A marketing budget is the money a company allocates to marketing over a period. It is commonly set as a percentage of revenue, by goal-based planning, or by working back from growth targets and unit economics. The right budget depends on margin, growth ambition, and acquisition efficiency.

Most marketing budgets are set by guesswork or by copying a percentage someone read about. The disciplined way is to work backward: from your growth target, your CAC, and your payback period, the budget is whatever it takes to acquire the customers you need at an economics you can sustain. Build it from the math, not a rule of thumb.

Example:

 To add 100 customers at a $5,000 CAC, you need $500,000 in acquisition budget, adjusted for the share of growth expected from paid versus organic channels.

What percentage of revenue should go to marketing?

Benchmarks vary widely by stage and industry, often 5 to 15% for established firms and higher for fast growers. Your unit economics should set the number, not a generic percentage.

How should a marketing budget be calculated?

 Work backward from growth targets using CAC and payback period, so the budget reflects the real cost of the growth you want at sustainable economics.