Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Calculator
Estimate how much revenue an average customer generates over their lifetime with you. Pair with CAC to know what you can profitably spend to acquire each customer.
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Result
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Customer Lifetime Value (gross profit)
The 3:1 CLV-to-CAC rule
Healthy unit economics require CLV at least 3x your Customer Acquisition Cost. Below 3:1, you’re likely losing money once you account for overhead, churn, and discount rate. Above 5:1, you’re probably under-investing in growth.
Why CLV matters more than first-purchase revenue
Most businesses optimize for first-purchase revenue — a CAC budget tied to AOV. That’s how SMBs go broke. The right CAC budget is tied to lifetime profit, which is CLV times your gross margin. Industries with high repeat rates (SaaS, consumables, services) have huge CLV-CAC headroom; one-off purchase categories don’t.