Maximum CAC Calculator
Most CAC calculators use a generic LTV formula. This one is built for Indian D2C economics — it factors in COD, RTO and return drag before telling you what you can actually afford to spend per order.
We don't ask for monthly orders or ad spend here — this result is a per-unit margin ratio, so order volume cancels out of the math and doesn't change the answer.
₹380
This is the most you can spend to acquire one order (including orders lost to RTO/returns) and still break even at the contribution-profit level, before ad spend.
Maximum CAC = (contribution profit before ad spend) ÷ dispatched orders. We divide by dispatched orders, not just the ones that sold through — ad spend drives every order placed, including the ones that cancel, RTO, or get returned, so the cost of acquiring those has to be covered too.
Like break-even ROAS, this result doesn't depend on your monthly order volume — it's a per-order economics figure, not a budget.
A heavily-COD fashion SKU with a 35% COD RTO rate and an 8% return rate. If this seller is currently paying ad platforms roughly ₹150 per order, that's well above what the unit economics can actually support.
Inputs
- Selling price
- ₹999
- Product cost
- ₹500
- COD share
- 70%
- COD RTO rate
- 35%
Result
- Maximum CAC
- ₹87
- Spending ₹150/order on ads
- Losing money on every acquired order
What is CAC?
Customer Acquisition Cost — what you spend on ads/marketing to generate one order. Maximum CAC is the ceiling: spend more than this per order and you lose money.
Why is my maximum CAC based on dispatched orders, not realized sales?
Because ad spend is paid to generate an order being placed and dispatched — it doesn't know in advance which orders will RTO or get returned. The cost of acquiring a lost order is still a real cost.
My maximum CAC is negative. What does that mean?
It means your unit economics are already unprofitable before you spend a single rupee on ads. No amount of acquisition efficiency fixes that — the product cost, fees, or RTO/return rate need to change first.
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