What inputs does the Solo Founder Unit Economics need?

It takes 6 inputs: mrr, paying_customers, monthly_churn_rate, cac, arpu, monthly_fixed_costs. Outputs returned: customerLifetimeMonths, ltv, ltvCacRatio, paybackMonths, breakEvenCustomers, totalMonthlyProfit.

Can I verify the Solo Founder Unit Economics with a worked example?

Yes. With mrr = $5,000, paying_customers = 100, monthly_churn_rate = 4%, cac = $150, arpu = $50, monthly_fixed_costs = $2,000. the tool returns customerLifetimeMonths = 25, ltv = $1,250, ltvCacRatio = 8.3×, paybackMonths = 3, breakEvenCustomers = 40, totalMonthlyProfit = $3,000.

Where does the Solo Founder Unit Economics get its benchmark data?

Reference data is sourced from: OpenView SaaS Benchmarks 2024 (as of 2024); Paddle SaaS Benchmarks 2024 (as of 2024).

What can the Solo Founder Unit Economics not tell me?

Known limitations: LTV formula assumes memoryless churn and no expansion revenue. If existing customers are expanding (NDR > 100%), the result understates true lifetime value. Organic CAC is sensitive to hourly rate. A founder's real opportunity cost may be their day-job rate, a market freelance rate, or zero — the tool takes it at face value. Benchmarks from OpenView/Paddle are B2B-SaaS weighted; B2C products and prosumer tools typically carry 2–3× the churn.

Methodology: Solo Founder Unit Economics

1. Scope

Computes LTV, CAC payback, LTV:CAC, break-even customer count, and total monthly profit for a solo founder. CAC is entered directly — there is no organic-hours-to-CAC model.

2. Inputs and outputs

Inputs

mrr number (currency/mo)
paying_customers number
monthly_churn_rate percent
cac number (currency)

Blended acquisition cost per paying customer, entered directly.
arpu number (currency/mo)

If 0, derived as mrr / paying_customers.
monthly_fixed_costs number (currency/mo)

Outputs

customerLifetimeMonths

1 / monthly_churn_rate.
ltv

arpu × customerLifetimeMonths (revenue LTV — no margin factor).
ltvCacRatio

ltv / cac.
paybackMonths

cac / arpu.
breakEvenCustomers

ceil(monthly_fixed_costs / arpu).
totalMonthlyProfit

mrr − monthly_fixed_costs.

Engine source: src/lib/solo-founder-unit-economics/engine.ts

3. Formula / scoring logic

lifetime_months = 1 / monthly_churn_rate
ltv             = arpu * lifetime_months
ltv_cac_ratio   = ltv / cac
payback         = cac / arpu
break_even_customers = ceil(monthly_fixed_costs / arpu)
total_monthly_profit = mrr - monthly_fixed_costs

4. Assumptions

Churn is constant, so lifetime is 1 / churn. Cohort-level LTV is more accurate but needs data the tool does not request.
LTV here is revenue LTV (arpu × lifetime), not margin-adjusted.
ARPU is the monthly-recurring component; one-time revenue is out of scope.

5. Data sources

OpenView SaaS Benchmarks 2024 as of 2024
Paddle SaaS Benchmarks 2024 as of 2024

6. Known limitations

LTV formula assumes memoryless churn and no expansion revenue. If existing customers are expanding (NDR > 100%), the result understates true lifetime value.
Organic CAC is sensitive to hourly rate. A founder's real opportunity cost may be their day-job rate, a market freelance rate, or zero — the tool takes it at face value.
Benchmarks from OpenView/Paddle are B2B-SaaS weighted; B2C products and prosumer tools typically carry 2–3× the churn.

7. Reproducibility

Input
mrr = $5,000, paying_customers = 100, monthly_churn_rate = 4%, cac = $150, arpu = $50, monthly_fixed_costs = $2,000.

Expected output
customerLifetimeMonths = 25, ltv = $1,250, ltvCacRatio = 8.3×, paybackMonths = 3, breakEvenCustomers = 40, totalMonthlyProfit = $3,000.

8. Change log

2026-04-24 methodology page first published.

Worked example

Run live against the same engine this site ships (/engines/solo-founder-unit-economics.js). The inputs and outputs below are recomputed on every build and independently re-verified in CI — they are never hand-authored.

Input

tool: solo_founder_unit_economics
mrr: 5000
paying_customers: 100
monthly_churn_rate: 3
cac: 50
arpu: 50
monthly_fixed_costs: 500

Output

arpu: 50
ltv: 1665
cac: 50
ltvCacRatio: 33.3
paybackMonths: 1
customerLifetimeMonths: 33.3
monthlyProfitPerCustomer: 50
breakEvenCustomers: 10
totalMonthlyProfit: 4500
insight: Healthy unit economics: $1665 LTV on $50 CAC (33.3x), 33.3-month customer lifetime. At 100 customers you net $4500/mo after fixed costs.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Solo Founder Unit Economics calculate?: Computes LTV, CAC payback, LTV:CAC, break-even customer count, and total monthly profit for a solo founder. CAC is entered directly — there is no organic-hours-to-CAC model.
What inputs does the Solo Founder Unit Economics need?: It takes 6 inputs: mrr, paying_customers, monthly_churn_rate, cac, arpu, monthly_fixed_costs. Outputs returned: customerLifetimeMonths, ltv, ltvCacRatio, paybackMonths, breakEvenCustomers, totalMonthlyProfit.
What formula does the Solo Founder Unit Economics use?: The exact computation is: lifetime_months = 1 / monthly_churn_rate; ltv = arpu * lifetime_months; ltv_cac_ratio = ltv / cac; payback = cac / arpu; break_even_customers = ceil(monthly_fixed_costs / arpu); total_monthly_profit = mrr - monthly_fixed_costs
Can I verify the Solo Founder Unit Economics with a worked example?: Yes. With mrr = $5,000, paying_customers = 100, monthly_churn_rate = 4%, cac = $150, arpu = $50, monthly_fixed_costs = $2,000. the tool returns customerLifetimeMonths = 25, ltv = $1,250, ltvCacRatio = 8.3×, paybackMonths = 3, breakEvenCustomers = 40, totalMonthlyProfit = $3,000.
Where does the Solo Founder Unit Economics get its benchmark data?: Reference data is sourced from: OpenView SaaS Benchmarks 2024 (as of 2024); Paddle SaaS Benchmarks 2024 (as of 2024).
What can the Solo Founder Unit Economics not tell me?: Known limitations: LTV formula assumes memoryless churn and no expansion revenue. If existing customers are expanding (NDR > 100%), the result understates true lifetime value. Organic CAC is sensitive to hourly rate. A founder's real opportunity cost may be their day-job rate, a market freelance rate, or zero — the tool takes it at face value. Benchmarks from OpenView/Paddle are B2B-SaaS weighted; B2C products and prosumer tools typically carry 2–3× the churn.