averagecac.com

Benchmark · Vertical SaaS · Series A · SMB (Under $25k ACV)

Average CAC for Series A SMB Vertical SaaS Companies

CAC Payback Period · Vertical SaaS · SMBSourced

11 months

Best-in-class (top quartile): 6 months

Methodology note: This source publishes a row for Construction, which we use as the closest representative for vertical saas. The number above is First Page Sage's Constructionvalue verbatim; it isn't measured against a vertical saas-named cohort. It's also not segmented by company stage, so the same 11-month payback applies across all 5 stages. For more on this site's methodology, see methodology.

Sources

First Page Sage doesn't have a row literally labelled "vertical-saas". The closest direct match in their 28-industry table is "Construction", and the number above is theirs verbatim. Treat it as a representative rather than a direct citation for this slug; the underlying methodology targets Construction specifically.

Common questions

CAC payback questions: SMB Vertical SaaS

What is the average CAC payback period for smb vertical saas companies?
About 11 months (First Page Sage's Construction row, used here as the closest proxy for vertical saas), per First Page Sage's 2024 SaaS CAC Payback Benchmarks (28-industry table, last updated March 2025). Top-quartile vertical saas companies at smb size recover CAC in about 6 months. First Page Sage segments by industry and customer size rather than company stage, so the same 11-month payback applies across seed through late-stage.
Is 11 months a good CAC payback for vertical saas?
Under 12 months is best-in-class across B2B SaaS, and most venture-backed companies target under 18. Payback lengthens with deal size, so smb vertical saas's roughly 11-month figure is typical for the segment rather than a warning sign; the top-quartile benchmark is about 6 months.

How we define this cut

Vertical SaaS · Series A · SMB

Industry: Vertical SaaSIndustry-specific SaaS: construction, restaurants, life sciences, real estate, legal.
Stage: Series A$1-$5M ARR, repeatable acquisition channel, first sales hires.
ACV: SMB (Under $25k ACV)Small-business buyers, often self-serve, transactional sales motion.