What it means
Paid CAC isolates the channels you can scale by spending more. Blended CAC includes everything — paid, organic, referral, content — and divides by every new customer. Both matter, for different reasons.
Worked example
A Dubai app spends AED 200,000 across all marketing in a month and adds 5,000 new users (paid + organic). Blended CAC = 200,000 ÷ 5,000 = AED 40. If only 3,000 came from paid, paid CAC is far higher — and that is the number that governs how hard you can scale spend.
Why it matters
Boards and investors care about blended CAC because it reflects the true cost of the whole engine. Performance teams steer by paid CAC because it is the lever they actually control.