guessing. Knowing what you can pay to acquire a member — and how long it takes that member to pay you back — tells you how aggressively to spend and when to pull back.
This calculator sizes a monthly marketing budget from your target customer acquisition cost and member economics, then shows the payback period so you can grow without outrunning your cash.
The formula
New members = budget ÷ target CAC. CAC payback (months) = CAC ÷ (ARPM × gross margin).
Related guide: Customer acquisition cost and LTV
Frequently asked questions
- How much should a new studio spend on marketing?
- New locations often spend more aggressively during the pre-sale and ramp — sometimes 10%+ of projected revenue — then settle to a maintenance level. Anchor the budget to a target CAC and the payback your cash flow can absorb.
- What is CAC payback period?
- CAC payback is how many months of margin-adjusted revenue it takes for a member to repay what you spent to acquire them. Shorter payback means marketing spend recycles into growth faster.
- How does CAC relate to LTV?
- CAC is what you pay to acquire a member; LTV is what they're worth over their lifetime. Keeping LTV comfortably above CAC — often around 3:1 — is what makes marketing spend sustainable.