Blended vs. Paid CAC

Definition

Blended CAC divides all S&M by all new customers; Paid CAC divides paid-channel spend by paid-attributed customers only.

Formula

Blended CAC = All S&M / All new customers
Paid CAC = Paid spend / Paid-attributed customers

Worked Example

All S&M $18,000, 120 new customers -> Blended CAC = $150
Paid channels $11,000, 55 paid-attributed -> Paid CAC = $200

Blended looks fine; paid — the only channel that scales with money — is 33% worse and rising.

Interpretation & Pitfalls

The classic trap: a great blended metric hiding a bad marginal one. Decisions about ad budgets must use paid CAC.

In TupicFinance

Channel attribution on campaigns separates the two CAC views.