What is one customer actually worth?
A first order tells you almost nothing. What matters is how long a customer keeps ordering and how much margin they leave behind. Enter four numbers to see your lifetime value — and the most you can sensibly spend to win a new customer.
Tell us about your customers
Estimates are fine. Each number below has a real-world example to guide you.
Canadian takeout averages $30–$55 per order.
An active takeout customer orders about 1–2 times a month; regulars reach 3+.
Takeout churn usually runs 8–15% a month. Lower churn means a longer lifetime.
Restaurant gross margin on a direct order is typically 60–70% after food and packaging.
$273
$420 in sales over an average lifetime of 10.0 months
Spend up to $91 to win a customer and you triple your money. Above $273 you lose money on every new customer.
Lifetime = 1 ÷ churn rate. Lifetime value = average order value × orders per month × lifetime × gross margin.
What you pay to get a customer
Add what a new customer currently costs you in ads, discounts or first-order offers. We will show when that cost is paid back.
Include ad spend, first-order discounts and any marketplace commission on that first order.
At $25 per customer you are paid back in 1 month, and each customer goes on to leave $248 of margin after that.
What a customer is worth over time
Lifetime value (sales)
$420
$42 per month while active
Lifetime value (margin)
$273
Max to spend per customer
$91
Break-even at $273
Average lifetime
10.0 months
≈ 10 months
Cumulative value per customer
The curve flattens as customers drop off. The dashed line is what you paid to get them — everything above it is profit.
What churn does to lifetime value
| Scenario | Churn per month | Average lifetime | Lifetime value (margin) |
|---|---|---|---|
| If churn improves | 5.0% | 20.0 months | $546 |
| Your numbers | 10.0% | 10.0 months | $273 |
| If churn worsens | 15.0% | 6.7 months | $182 |
More free tools
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The conversion rate your ads need to pay for themselves.
How much volume can you lose after raising prices and still break even?
How many new orders a promo needs to pay for itself.
Orders per month needed to cover your fixed costs.
Where distance turns a delivery order into a loss.
Whether your rewards program earns back what it gives away.
Food plus labour against the 60% benchmark.
Watch word-of-mouth spread through households — and where it stalls.
Work backwards from the profit you want to the orders and crew it needs.
Raise lifetime value, not just orders
A 15-minute walkthrough of loyalty, SMS retention and upsells — the three levers behind these numbers.
Book a free demoThese numbers are estimates based on what you enter and what we see across independent restaurants. They are not a guarantee of performance.
