Reference Dataset

LTV:CAC ratio by monthly ARPU & customer lifetime

Short answer: for a subscription product, your LTV:CAC ratio is driven almost entirely by how much each customer pays per month and how long they stay. Across this 56-cell sweep at a fixed $250 acquisition cost and 80% gross margin, 36 of 56 ARPU/lifetime combinations clear the healthy 3× floor and 6 sit below 1× — losing money on every customer you acquire. A $59/mo plan with a 3-year lifetime lands at 6.8×; a $25/mo plan churning out after one year only reaches 1.0×. The full grid is below.

LTV:CAC ratio by ARPU and customer lifetime

Rows: monthly ARPU / purchase value. Columns: average customer lifespan in years. Each cell is the margin-adjusted LTV:CAC ratio. Green ≥ 5×, grey 3–5×, amber 1–3×, red below 1×.

LTV:CAC ratio by monthly ARPU and average customer lifespan in years
ARPU \ years	0.5y	1y	1.5y	2y	3y	4y	5y	7y
$15/mo	0.3×	0.6×	0.9×	1.2×	1.7×	2.3×	2.9×	4.0×
$25/mo	0.5×	1.0×	1.4×	1.9×	2.9×	3.8×	4.8×	6.7×
$39/mo	0.7×	1.5×	2.2×	3.0×	4.5×	6.0×	7.5×	10.5×
$59/mo	1.1×	2.3×	3.4×	4.5×	6.8×	9.1×	11.3×	15.9×
$89/mo	1.7×	3.4×	5.1×	6.8×	10.3×	13.7×	17.1×	23.9×
$129/mo	2.5×	5.0×	7.4×	9.9×	14.9×	19.8×	24.8×	34.7×
$199/mo	3.8×	7.6×	11.5×	15.3×	22.9×	30.6×	38.2×	53.5×

↓ Download CSV (56 rows) CSV carries every per-cell input and output, not just the headline metric.

Provenance

Engine: Customer Lifetime Value Calculator (customer-lifetime-value-calculator)
Source: Computed live from /engines/customer-lifetime-value-calculator.js
Grid: 7 ARPU tiers × 8 lifespans = 56 cells
Computed: 2026-05-23
Held constant: 12 purchases/year (monthly billing) · $250 acquisition cost · 80% gross margin

Every value above and in the table is the deterministic return value of the shipped engine bundle, recomputed independently in continuous integration and diffed against this page on every build. The engine is pure (no clock, no randomness): the same inputs always produce the same output. No number on this page was hand-typed or estimated.

How to read this dataset

Find your monthly ARPU on the left, your average customer lifetime across the top, and read the LTV:CAC ratio where they meet.
Red cells lose money on acquisition: even at 80% margin, lifetime value never repays the $250 CAC. Raise ARPU, cut churn, or lower CAC before scaling spend.
The CSV adds raw lifetime value, margin-adjusted CLV, and CAC payback months for every cell, so you can model your own margin and acquisition cost.

Want to run your own inputs instead of this grid? Use the Customer Lifetime Value Calculator. For the exact math, defaults, and what the model can't tell you, read the methodology page. For a step-by-step worked example, see how to calculate customer lifetime value, and for when the ratio stops being useful, LTV:CAC when the numbers stop mattering.