LTV / CAC
Calculator
Understand your SaaS unit economics instantly. Calculate Lifetime Value, Acquisition Costs, and your path to profitability.
- Auto-computed ARPA
- Payback Period
- Privacy First
Revenue Inputs
Acquisition Costs
EXCELLENT: Healthy & Scalable
How to Use the Calculator
Enter Revenue Data
Input your Total ARR, Total Number of Customers, and Gross Margin to calculate your user value.
Set Churn Rate
Provide your Annual Churn Rate. This is essential to calculate your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV).
Input Acquisition Costs
Enter your sales and marketing headcount, average salaries, and total campaign costs.
Get Instant Results
See your CAC, LTV, LTV:CAC ratio, and CAC Payback Period calculated instantly.
Why Track LTV vs CAC?
LTV (Lifetime Value) and CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) define your startup's survival.
By maintaining a healthy 3:1 ratio, you ensure that your marketing and sales efforts are generating a positive return, allowing your business to scale profitably without burning through capital.
Instant Calculations
As you type, the calculator updates all metrics including ARPA, LTV, total marketing spend, and CAC.
SaaS Benchmarks
Easily see if your LTV:CAC ratio hits the "golden" 3:1 ratio considered standard for healthy SaaS businesses.
Payback Period
Understand exactly how many months it takes to recover your customer acquisition costs based on their contribution margin.
SaaS Benchmarks FAQ
What is a good LTV/CAC ratio?
A generally accepted benchmark for SaaS startup health is an LTV to CAC ratio of 3:1 or higher. This means a customer brings in three times the value it cost to acquire them. A ratio around 1:1 implies you are losing money on each customer, while a ratio of 5:1 or higher might mean you could accelerate growth by spending more on marketing.
How is CAC calculated?
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) is calculated by adding all sales and marketing costs over a specific period (including salaries, tools, and campaign spend) and dividing it by the number of new customers acquired during that same period.
How is LTV calculated?
LTV (Lifetime Value) is calculated by figuring out the ARPA (Average Revenue Per Account), multiplying it by the Gross Margin, and dividing that "Contribution Per Customer" by your Churn Rate.
What is a good CAC payback period?
The ideal CAC payback period varies by business model and stage, but for many SaaS startups, recovering your acquisition costs in 12 months or less is considered strong. Enterprise SaaS might have longer payback periods (18-24 months) due to higher upfront contract values and low churn.