Free LTV to CAC Ratio Calculator.
The unit-economics ratio in plain numbers. Enter LTV and CAC. See the ratio that decides whether you scale paid media or fix the funnel first.
Calculate your LTV:CAC
Enter your LTV and CAC. The result updates as you type.
One ratio, the call on whether to scale.
LTV to CAC = LTV ÷ CAC. The number that decides whether your paid-media spend is sustainable.
The 3-to-1 benchmark is the working default. Below 3-to-1, your unit economics are too thin to scale. Above 5-to-1, you are likely under-investing in growth. Between 3 and 5 is the healthy operating zone.
Use profit LTV not revenue LTV. A $700 revenue LTV at 40 percent margin is $280 of profit available to fund acquisition. The ratio matters in profit terms because that is the cash that actually buys customers.
A SaaS brand at 5-to-1.
Ratio equals 700 divided by 140, which is 5.0 to 1. Every dollar spent on acquisition returns $5 over the customer's lifetime.
Room to raise CAC. The 3-to-1 threshold permits a CAC of LTV divided by 3, or $233. Current CAC is $140. The brand has $93 of headroom per customer to spend on acquisition before the ratio deteriorates.
Read. This brand is under-investing in growth. Raise paid spend until CAC reaches roughly $200 and watch the ratio settle around 3.5-to-1. That is the curve where most SaaS brands find the most efficient growth.
LTV:CAC questions, answered.
What is a healthy LTV to CAC ratio?
3-to-1 is the working benchmark. Below 3 means the business is fragile under any cost pressure. Above 5 usually means the business is under-spending on growth.
Should I use revenue LTV or profit LTV?
Profit LTV. Revenue LTV overstates the cash available to fund acquisition because cost of goods has not been removed. Profit LTV is the honest number.
What if my ratio is below 3?
Two paths. Fix CVR, retention, or AOV to lift LTV. Or fix targeting and creative to lower CAC. Most brands need both. Do not scale paid spend until the ratio is above 3.
What if my ratio is above 5?
You are buying customers too cheaply, which usually means you are not buying enough of them. Test higher bids and broader targeting. Most brands gain market share faster by accepting a lower ratio in exchange for volume.
How is this different from payback period?
LTV-to-CAC is a ratio over the customer lifetime. Payback period is how many months it takes for revenue to cover CAC. Both matter. SaaS often watches payback (12 months is the working benchmark) alongside ratio.
Ask Claude for your live ratio across every channel.
PaidSync pulls live CAC by channel from your real accounts. Plug in your LTV from your data warehouse or CRM and PaidSync surfaces the ratio per channel in plain English.