Subscription app LTV calculator
Calculate the lifetime value of a subscription app user — and find out what CPI you can afford before user acquisition becomes loss-making.
Enter your monthly subscription price, churn rate, trial conversion rate, and platform commission. The calculator shows LTV, net LTV, and the maximum CPI at which UA stays profitable.
Subscription app LTV calculator inputs and results
How subscription LTV is calculated
For a subscription with constant monthly churn, the expected number of months a subscriber stays is 1 ÷ churn rate. LTV is this expected tenure multiplied by the monthly net price after platform commission. A subscriber paying $9.99/month with 5% monthly churn stays for an expected 20 months, producing $199.80 gross LTV and $139.86 net at 30% commission.
LTV per trial accounts for the fact that only a fraction of trial starters convert to paid. It's net LTV multiplied by the trial conversion rate — the expected net revenue from every app install that triggers a trial, including the unconverted ones. This is the most useful figure for UA planning because it tells you the maximum you can pay per install before the channel becomes loss-making.
Payback is CPI divided by monthly net revenue per install (net monthly price × trial conversion rate). This is a simplified approximation that works well for payback periods shorter than about half the average subscriber tenure.
About this tool
This tool calculates lifetime value for a subscription app and connects it to user acquisition economics. Inputs: monthly subscription price, monthly churn rate (%), trial-to-paid conversion rate (%), and platform commission (%). Outputs: average subscriber LTV (gross and net), LTV per trial started, break-even CPI, and payback period at your actual CPI. LTV = monthly net price ÷ monthly churn — the expected total net revenue from a subscriber from first payment until churn.
Frequently asked questions
How is subscription LTV calculated?
Assuming a constant monthly churn rate, the expected number of months a subscriber stays is 1 ÷ churn rate. LTV equals this expected tenure multiplied by the monthly price. At 5% monthly churn, the average subscriber stays for 20 months — so a $9.99/month subscription produces gross LTV of about $200. Net LTV multiplies this by the developer's revenue share after platform commission. This is a steady-state approximation; real LTV curves are slightly higher early and lower later than this predicts.
What is "LTV per trial started"?
LTV per trial is the expected net revenue from a single app install that leads to a free trial, accounting for the fact that not all trials convert to paid. If 25% of trials convert and net LTV per subscriber is $140, then LTV per trial is $35 — the average revenue you'll earn from someone who starts a free trial, including the 75% who never pay. This is the upper bound on how much you can spend per install (your max CPI) before UA becomes loss-making.
What's the difference between monthly churn and annual churn?
Monthly churn is the percentage of subscribers who cancel each month. Annual churn is approximately 1 − (1 − monthly_churn)^12. At 5% monthly churn, annual churn is about 46% — roughly half your subscribers leave over the year. Subscription platforms like App Store Connect and RevenueCat typically report monthly churn. If you only have an annual figure, convert with monthly = 1 − (1 − annual)^(1/12).
Should I use gross or net price in my LTV model?
Use net (after platform commission) when comparing LTV to CPI for UA decisions, because your actual acquisition cost is paid from your net revenue, not gross. A $9.99 subscription at 30% commission gives you $6.99 net per month — that's the pool from which you pay acquisition, infrastructure, and support costs. Gross LTV is useful for reporting and investor conversations; net LTV is what matters for unit economics.