Subscription LTV calculator
Work out what a subscriber and a download are worth after store fees, and the month an install pays for itself.
Without VAT or sales tax, in any currency.
Paying subscribers who cancel each month.
Use 100 if there's no free trial.
For LTV per download.
Share of payments refunded.
For the payback month.
Month by month
Proceeds after refunds and store fees, per paying subscriber and per download.
| Month | Still subscribed | This month | Total per subscriber | Total per download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100.0% | 6.99 | 6.99 | 0.14 |
| 2 | 90.0% | 6.29 | 13.29 | 0.27 |
| 3 | 81.0% | 5.66 | 18.95 | 0.38 |
| 4 | 72.9% | 5.10 | 24.05 | 0.48 |
| 5 | 65.6% | 4.59 | 28.64 | 0.57 |
| 6 | 59.0% | 4.13 | 32.77 | 0.66 |
| 7 | 53.1% | 3.72 | 36.48 | 0.73 |
| 8 | 47.8% | 3.34 | 39.83 | 0.80 |
| 9 | 43.0% | 3.01 | 42.84 | 0.86 |
| 10 | 38.7% | 2.71 | 45.55 | 0.91 |
| 11 | 34.9% | 2.44 | 47.99 | 0.96 |
| 12paid back | 31.4% | 2.19 | 50.18 | 1.00 |
| 13 | 28.2% | 2.40 | 52.58 | 1.05 |
| 14 | 25.4% | 2.16 | 54.74 | 1.09 |
| 15 | 22.9% | 1.94 | 56.68 | 1.13 |
| 16 | 20.6% | 1.75 | 58.43 | 1.17 |
| 17 | 18.5% | 1.57 | 60.00 | 1.20 |
| 18 | 16.7% | 1.42 | 61.42 | 1.23 |
| 19 | 15.0% | 1.27 | 62.69 | 1.25 |
| 20 | 13.5% | 1.15 | 63.84 | 1.28 |
| 21 | 12.2% | 1.03 | 64.87 | 1.30 |
| 22 | 10.9% | 0.93 | 65.80 | 1.32 |
| 23 | 9.8% | 0.84 | 66.64 | 1.33 |
| 24 | 8.9% | 0.75 | 67.39 | 1.35 |
How it's calculated
Each paying subscriber makes a first payment in month 1. After that:
- Monthly plans: the share still subscribed falls by your churn rate every month. With 10% churn, 90% pay in month 2, 81% in month 3, and so on.
- Yearly plans: subscribers pay once a year, and your renewal rate decides how many pay again in month 13, month 25 and so on.
- Each payment counts as price × (1 − refunds) × (1 − store fee).
- The App Store takes 30% of a subscription in the subscriber's first year of paid service and 15% after that, or 15% from the start in the Small Business Program. Google Play takes 15% of subscriptions from the first payment.
LTV per subscriber adds up those payments over the months you choose. LTV per trial multiplies it by trial to paid, and LTV per download also by the share of downloads that start a trial. The payback month is the first month in which the total per download reaches your cost per install. The calculator looks up to 5 years ahead.
It leaves out the length of the trial, price changes, upgrades and exchange rates, and Apple's different rates in the EU, China mainland and Japan. Store fees were checked on October 28, 2026. The fee calculator lists every rate and its source.
Questions
- What's a good LTV for an app?
- One that's higher than what it costs you to get a paying user. Compare LTV per download with your cost per install: if LTV is higher, each install pays for itself, and the payback month tells you how long you wait for the money.
- Why does the App Store fee drop after a year?
- Apple takes 30% of an auto-renewable subscription during a subscriber's first year of paid service and 15% after it. In the App Store Small Business Program it's 15% from the start. Google Play takes 15% of auto-renewing subscriptions from the first payment.
- Should I count 12 or 24 months?
- Use the period you can wait to get your money back. Churn is harder to predict the further out you go, so a shorter period gives a safer number.