Shape
A series by cohort date; recent cohorts are still maturing
Chart · LTV
Realized LTV per paying customer: what a paying user is worth
Realized LTV per paying customer is the revenue a period's new customers paid within a set window, divided by only those customers whose first payment fell inside the window and was not refunded in it. It shows what a paying customer is worth, without free users pulling the average down.
Formula
Realized LTV per paying customer = revenue of the period's new customers in the window ÷ new customers whose first payment fell in the window and was not refunded in it
API name
ltv_per_paying_customer
Measures
Realized LTV per Paying Customer (USD)
Filter and segment by
App, Store, Product, Product duration, Offering, Country, Platform, App version
Definition
How RevenueDot calculates Realized LTV per Paying Customer
The numerator is the same as in Realized LTV per Customer: revenue of the period's new customers from the start of their cohort day through day N, minus refunds recorded in the window. The denominator counts only paying customers: new customers whose first payment, a paid purchase, a renewal or a one-time purchase, falls inside the window and was not refunded inside it. A free trial start is not a payment, so a trial customer counts as paying only when the trial converts inside the window.
The customer_lifetime selector sets the window to day 0, 7, 14, 30, 60, 90, 180 or 365 days, or unbounded, and defaults to 30 days. The period stays incomplete until every customer's window has passed. Money is in US dollars at the purchase-date rate. Ad revenue is not included, and sandbox purchases, granted access and Family Sharing purchases are excluded. The table also lists Revenue and Paying Customers.
If no customer in the period paid inside the window, the value is blank. A product, store or offering filter narrows the revenue but not the count of new customers. You can also filter or segment by app, country, platform and app version.
Find it in the dashboard under Analytics > Charts, or call GET /v2/projects/{project_id}/charts/ltv_per_paying_customer. The response has the same shape as RevenueCat's Charts API.
Worked example
Realized LTV per Paying Customer, step by step
Illustrative numbers for one cohort and a 30-day window.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| New customers | 1,000 |
| Paying customers inside the window | 80 |
| Revenue in the window, net of refunds | $4,000 |
LTV per paying customer = $4,000 ÷ 80 = $50.00. LTV per customer = $4,000 ÷ 1,000 = $4.00, which is $50 × the 8% conversion to paying.
Why it matters
What Realized LTV per Paying Customer tells you
This is what a payer is worth, with free users out of the way. It is the number to use when you set prices, compare plans or decide how much a conversion is worth. If paying customers bring $50 in 30 days, you know what a trial start or a paywall view can be worth.
It also splits a change in LTV into two causes. With the same window, LTV per customer equals LTV per paying customer times the Conversion to Paying rate. If LTV per customer falls, this chart tells you whether payers pay less or fewer customers pay.
How to read it
- The value is higher than LTV per customer. The gap is the share of customers who pay.
- A customer refunded inside the window leaves the denominator, and the refund also lowers revenue.
- A short window misses trial customers who convert later. For an app with a 7-day trial, use 30 days or more.
- Use it to compare plans and countries among payers, and use LTV per customer to compare channels.
- The newest cohorts are incomplete, so their values can still change.
API
Get Realized LTV per Paying Customer from the Charts API
Same path and response shape as RevenueCat's Charts API, so existing scripts keep working.
Requestshell
curl "https://api.revenuedot.app/v2/projects/$PROJECT_ID/charts/ltv_per_paying_customer?resolution=day" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SECRET_KEY" # sk_... with charts_metrics:charts:readReference: Charts guide · REST API v2
FAQ
Realized LTV per Paying Customer: questions people ask
What is the difference between LTV per customer and LTV per paying customer?
Both use the same revenue. LTV per customer divides by all new customers. LTV per paying customer divides only by customers who paid in the window.
How is a paying customer defined in RevenueDot?
A new customer whose first payment, a paid purchase, renewal or one-time purchase, fell inside the window and was not refunded inside it. A free trial start is not a payment.
How do I get LTV per customer from LTV per paying customer?
Multiply it by the share of new customers who paid in the same window. That share is the Conversion to Paying rate for the same number of days.
Why is my LTV per paying customer blank?
No new customer in that period made a payment inside the window that was not refunded, so there is nothing to divide by.
Does a free trial make someone a paying customer?
No. The customer counts as paying when the trial converts and the first payment is made inside the window.
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