Planning Calculators

Unit economics is the foundation that decides whether a business is sustainable or doomed. Brands that look profitable on the surface often have negative unit economics hidden underneath; brands that look unprofitable in a given month often have strong unit economics that just haven't compounded yet. The calculators in this category isolate the unit-level math from blended reporting noise.

These 22 tools cover the core questions: Is each customer profitable on first purchase? After 3 purchases? Over 12 months? What's the breakeven CAC at current margins? What's the LTV:CAC ratio after refunds and chargebacks? When does the average customer pay back their acquisition cost? What's the right pricing for current cost structure?

The healthy benchmarks: LTV:CAC ratio at 3:1 or better. Payback period under 12 months for cash-friendly growth, under 6 months for cash-strapped early-stage operators. Contribution margin (after COGS, fulfillment, payment processing, and returns) at 35-50% for typical DTC; below 25% leaves no buffer for advertising. Gross margin (after COGS only) at 55-70% for branded; 25-40% for dropshipping.

Pair these with the cohort retention and repeat purchase calculators (which feed the LTV input) and the paid media calculators (which feed the CAC input). The interaction between these layers is where most business decisions actually live — pricing changes affect contribution margin which affects breakeven CAC which affects which channels you can afford to scale.