SaaS Metrics Calculator (MRR, ARR, LTV, CAC & Break-Even)

Compute MRR, ARR, gross-margin LTV, LTV:CAC ratio, CAC payback months, and break-even customer count.

Monthly & Annual Recurring Revenue
$54,000 MRR
ARR: $648,000/yr • LTV:CAC Ratio: 4.27×
Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) $3,840
LTV : CAC Ratio 4.27 : 1
CAC Payback Period 9.4 months
Break-Even Customer Count 261 customers
Inputs
customers
Current number of active subscription accounts.
USD / mo
Average monthly subscription revenue per customer.
%
Revenue remaining after hosting, support, and third-party API COGS.
% / mo
Percentage of customers cancelling each month.
USD ($)
Fully loaded sales & marketing spend per new customer acquired.
USD / mo
Monthly R&D and G&A fixed overhead for break-even calculation.
Results & Graph
Monthly & Annual Recurring Revenue
$54,000 MRR
ARR: $648,000/yr • LTV:CAC Ratio: 4.27×
Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)
$3,840
40 mo avg lifespan
LTV : CAC Ratio
4.27 : 1
Healthy (≥ 3.0× benchmark)
CAC Payback Period
9.4 months
Gross profit $96.00/mo/cust
Break-Even Customer Count
261 customers
To cover $25,000/mo OpEx

Customer Unit Economics: CAC vs. Gross-Margin LTV

Comparison of upfront acquisition cost against lifetime gross profit per customer
Graph 1 • Customer Unit Economics: CAC vs. Gross-Margin LTV Comparison of upfront acquisition cost against lifetime gross profit per customer
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): $900Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): $3,840 Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) $900 Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) $3,840
Graph 2 • Revenue vs. Cost / Overhead Share Ring Proportional unit economics composition
TOTAL $4.7k Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) 900 (19.0%) Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) 3.8k (81.0%)
Graph 3 • Monthly Net App Revenue Across Active User (DAU) Multipliers Shows how rates or revenues scale with utilization and volume
0 7.7k 15.4k 0.5× DAU: 2,370 2.4k 0.5× DAU 1× DAU: 4,740 4.7k 1× DAU 1.5× DAU: 7,110 7.1k 1.5× DAU 2× DAU: 9,480 9.5k 2× DAU 3× DAU: 14,220 14.2k 3× DAU
Summary: Customer Acquisition Cost is $900 and Customer Lifetime Value is $3,840.
Summary: With 450 customers paying $120.00/month at a 80% gross margin and 2.5% monthly churn, your business generates $54,000 MRR ($648,000 ARR). Each customer yields $3,840 in gross-margin LTV against a $900 CAC (4.27× LTV:CAC, recovering CAC in 9.4 months).

Formula & Mathematical Methodology: Gross-Margin Adjusted SaaS Unit Economics Formulas

MRR = Ncust × ARPU,   LTV = ARPU × Gross MarginMonthly Churn,   Payback = CACARPU × Gross Margin
MRR = Customers × ARPU; LTV = (ARPU × GrossMargin) / MonthlyChurn; Payback (mo) = CAC / (ARPU × GrossMargin)
  • ARPU: Average monthly recurring revenue per active customer
  • GrossMargin: 1 − (COGS ÷ Revenue)
  • MonthlyChurn: Monthly logo/revenue churn rate as a decimal

Rounding: Currency values round to nearest dollar; ratios and months round to 1–2 decimal places.

Worked Example: 450 Customers at $120 ARPU, 80% Gross Margin, 2.5% Monthly Churn, $900 CAC

Analyze a B2B SaaS business with 450 customers paying $120/mo.

  1. MRR = 450 × $120 = $54,000/month (ARR = $648,000/year).
  2. Monthly gross profit per customer = $120 × 0.80 = $96.00.
  3. LTV = $96.00 ÷ 0.025 = $3,840 (40-month average customer lifespan).
  4. LTV:CAC = $3,840 ÷ $900 = 4.27×; CAC Payback = $900 ÷ $96 = 9.38 months.
Result: $54,000 MRR ($648,000 ARR), $3,840 LTV, 4.27× LTV:CAC, and 9.4-month payback.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should LTV include Gross Margin instead of raw ARPU?

Using raw revenue overstates how much cash a customer contributes toward recovering CAC. If your gross margin is 75%, 25% of every dollar is consumed by infrastructure and support COGS.

Business & Marketing • SaaS & Subscription Unit Economics Guide

How to Use the SaaS Metrics Calculator (MRR, ARR, LTV, CAC & Break-Even): Practical Guide & Visual Analysis

Evaluate subscription unit economics by combining customer count, ARPU, gross margin, monthly churn rate, CAC, and fixed operating expenses in a single model. Whether you are researching mrr calculator, arr calculator, ltv cac ratio calculator, saas churn calculator, cac payback period, this interactive tool helps you calculate Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), ARR, Gross-Margin Customer Lifetime Value (LTV), LTV:CAC ratio, CAC payback period, and operating break-even customer count.

Interpreting the 3 Custom Visual Graphs & Key Outputs

As you adjust Active Paying Customers, Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), Subscription Gross Margin, Monthly Customer Churn Rate, the calculator immediately computes Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), Gross-Margin LTV ($), LTV : CAC Ratio, CAC Payback Period (Months), Break-Even Customer Count and updates all three domain-specific SVG charts in real time. Instead of relying on a single static figure, you can inspect the primary domain diagram, component breakdown, and multi-point trajectory curve to see how changing your inputs shifts the final result. Use the Compare (up to 3 scenarios) button to evaluate side-by-side variations before making a decision.

Real-World Benchmark & Planning Tips (Global)

In our benchmark scenario (450 Customers at $120 ARPU, 80% Gross Margin, 2.5% Monthly Churn, $900 CAC), $54,000 MRR ($648,000 ARR), $3,840 LTV, 4.27× LTV:CAC, and 9.4-month payback. Keep in mind that weights LTV by gross margin rather than top-line revenue so hosting and AI inference COGS are properly accounted for. For related calculations in Business & Marketing, explore Marketing ROAS, CPC, CPM, CPA & CTR Calculator, App Ad & Subscription Revenue Calculator, API Token Cost Calculator, ROI Calculator (Return on Investment).