Blended CAC is total marketing spend (ad spend plus agency fees and creative costs) across all channels divided by total new customers acquired in the same period, regardless of which channel brought them in. It is the true net acquisition cost, unlike a single platform's reported CPA.

What is a good LTV to CAC ratio for ecommerce?

A 12-month LTV:CAC ratio between 3:1 and 4.5:1 is generally considered a healthy scaling zone. Below 2:1 usually signals unprofitable acquisition or weak retention. Above 6:1 often means the brand is under-investing in growth relative to what its economics can support.

Ecommerce CAC & LTV:CAC Calculator

Model Your Acquisition Economics

Adjust the values below to instantly compute blended CAC and your LTV:CAC ratio.

Total Marketing Spend (period)

New Customers Acquired (same period)

Average Order Value (AOV)

Gross Margin (%, after COGS + shipping + fees)

Estimated Orders per Customer (12 months)

Blended CAC

₹2,000

Total spend ÷ new customers

CAC as % of AOV

111%

Lower is healthier on a single order

Estimated 12-Month LTV

₹1,458

AOV × margin × repeat orders

LTV : CAC Ratio

0.73x

Below break-even

How This Calculator Works

Most dashboards report a platform's Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) — Meta's or Google's own number for that channel alone. Blended CAC is different: it is what your business actually paid, across every channel, for every new customer, in one period.

1. Blended CAC

Blended CAC = Total Marketing Spend (all channels + fees) / Total New Customers Acquired

Always use new customers, not total orders — including repeat purchases in the denominator hides deteriorating acquisition efficiency.

2. Estimated LTV (12-Month, Gross-Margin Basis)

Estimated LTV = AOV × Gross Margin % × Estimated Orders per Customer

This is a simplified, gross-margin view of lifetime value over a 12-month window — useful for a fast health check, not a substitute for a full cohort retention model.

3. Reading the LTV:CAC Ratio

Ratio	Read
< 2.0x	Unhealthy — acquisition cost isn't being recovered by margin, fix conversion or retention first
3.0x – 4.5x	Optimal scaling zone — safe to push more budget into what's working
> 6.0x	Likely under-investing — there's probably room to acquire faster

For the full formulas behind blended CAC, channel CPA and Contribution Margin 3, see our Ecommerce CAC Playbook. To see per-order profitability after marketing cost, use the Contribution Margin Calculator.

Next Step

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Ecommerce CAC &LTV:CAC Ratio Calculator