Benchmarks

CAC & LTV Benchmark Sheet

Directional CAC, payback and LTV:CAC ranges for subscription apps, plus the formulas, on one page.

What’s inside

Formulas for CAC, LTV, payback and LTV:CAC
Directional cost ranges by vertical
The healthy thresholds to aim for

Benchmarks vary wildly by geo, price and model, so treat every range here as directional, not a target. The point is to know roughly where you stand, then model your own numbers.

The formulas

Metric	Formula
CAC	Acquisition spend ÷ new paying customers (same window)
LTV	Monthly margin per user × average lifetime (≈ 1 ÷ churn)
Payback	CAC ÷ monthly margin per user (in months)
LTV:CAC	LTV ÷ CAC

Healthy thresholds

LTV:CAC: aim for 3:1 or better, on a net LTV.
Payback: under 12 months is healthy, under 6 is excellent.
Early ROAS: should trend toward your LTV model, not just look good at D7.

Directional ranges by vertical (tier-1 geos, paid)

Vertical	Paid CAC / paying user	Payback target
Health & Fitness	mid-tens to ~$120	6–9 mo
AI / utilities	low-tens to ~$80	4–8 mo
Entertainment	~$15 to ~$60	3–6 mo
Gaming (sub / hybrid)	varies widely	D7 ROAS-led

Ballpark ranges to sanity-check against, not promises. Your paywall, geo mix and retention move them a lot.

How to use this

Plug your own numbers into the calculator to see where you land.
If LTV:CAC is under 3 or payback is over 12, fix economics before scaling.
Compare paid vs blended, they tell different stories.

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CAC & LTV Benchmark Sheet

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