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Calculator · Channel Comparison

Content vs Paid Acquisition Calculator

Paid acquisition delivers immediate customers but costs the same every month. Content is slower to build but compounds — the same piece keeps driving traffic for years. This calculator shows the 24-month cost, customer volume, and crossover point for both channels side by side with your actual numbers.

Inputs required

8 numbers

Time to complete

3 minutes

Best for

Founders, CMOs

Updated

March 2026

What you will get

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24-month total spend, content vs paid

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Customers acquired from each channel

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Month-by-month crossover chart

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Cost per customer at month 6, 12, 24

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Value of content asset base at month 24

Content marketing inputs

Channel 01

Content Marketing

Team, tools, freelancers, distribution
$
Typical: 4–6 months for B2B content
% of organic sessions becoming leads
%
% month-on-month traffic growth from content
%
Total paid media budget (ads, SEM, sponsored)
$
Average CPL across your paid channels
$
% of paid leads that become customers
%
Typical paid CPL inflation: 10–20% per year
%

Shared inputs

Average revenue per new customer
$
% of content leads that become customers
%
Please fill in all fields with values greater than zero.

Content Marketing

24-month summary

Total spend—
Total customers—
CAC at month 24—
Asset base value—

Month-by-month: customers from each channel

Content (cumulative customers)
Paid (cumulative customers)
Calculating crossover point...

Strategic read

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How the model works

Content is modelled with a ramp period (slower early growth) followed by compounding month-on-month growth from an expanding asset base. Paid is modelled as linear output with CPL inflation applied monthly.

The content asset base value at month 24 is estimated at 70% of total content spend — reflecting the ongoing traffic value of published content that continues to generate sessions without additional spend.

Key assumption to get right

Paid CPL inflation

Google Ads CPCs have increased 10–20% annually for most B2B categories. This is the input most people underestimate — set it conservatively at 12–15% if unsure.

Content ramp period

B2B content typically needs 4–6 months before organic traffic becomes meaningful. New domains: use 6. Established domains with existing authority: use 3–4.

Compounding rate

The monthly traffic growth from your existing content base improving in rankings. Conservative but realistic for an active SEO programme: 3–5% per month.

Making the case for content internally?

This calculator is a starting point. Building the business case for a content-led strategy — and getting leadership alignment behind it — is a different kind of work.

Talk to Sooraj →