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Calculate your practice's Patient Acquisition Cost (PAC) to understand marketing ROI. Compare against benchmarks for specialties like dentistry, dermatology,
Include all marketing expenses: ads, agency fees, staff time, content, software, etc., for the selected period.
Default: 5000
The total number of new patients acquired during the same period as your marketing spend.
Default: 20
Select the period over which you are calculating your marketing spend and new patients.
Default: Monthly
The Patient Acquisition Cost (PAC) is calculated by dividing your total marketing spend by the number of new patients you acquired within the same time frame. For example, if you spent $5,000 on marketing in a month and acquired 20 new patients, your PAC would be $250. This formula helps you see the direct cost of bringing in each new patient.
A general practice reviews its monthly marketing efforts to understand patient acquisition costs.
$200.00
With $4,000 spent and 20 new patients, the PAC is $200. This is close to the general practice benchmark of $203. It suggests their marketing is efficient but has little room for improvement without strategy changes.
A med spa tracks its marketing spend and new patient numbers over a quarter.
$300.00
Spending $9,000 over a quarter to acquire 30 new patients results in a PAC of $300. This is slightly above the Med Spa benchmark of $285. This might indicate areas for optimization in their paid campaigns or content strategy.
A dermatology practice uses a combined SEO and Google Ads strategy to acquire new patients.
$266.67
Spending $8,000 monthly for 30 new patients yields a PAC of $266.67. This is significantly lower than the average Dermatology PAC of $441. This shows how a smart, combined strategy can drive down acquisition costs and improve ROI.
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See your real numbersThis calculator uses the basic formula: Total Marketing Spend / New Patients Acquired. Benchmarks cited are based on 2026 industry data. Average PAC across specialties is $370. Channel-specific PACs range from $95-$210 for SEO and $185-$340 for Google Search Ads.
Patient Acquisition Cost (PAC) is the total marketing spend divided by the number of new patients acquired over a specific period. It includes all marketing expenses, not just ad spend. This means agency fees, staff time, technology tools, and content production are all factored in. It gives you a clear picture of what each new patient costs your practice.
A 'good' PAC varies by specialty. For example, a General Practice might aim for around $203, while Dermatology could be closer to $441, and Cosmetic Surgery around $610. The cross-specialty average is about $370. Your goal is to keep your PAC lower than the lifetime value of a patient to ensure profitability. Benchmarks for SEO are $95-$210, and for Google Search Ads, $185-$340.
Channels like SEO and referral programs generally have lower PACs. SEO can range from $95-$210, and referral programs $80-$180. Paid channels like Google Search Ads ($185-$340) and Social Media Ads ($220-$420) often have higher immediate costs. The key is understanding that SEO compounds over time, often leading to the lowest PAC at steady state ($30 R$150 after 3-6 months).
Tracking your PAC helps you understand your marketing return on investment (ROI). It shows you where your money is most effective and where you might be wasting it. Without this metric, you're guessing if your marketing is profitable. Knowing your PAC allows you to optimize campaigns, allocate budgets smarter, and ensure sustainable growth for your practice.
Yes, you can reduce your PAC. Optimized campaigns, especially those combining SEO and paid ads, tend to perform better. AI and automation can reduce PAC by 30-45%. Focusing on conversion tracking, improving your website's speed, and ensuring a strong Google Business Profile also helps. For multi-location practices spending $45,000 R$50,000/month, expect 90 R130 new patients with optimized strategies.
Yes, absolutely. PAC should include all costs associated with acquiring new patients. This means not just ad spend or agency fees, but also the time your staff spends on marketing activities, any CRM or marketing automation tools, and content creation costs. Excluding these gives you an incomplete and misleading picture of your true acquisition cost.
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