LTV/CAC Ratio Benchmarks

The LTV to CAC ratio is the single number that says whether growth spending creates or destroys value: how many dollars of customer lifetime value each acquisition dollar buys. The consensus bar is 3:1, and it holds remarkably steady across business models, but the edges of the range tell different stories per model, and those edges are what this page maps.

For SaaS and consumer apps, under 2:1 marks unsustainable acquisition math. E-commerce tolerates a slightly lower average band, 1.5:1 to 3:1, because payback arrives faster on transactional revenue. Marketplaces carry the highest bar, above 4:1, since acquisition cost is paid on both buyer and seller sides of every transaction. All of these bands come from Revenue Map's benchmark tables, the same thresholds its models use to flag projections.

Two caveats keep this ratio honest. First, compute LTV on gross profit, not revenue: a $300 revenue LTV at 40% margin is only $120 of spendable value, and for mobile apps the calculation must also come after the 15% to 30% platform fee. Second, a very high ratio is not automatically good, much above 5:1 usually means you are underspending on growth and leaving market share to competitors.