CAC & LTV Calculator
Calculate customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, the LTV:CAC ratio and payback period.
Healthy — an LTV:CAC of 8.4:1 is at or above the 3:1 benchmark.
What Is the CAC & LTV Calculator?
The CAC & LTV Calculator works out your customer acquisition cost (CAC), customer lifetime value (LTV), the all-important LTV:CAC ratio and the CAC payback period. Enter sales and marketing spend and new customers for CAC, and revenue per customer, gross margin and average lifespan for LTV — then see whether your unit economics clear the classic 3:1 benchmark.
How It Works
Enter total sales+marketing spend and new customers, plus revenue per customer per month, gross margin and average customer lifespan. CAC, LTV, the ratio and payback period update live.
When to Use It
For SaaS, subscription and e-commerce founders and marketers checking unit economics, fundraising metrics, or how much they can afford to spend to acquire a customer.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What LTV:CAC ratio is healthy?
- Around 3:1 is a common benchmark — much lower suggests you're overspending to acquire customers, much higher can mean you're under-investing in growth.
- What is payback period?
- How many months of gross margin per customer it takes to recover the CAC. Under ~12 months is often considered strong.
Last reviewed: 2026-06-27