Unit economics calculator: does one customer pay off
Enter the price, the purchases, the margin, the cost to win a customer and how long they stay. You see LTV, LTV/CAC and the month a customer pays off.
Work it out with Fox step by stepThe base scenario comes from a real check of a business in Russia, so its numbers are in roubles (₽). It rests on the category's norms there, not on data of your market.
The base scenario comes from a real check of a business in Russia, so its numbers are in roubles (₽). It rests on the category's norms there, not on data of your market.
The base scenario comes from a real check of a business in Russia, so its numbers are in roubles (₽). It rests on the category's norms there, not on data of your market.
Your numbers: the calculator counts what you typed in any currency, and the sums keep the examples' ₽ sign.
Scenarios: the careful one has 25% fewer purchases, a 25% higher CAC and customers who leave 25% sooner; the bold one moves the other way, a little softer.
A customer pays off in 5 months, then brings profit for 5 more months before leaving after 10.
Three numbers that decide
LTV / CAC
How many times more a customer brings than they cost. Below 1, every new customer loses money. From 3 up, advertising can pay for itself.
Payback
The months a customer's margin needs to return what winning them cost. If they leave sooner, the model does not work.
The CAC ceiling
The most you can pay for a customer so they pay off within a year. Treat it as the cap on an ad bid.
The unit economics of three ideas
The check works these out itself from its category's norms until you give it your own numbers. All three are checks of businesses in Russia from 8 October 2026, in roubles.
Coffee to go by a commuter rail station
LTV 3,648 ₽ · LTV/CAC 1.98 · payback 5 mo
A parcel pickup point in a new housing estate
LTV 1,344 ₽ · LTV/CAC 0.49 · payback 24.6 mo
A self-service car wash
LTV 5,040 ₽ · LTV/CAC 1.83 · payback 6.6 mo
Your niche's numbers instead of category norms
In the concept, Fox works out the unit economics on your niche's prices and demand, in three scenarios, with sources.
Questions
What are unit economics in plain words?
The maths of one customer: what winning them costs and what they bring while they keep buying. If one customer is profitable, the business can grow by adding more of them.
How do I calculate LTV?
Multiply a customer's monthly contribution by the months they stay. LTV = price × purchases a month × margin × lifetime, the same formula the calculator above uses.
What LTV/CAC is good?
Aim for 3 or more. Then, after paying for acquisition, money is left for the team and for growth. Between 1 and 3 the model lives but runs thin, and below 1 every customer costs you money.
Where do I get CAC before I launch?
Estimate it from the norms of your category, or run a small demand test: what one lead cost you and how many of those leads bought.
How is this different from the break-even point?
Unit economics look at one customer. The break-even point looks at the whole business, from the rent to the salaries. You need both before you spend real money.
Why are the examples in roubles?
They are real checks the system ran on 8 October 2026 for three businesses in Russia, and we show their numbers as the report has them. Pick "Your numbers" and type yours. The formulas work the same in dollars or any other currency; only the sign next to the sums stays ₽.