How do you calculate lifetime deal ROI?

Compare the one-time price you paid against what the equivalent subscription would cost over the months you'll actually use it. Break-even is the one-time price divided by the monthly cost (rounded up). Everything past that month is money you keep instead of paying a subscription.

When is a lifetime deal worth it?

A lifetime deal pays off when you use the tool past its break-even month and the company stays alive long enough to deliver. The shorter the break-even and the longer you use it, the higher the ROI — which is why tracking the tools you actually use matters.

How do I track ROI across all my lifetime deals?

Doing this once in a calculator is easy; doing it across a stack of 50+ deals is where spreadsheets break down. DealKeep tracks what you paid, what each tool replaces, and your running ROI automatically across every marketplace.

Lifetime Deal ROI Calculator

See exactly when a lifetime deal pays for itself — and how much you save versus the monthly subscription it replaces. Enter the one-time price you paid, the equivalent monthly SaaS cost, and how long you'll use the tool.

Worked example

A $59 lifetime deal that replaces a $19/month SaaS subscription:

Break-even: month 4 (one-time price ÷ monthly cost = 59 ÷ 19, rounded up).
Saved in year 1: $169 ($19 × 12 − $59).
Saved over 3 years: $625 ($19 × 36 − $59).
ROI over 36 months: 1,059%.

Past the break-even month, every month is pure savings. The hard part isn't the math on one deal — it's tracking it across a whole stack, which is what DealKeep's tracker and manager do automatically.

How to calculate lifetime deal ROI

Enter the one-time price you paid for the lifetime deal.
Enter the monthly cost of the SaaS subscription it replaces.
Read your break-even month, 1-year and 3-year savings, and total ROI.