Business
Subscription Pricing Unit Economics Calculator
The page separates list price from realized collected price, opening retention from new subscribers, and recurring service contribution from acquisition and platform costs. It also reports break-even active subscribers, net subscriber change, and a simple contribution LTV proxy.
Opening subscribers retained-
Ending active subscribers-
Average active subscribers billed-
Collected price after discount and failure-
Support cost per active subscriber-
Payment fee per active subscriber-
Hosting, support, and payment cost per subscriber-
Monthly contribution per active subscriber-
Collected recurring revenue-
Subscriber contribution before fixed and acquisition cost-
Acquisition spend on new subscribers-
Contribution after platform and acquisition cost-
Average active subscribers required for break-even-
Ending minus opening subscribers-
Contribution divided by monthly churn rate-
Decision view
Subscriber cohort bridge and unit ring
Subscriber cohort bridge and unit ringOpening subscribers lose churn, gain new accounts, and become ending active subscribers while realized price is split into service cost and contribution.
Exact scenario comparisonMonthly list price changes while all other entered assumptions remain constant.
| Monthly list price | Opening subscribers retained | Ending active subscribers | Average active subscribers billed | Collected price after discount and failure | Support cost per active subscriber | Payment fee per active subscriber | Hosting, support, and payment cost per subscriber | Monthly contribution per active subscriber | Collected recurring revenue | Subscriber contribution before fixed and acquisition cost | Acquisition spend on new subscribers | Contribution after platform and acquisition cost | Average active subscribers required for break-even | Ending minus opening subscribers | Contribution divided by monthly churn rate |
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How to use Subscription Pricing Unit Economics Calculator
- Enter opening active subscribers, new subscribers, and churn for the same billing month.
- Convert list price to realized price using discount and payment-failure assumptions.
- Enter per-account service resources, fixed platform cost, and CAC, then compare average billed subscribers with break-even.
Calculator guide
Understanding Subscription Pricing Unit Economics Calculator
Connect monthly pricing with churn, new acquisition, payment failure, service delivery cost, acquisition spend, and fixed platform cost. The calculation uses average billed subscribers for monthly economics instead of treating the ending count as if it existed all month.
Detailed calculation process
Build subscriber movement, realized price, and monthly contribution
The default starts with 4,800 subscribers, adds 350, applies 4.5% churn, realizes a discounted $39 price, and includes hosting, support, payment fees, $95,000 platform cost, and $75 CAC.
General formula: N_ret = N_0(1 - c/100)N_1 = N_ret + N_newN_avg = (N_0 + N_1)/2p_real = p_list(1 - d/100)(1 - f/100)c_service = c_host + (m_support/60)r_support + p_real f_pay/100CM_sub = p_real - c_serviceProfit = N_avg CM_sub - F_platform - N_new CACN_BE = ceil((F_platform + N_new CAC)/CM_sub) The subscriber bridge and the unit-economics calculation meet at average billed subscribers. CAC is tied only to new accounts, while platform cost is a monthly commitment.
What each symbol means
Worked substitution with the default inputs
The default ends at 4,934 active subscribers, realizes $35.16 per billed account, and produces a $4,720.93 monthly operating loss after platform and acquisition cost.
Cohort and price
Read subscriber movement beside the unit ring
The bridge explains account count; the ring explains what remains from one realized monthly payment.
Worked situations
Practical examples
- A 4.5% churn rate retains 4,584 of 4,800 opening subscribers; adding 350 new subscribers produces 4,934 ending active accounts.
- A $39 list price with 8% discount and 2% payment failure realizes $35.1624 per average billed subscriber.
Better inputs
Useful tips
- Match churn or retention rates to the billing period used for subscriber counts and revenue.
- Include payment fees, support, hosting, fulfillment, and partner share in variable cost per active subscription.
- Model grandfathered, discounted, annual, and trial cohorts separately when their realized prices differ.
Before relying on the result
Limitations and common mistakes
- The average-balance method assumes subscriber changes are reasonably distributed through the month.
- Upgrades, downgrades, annual revenue recognition, taxes, refunds, reactivation, and deferred revenue are not modeled.
- The LTV proxy assumes constant monthly churn and contribution and ignores discounting.
Reference
Key terms
- Average billed subscribers
- Simple average of opening and ending active subscribers used as the monthly billing base.
- Realized price
- List price after the entered average discount and payment failure.
- Unit contribution
- Realized monthly price less hosting, support, and payment fees per subscriber.
Important note
Review unit economics by cohort; a blended churn and price can hide unprofitable acquisition channels or legacy plans.
Frequently asked questions
Why average opening and ending subscribers?
It avoids charging the ending count for a full month when additions and churn occur during the period.
Is payment failure the same as payment fee?
No. Failure removes revenue; the processor fee is charged on collected revenue.
Why is CAC not included in service cost?
Service cost applies to all active accounts, while CAC applies only to newly acquired subscribers.
Is contribution LTV a valuation?
No. It is a simple steady-churn proxy without discounting or cohort behavior.