Subscription LTV calculator
Work out what a subscriber is worth over their lifetime after the store's cut, and what one install is worth — the most you can pay to get it. Monthly or yearly plans.
Lifetime value per subscriber
$84.92
$8.49 net × 10 months
Value per install
$2.72
The most one install is worth paying for
Average paid lifetime
10 months
1 ÷ churn
How it works
- Net price: your price minus the store's commission. Both stores take 15% from small developers; on the App Store a subscription drops from 30% to 15% after its first year, and Google Play takes 15% on subscriptions from the start.
- Expected paid periods: 1 ÷ churn. With 10% monthly churn, the average subscriber pays for 10 months.
- Lifetime value: net price × expected periods.
- Value per install: lifetime value × the share of installs that start a trial × the share of trials that pay. That is the ceiling for what an install is worth buying.
Questions
- What churn should I use?
- Use your own if you have it. Without it, many consumer subscription apps see monthly churn in the high single digits to low teens; test a few values and see how much the answer moves.
- Why does the store fee matter so much?
- It comes off every payment. The difference between 15% and 30% is a sixth of your revenue for as long as the subscriber stays.
- What does this leave out?
- Refunds, taxes, discounts and the fact that churn is higher in the first months than later. It is the standard simple model: good for comparing prices and plans, not for a forecast.
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