Member lifetime value

Member lifetime value (LTV) is the total revenue a member generates before they leave. A member paying $150 a month who stays 18 months has an LTV of $2,700. It’s the number that tells you what acquiring a member is actually worth.

LTV = average monthly revenue per member × average months retained

Average months retained ≈ 1 ÷ monthly churn rate. At 4% monthly churn, the average member stays 25 months.

Include everything they spend — membership, retail, drop-ins, PT — not just the subscription.

LTV sets the ceiling on what you can afford to spend acquiring a member. Spend more than LTV and growth actively loses money, which is a mistake gyms make quietly for years.

It’s also why retention beats acquisition arithmetically. Cutting churn from 5% to 4% raises average tenure from 20 months to 25 — a 25% rise in the value of every member you already have, and every one you acquire from now on. No advertising does that.

Revenue per member and retention both surface in your dashboard, and the retention engine is aimed at the tenure half of the equation — the half that multiplies.