Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Calculator

Unlock Hidden Profits: Measure and Grow Your Customer Lifetime Value.

Do you know exactly how much each customer is worth to your business over time?
The answer — your Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) — can transform how you allocate budgets, price your products, and design loyalty programs.

Our Customer Lifetime Value Calculator makes it simple to quantify and improve this crucial metric.

What Is Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)?

Customer Lifetime Value measures the total financial contribution a customer makes during their entire relationship with your business.

It’s not just about today’s sale — it’s about predicting future sales, retention, and referrals. A higher CLV means your customers stay longer, spend more, and cost less to retain — the foundation of any profitable enterprise.

The CLV Formula Made Simple

CLV is often calculated as:
CLV = (Average Purchase Value × Purchase Frequency × Customer Lifespan) – Acquisition Cost

Each part provides a key metric:
- Average Purchase Value – how much a typical customer spends per order.
- Purchase Frequency – how often they buy.
- Customer Lifespan – how long they stay active.
- Acquisition Cost – what you spend to capture them.

By adjusting these inputs, the calculator instantly shows how your marketing, pricing, and retention tactics affect lifetime value.

Using the CLV Calculator in Excel

You simply enter:
- Average transaction value
- Number of repeat purchases per year
- Retention rate (or average customer lifespan)
- Customer acquisition cost

The calculator automatically computes lifetime value, profit contribution, and breakeven thresholds. It also allows you to model how improvements in retention or frequency boost profitability.

Turning CLV Insights into Strategy

Once you know your CLV, you can:
- Set acquisition budgets that ensure profitability.
- Identify high-value customer segments for premium service.
- Design loyalty or subscription programs to extend customer lifespan.
- Prioritize marketing channels that attract long-term customers, not just first-time buyers.

CLV and Subscription Businesses

CLV is especially powerful for subscription-based models (see previous post). The longer your customers stay, the higher your predictable recurring revenue.

Use both calculators together: Subscription Revenue for monthly forecasting and CLV for lifetime profitability.

Our Customer Lifetime Value Calculator  is available as a seperate product is also included in our Marketing Math Collection.

Marketing Math Collection.

Sales and marketing math and analytics help to unlock commercially relevant insights, measure profitability and return on investment underpinning different marketing strategies, as a result increasing revenue and profitability, and improving brand perception. With the help of the right analytics, you can uncover new market niches, new product development opportunities and much more.
At the Business Tools Store, we have created a marketing math collection. We continue to expand the collection. If you feel there is any addition that would enhance the collection, we would be delighted to hear from you. Once developed we will give you a complimentary copy.