Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Calculator
Customer lifetime value determines how much you can afford to spend acquiring a customer — and therefore how aggressively you can invest in traffic and CRO. This calculator gives you CLV, gross profit per customer, maximum profitable CAC at different ratio targets, and a sensitivity table showing how CLV changes with retention.
Customer Lifetime Value Calculator
Calculate CLV, your maximum profitable CAC, and revenue scenarios at different retention rates
How to Use This Calculator
- Average Order Value (AOV) — your average transaction value. Find it in Shopify, WooCommerce, or GA4 → Monetisation → E-commerce purchases.
- Purchase Frequency — average number of orders per customer per year. If your customers average 2 orders in 18 months, that's 1.33 orders/year.
- Customer Lifespan — how long the average customer remains active. Use cohort analysis, or calculate as 1 ÷ annual churn rate.
- Gross Margin — your margin after direct costs (COGS). For e-commerce, typically 30–60%. For SaaS, 70–85%.
- CLV:CAC Ratio — your target ratio. 3:1 is standard; 2:1 is aggressive growth mode.
CLV Formula Explained
- Revenue per customer: AOV × Purchase Frequency × Lifespan
- CLV (gross profit): Revenue per customer × Gross Margin %
- Max CAC: CLV ÷ Target CLV:CAC Ratio
- Example: €85 AOV × 3 orders/year × 2.5 years × 40% margin = €255 CLV. At 3:1, max CAC = €85.
CLV:CAC Benchmarks by Business Type
- E-commerce (fashion, beauty): CLV:CAC of 3:1 target; typically 1–3 year lifespan
- E-commerce (consumables, subscriptions): 3–5:1 possible; lifespan 2–5+ years
- SaaS: 3:1 minimum; well-run SaaS achieves 5–7:1 with low churn
- B2B services: Higher CLV (€5,000–€50,000+) but longer sales cycles; 5:1+ is achievable
- Below 2:1: Unprofitable after operating costs — prioritise retention and AOV before scaling acquisition
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CLV and why does it matter?
CLV (Customer Lifetime Value) is the total profit you expect from a single customer. It sets your maximum profitable acquisition cost — if you don't know your CLV, you can't know whether your CAC is sustainable. It's the single most important number for growth decisions.
What is a good CLV:CAC ratio?
3:1 is the benchmark — €3 lifetime profit per €1 spent acquiring the customer. Below 2:1 is typically unprofitable. Above 5:1 suggests underinvestment in acquisition. Adjust the ratio target in the calculator to model different growth strategies.
How do I improve CLV?
Four levers: increase AOV (bundles, upsells), increase purchase frequency (email sequences, subscription offers), extend lifespan (loyalty programmes, retention campaigns), and improve margin (pricing, supplier negotiation, product mix). CRO primarily affects the first two by removing friction from repeat purchase flows.
How does CLV connect to CRO investment?
Higher CLV justifies higher CRO investment because each incremental conversion is worth more. If your CLV is €400 and CRO increases monthly conversions by 50, that's €20,000 in incremental lifetime revenue — from one campaign. Use the CRO ROI Calculator alongside CLV to build the full business case.
High CLV, Low CVR? That's the Biggest Missed Opportunity in CRO.
When your customers are worth €300+ each, a 1% CVR improvement doesn't just sound good — it's worth thousands per month. A CRO audit finds exactly what's blocking those conversions and prioritises fixes by revenue impact.
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