Free LTV:CAC Calculator
Work out your customer lifetime value, customer acquisition cost and LTV:CAC ratio in seconds. See instantly how your unit economics stack up against the healthy 3:1 benchmark.
Your LTV:CAC ratio
0.0:1
Enter your customer value and CAC to see your ratio
WaitingEnter values to see how your LTV:CAC ratio stacks up.
- Customer LTV
- --Revenue lifetime value
- CAC
- --Cost to acquire one customer
- LTV:CAC ratio
- --Value returned per acquisition dollar
- Max CAC for 3:1
- --Most you can pay at a 3:1 target
Pro tip. Add your gross margin to switch from revenue LTV to profit-based LTV. The profit ratio is the one investors trust, because it reflects the value you actually keep after the cost of goods.
How it works
How to calculate your LTV:CAC ratio in 3 steps
Turn a handful of numbers into a clear read on your unit economics, all in under a minute, so you know whether your acquisition is profitable before you scale.
- 01
Enter your customer value inputs
Type in your average order value, purchase frequency and customer lifespan. The calculator builds your lifetime value live as you type.
- 02
Add your margin and CAC
Enter your gross margin to switch to profit-based LTV, then add your customer acquisition cost to get the ratio.
- 03
Read your ratio and benchmark
See your LTV:CAC ratio against the healthy 3:1 benchmark, plus the most you can afford to pay per customer, so you know whether to scale.
Why it matters
Why the LTV:CAC ratio matters
The LTV to CAC ratio is the clearest signal of whether your growth pays for itself. Knowing it tells you how hard you can push spend, which channels actually work, and where your unit economics break.
Know if you can scale
A ratio at or above 3:1 means there is room to push more budget into acquisition without breaking your margins.
Set a max CAC ceiling
See the most you can afford to pay per customer at a 3:1 target, so you can cap bids and budgets with confidence.
Speak the investor language
LTV:CAC is the metric founders and investors use to judge unit economics. Walk into the room knowing yours cold.
Free, private, no AI
Run every scenario in your browser with no signup and no AI. Your numbers never leave your device.
Use cases
Where teams use the LTV:CAC calculator
From paid media to fundraising, here is how marketers, founders and agencies use a quick LTV to CAC check to make smarter spending decisions.
Paid media buying
Set a target CAC and max bids you know are profitable, then scale the channels where the LTV:CAC ratio holds up.
Ecommerce and DTC
Plug in your average order value and repeat rate to see how much you can spend to win a customer and still profit.
SaaS and subscriptions
Use lifespan and monthly revenue to model lifetime value, then check whether your acquisition spend pays back over time.
Affiliate and lead gen
Work out the value of a converted lead and the most you can pay per acquisition before a campaign goes underwater.
Agencies and client work
Share a clear ratio link with clients so everyone agrees on the CAC targets before a single dollar of budget goes live.
Fundraising and board decks
Bring a clean LTV:CAC story to investors, showing healthy unit economics and a clear path to scaling efficiently.
FAQs
What is the LTV:CAC ratio?
The LTV:CAC ratio compares the lifetime value of a customer (LTV) to the cost of acquiring that customer (CAC). It tells you how many dollars of long-term value you get back for every dollar you spend on acquisition. A ratio of 3:1, for example, means each customer is worth three times what it cost to win them.
What is a good LTV:CAC ratio?
The widely accepted benchmark is 3:1. At that level you are earning three dollars of customer value for every dollar of acquisition cost, which leaves healthy room for overhead and profit. Below 3:1 your margins are tight and growth gets expensive. Far above 5:1 can be a sign you are under-investing in growth and could afford to spend more to acquire customers faster.
How do you calculate customer lifetime value (LTV)?
A simple LTV formula is average order value multiplied by purchase frequency multiplied by customer lifespan. For example, a $60 average order, 1.5 purchases per month, over a 24-month lifespan gives a revenue LTV of $2,160. To get profit-based LTV, multiply that figure by your gross margin. This calculator does both for you the moment you type in your numbers.
How do you calculate customer acquisition cost (CAC)?
CAC is your total sales and marketing spend for a period divided by the number of new customers acquired in that period. If you spent $10,000 on ads and creative and acquired 200 customers, your CAC is $50. Enter that figure into the calculator and it instantly returns your LTV:CAC ratio.
Why does the LTV:CAC ratio matter?
The ratio is the clearest single signal of whether your growth is sustainable. It shows whether you are buying customers profitably, how much headroom you have to scale ad spend, and where your unit economics break. Investors, media buyers and founders all lean on it to decide how aggressively to grow and which channels are actually worth funding.
Is this LTV:CAC calculator free?
Yes. The LTV:CAC calculator is 100% free with no signup and no limits. Run as many scenarios as you like, for any business model, without paying anything.
Is my data stored anywhere?
No. The tool runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your numbers never leave your device and are never sent to our servers.
A healthy LTV:CAC starts with pages that convert
The fastest way to improve your ratio is to lower CAC by converting more of the traffic you already pay for. Use LanderLab to build fast, high-converting landing pages in minutes and turn more clicks into customers.