Use this calculator to find your acquisition ceiling — the maximum CAC you can safely spend per customer without destroying profitability. Enter your deal size, margin, retention, and payback target to see your LTV, max CAC, LTV:CAC ratio, and a realistic monthly acquisition budget.
How this LTV & CAC calculator works
This tool multiplies your average deal size by purchase frequency and customer retention to estimate lifetime revenue per customer. It then applies your gross margin to calculate lifetime gross profit — your true LTV. Based on your target payback period, the calculator caps your maximum CAC so that acquisition costs are paid back within the chosen time frame and never exceed a safe share of LTV. Finally, it multiplies this CAC by your target new customers per month to suggest a sustainable acquisition budget.
Why LTV and CAC benchmarks matter
Understanding the relationship between LTV and CAC is critical for scaling paid acquisition, outbound, and sales teams. If your CAC creeps too close to LTV, you can grow top-line revenue while destroying profitability. With clear LTV and CAC benchmarks, you can decide how aggressively to invest in channels like Google Ads, LinkedIn, or outbound without guessing or relying on vanity metrics.
LTV & CAC calculator FAQ
Q1: What is a good LTV to CAC ratio?
A healthy LTV to CAC ratio for most B2B companies is usually at least 3:1, meaning your lifetime gross profit per customer is around three times higher than your acquisition cost. More aggressive, venture-backed models may run closer to 2:1 for faster growth, but anything below that quickly becomes risky.
Q2: How should I choose my target CAC payback period?
Many B2B companies aim for CAC payback within 6–18 months, depending on cash flow, funding, and sales cycle length. Shorter payback periods are safer but limit how much you can invest in growth, while longer payback periods require stronger balance sheets and more confidence in retention.
Q3: Can I use this calculator for both services and SaaS?
Yes, as long as you can estimate your average deal size, gross margin, purchase frequency, and retention. For SaaS, treat annual contract value and renewal years as inputs; for services, use typical project size, repeat work frequency, and client lifetime.
Already know your acquisition ceiling? Use our Unit Economics Calculator to check if your current ad spend fits within it.