Operator Calculators

Tool · Unit Economics

Unit Economics Lab

Six numbers show whether your customer economics can support growth: what a customer is worth, what one costs to get, and how the two compare. Estimates, not a verdict on your whole business, but the right place to start.

Nothing is saved or sent. Change any field and every number updates instantly. The fields start with an example, replace them with yours.

What a customer is worth

The value side of the equation.

Average order value What a typical order is worth, before costs.

Gross margin Of each sale, what's left after the cost of the product or service itself.

Purchases per year How many times an average customer buys in a year.

Average customer lifespan How many years a customer keeps buying, on average.

yrs

What it costs to get one

Use one campaign or a whole month, as long as both numbers cover the same period. Count everything: ads, agencies, sales pay and commissions, and acquisition tools. If spending takes time to produce customers, use a rolling three- or six-month average.

Sales & marketing spend Everything you spent to bring customers in over the period.

New customers from that spend How many customers that spend actually brought in.

The read

Example

—

CAC ceiling target: the LTV:CAC ratio used to calculate the ceiling.

Lifetime value
(est. gross profit)

—

Estimated lifetime gross profit from one customer.

Cost to acquire
(CAC)

—

What you paid to win one customer.

LTV : CAC
ratio

—

Lifetime gross profit per $1 of acquisition cost. 3× is a common reference.

Est. CAC
payback

—

Rough months to earn back a customer's acquisition cost.

Gross profit
per order

—

Gross profit on a single average order.

CAC ceiling
at 3× target

—

A reference point, not a guarantee you can afford to spend it.

How three example changes affect your ratio

One change at a time, everything else held. Margin and CAC changes are relative (a 10% lift on a 65% margin is 71.5%).

How these are calculated (with your numbers)

Lifetime value uses gross profit, not revenue, so it's honest: AOV × margin × purchases/year × lifespan. CAC is spend ÷ new customers for the same period. The ratio is LTV ÷ CAC; 3× is a common reference minimum (popularized in SaaS by David Skok), not a universal rule. Est. CAC payback is CAC ÷ monthly gross profit and assumes profit arrives evenly across the year, real purchases are lumpier, so treat it as directional. CAC ceiling is LTV ÷ target, the CAC that produces your chosen ratio, not a spending limit.

First-order break-even ROAS (before fixed costs)

—

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