LTV / CAC Calculator
Compute Lifetime Value (LTV), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and the LTV/CAC ratio. Healthy when ≥ 3. Everything in your browser.
LTV = (ARPU × Margem) / Churn. Saudável: LTV/CAC ≥ 3.
LTV/CAC: SaaS unit economics
LTV (LifeTime Value) is the average expected revenue from a customer over their lifetime. Simple formula: LTV = ARPU · gross_margin · (1 / churn). CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) = total_acquisition_spend / new_customers (include marketing + sales). Example: ARPU R$ 100/month, 80% margin, 5% monthly churn → LTV = 100 · 0.8 · (1/0.05) = R$ 1,600. With CAC = R$ 400, ratio = 4.
Benchmarks and context
A 3:1 LTV/CAC ratio is considered healthy — LTV should be at least 3× the CAC. Below 1 = losing money on every customer; above 5:1 = you can probably invest more in acquisition. CAC payback should be under 12 months (ideal under 6 months). Standard inputs for SaaS unit economics, growth decisions, and Series A pitches.
FAQ
Should CAC include salaries? Yes — fully-loaded CAC includes marketing spend, sales team salaries and commissions, plus tools (CRM, paid ads). Marketing-only CAC underestimates real cost.
Why multiply LTV by gross margin? Revenue isn't profit. Gross margin removes COGS (hosting, payment fees, support) so LTV reflects contribution margin, not topline.
What if churn is very low? The 1/churn formula assumes constant churn. For very low churn (<1%/month), cap the customer lifetime at a reasonable horizon (e.g. 5 years) to avoid inflating LTV.
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Calculate LTV, CAC and the ratio between them
If a business grows sustainably, two numbers explain why. One is LTV, the lifetime value, which measures how much revenue each customer generates over the relationship. The other is CAC, the customer acquisition cost, which measures what it takes to win that customer. The calculator delivers both and, above all, the ratio between them.
The LTV/CAC ratio is where the gauge lives. The rule of thumb says it turns healthy from 3 upward, meaning each customer is worth at least three times what it cost to acquire them. Drop below that and there's a sign the model is spending too much to grow. The tool puts this indicator front and centre so you can measure acquisition efficiency.
The calculation runs in the browser and nothing is kept. Founders, marketing teams and anyone who has to justify spend on acquisition find here the number that backs the argument.