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Cohort Revenue Calculator

Revenue from one cohort as it decays. Retention compounds, so 92 percent monthly leaves under a third of the cohort after a year, which is why small retention differences dominate everything else.

Also called: cohort analysis calculator, ltv cac calculator.

₹
%
₹
Cumulative cohort revenue
₹48,64,621

₹48,64,621 over 24 months from 500 customers, against ₹22,50,000 of acquisition cost. 68 customers remain at the end and lifetime value per customer is ₹9,729.

Lifetime value per customer
₹9,729
Total acquisition cost
₹22,50,000
LTV to CAC
2.16
Customers still active
68
Payback month
7
Revenue in the final month
₹66,120
How this is calculated
Method and background

How this is calculated

Each month the surviving share earns revenue and then decays again. Because retention compounds, the difference between 92 and 95 percent monthly is not three points but the difference between 37 and 54 percent of the cohort surviving a year. That is why retention work usually beats acquisition work, and why the payback month matters: a cohort that has not repaid its acquisition cost before it churns never will.

a cohort decays geometrically, so revenue in month t comes from the survivors, not the original count
N
Cohort size
r
Monthly retention

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

two years at 92 percent retention

Customers in the cohort
500
Monthly revenue per customer
₹900
Monthly retention
92%
Months to project
24
Cost to acquire each customer
₹4,500

Cumulative cohort revenue₹48,64,621

500 x 0.92^24 leaves 68

Open this example

perfect retention means no decay

Customers in the cohort
500
Monthly revenue per customer
₹900
Monthly retention
100%
Months to project
24
Cost to acquire each customer
₹4,500

Cumulative cohort revenue₹1,08,00,000

boundary

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

  • Constant retention and revenue per customer, which flatters: real retention curves flatten.

What it deliberately does not model

  • Real cohorts churn fastest early and then stabilise, so constant retention understates the long tail.
  • Expansion revenue from surviving customers is not modelled.

Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · India · Report a problem with this calculator

Frequently asked questions

What LTV to CAC ratio should I aim for?
Three is the conventional target, with payback inside twelve months. Below one you are paying more to acquire a customer than they will ever be worth.