Юнит-экономика
Unit Economics
Unit economics is a model of revenue and costs per customer or per unit of product. It shows whether a business earns money on each attracted player, trader, or buyer.
What is Юнит-экономика (Unit Economics)?
Unit economics answers a simple question: how much does it cost to acquire and retain one customer, and how much does that customer bring in. If the difference between lifetime revenue per customer and the costs associated with them is negative, growth in volume only increases losses. For this reason, financial models in high-risk verticals are built first at the unit level, not for the company as a whole.
## How it is calculated
Core metrics include CAC (customer acquisition cost), ARPU or ARPPU (average revenue per user or per paying user), LTV (revenue over the entire customer lifetime), and unit gross margin after taxes, payment fees, bonuses, and payouts. LTV is compared with CAC: a ratio below one means the customer does not pay back their acquisition cost.
## Vertical-specific features
In gambling and betting, revenue is often measured as GGR or NGR, that is, with or without player bonuses and winnings, while costs include RevShare payments to partners. In crypto and fintech, acquiring fees, spreads, on-chain gas, and KYC verification costs are important. In dating and nutra, refunds, chargebacks, and the share of paying users among those acquired become decisive.
## Where mistakes are most common
Typical mistakes include calculating LTV based on revenue rather than margin; ignoring payback period and cohorts; mixing traffic cost with full acquisition cost without support and verification expenses; and relying on a single successful cohort. Another common problem is ignoring deferred costs such as reserves, refunds, and payment provider penalties.
## How to apply it in practice
Unit economics should be recalculated for each combination of offer, traffic source, geo, and creative. Scaling decisions should be made only when margin is positive at the cohort level, taking the payback horizon into account. Forecasts for future periods should be built conservatively, since restrictions in regulated verticals can quickly change the cost structure.
FAQ
How does unit economics differ from overall business profitability?
Profitability shows the period total for the whole company, while unit economics looks at the profitability of a single customer or order. This helps determine which channels and combinations to scale and which to stop.
What is the main metric when evaluating unit economics?
The most common approach is to look at the LTV to CAC ratio adjusted for margin. There is no universal threshold, so it is chosen based on the payback horizon and the cost structure of the specific business.
Should unit economics be calculated separately for each offer?
Yes, because different offers, geos, and traffic sources have different acquisition costs, conversion rates, and retention. Averaged figures across the whole portfolio can hide unprofitable combinations.