What 'good' looks like — 8 unit-economics benchmarks for 2026

Every founder we meet wants the same conversation: are our unit economics any good? The honest answer is that it depends on the business model and the stage. Here are the eight numbers we'd want to see on a 2026 marketing dashboard, with what 'healthy' looks like for each.

1. LTV:CAC — the headline number

Gross-profit LTV divided by CAC. For SaaS, 3:1 is industry consensus for sustainable growth. Below 1:1 means you're losing money on each customer. Above 5:1 sometimes signals underinvestment in acquisition — you could spend more without breaking the model. For ecommerce, 1.5:1 to 2:1 can be sustainable because payback is so much faster.

2. CAC payback period — when does cash come back

CAC divided by monthly gross profit per customer. B2B SaaS: 6-18 months is healthy, 24+ months is tolerable for venture-backed scale-ups with strong LTV. Consumer subscription: 3-6 months. Ecommerce: 1-3 months. Longer payback isn't bad if LTV:CAC is strong — it just means you're cash-hungry.

3. Blended ROAS — the leading indicator

Total revenue divided by total ad spend, across all channels. Ecommerce target depends on margin: with 60% gross margin, 1.67:1 is breakeven and 3:1 is healthy. With 30% margin (lower-margin retail), you need 3.3:1 to break even. SaaS target should always be considered alongside LTV — a 0.8:1 month-one ROAS can be healthy if LTV:CAC clears 3:1.

4. Contribution margin — the bottom-line metric

Revenue minus variable costs (COGS, shipping, payment processing, ad spend, fulfillment) divided by revenue. Ecommerce healthy zone: 30-40% pre-fixed-cost contribution margin. SaaS healthy zone: 70-80%. If contribution margin is below 25% for ecommerce or 60% for SaaS, you're not scaling — you're treadmilling.

5. Marketing efficiency ratio (MER) — the company-level number

Total revenue divided by total marketing spend (including team, tools, content, not just ad spend). Mid-market DTC healthy zone: 4:1 to 6:1. The right number depends heavily on category — premium beauty MER can climb to 8:1; commoditized categories sit at 2.5:1 to 3:1. Watch the trend more than the level.

6. Channel-level marginal ROAS — the allocation signal

Not the average — the marginal. What does the next $10K on Meta earn vs. the next $10K on Google? If you can't answer this question for each of your platforms, you're allocating by inertia, not strategy. (The cross-platform pillar guide has the full framework.)

7. Repeat purchase rate (ecommerce) — the LTV driver

% of customers who place a second order. The single biggest lever on LTV. Consumer goods healthy zone: 20-35% within 90 days. Below 15%, your acquisition economics need to be brutal because you have no retention compounding. Above 40%, you can outbid competitors on the first order because you'll earn it back fast.

8. Net revenue retention (SaaS) — the LTV ceiling

Last quarter's MRR from the same customer cohort, this quarter. >100% means existing customers are growing faster than they're churning — you're a leaky bucket that's also expanding. SaaS healthy zone: 105-120%. Anything north of 120% and you have a multi-year tailwind. Anything below 95% and your acquisition engine needs to outrun a leaky bucket.