{
  "slug": "referral-program-payout",
  "title": "Referral Program Payout Calculator",
  "heading": "Referral Program Payout Calculator",
  "category": "other",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/referral-program-payout",
  "summary": "What a referral bonus costs against the value it brings in.",
  "description": "Referral bonuses are cheap acquisition if the payout stays under your customer value. This compares payout to lifetime value and gives the effective CAC.",
  "formula": "CAC = total payouts ÷ converted referrals.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=referral-program-payout",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "payout",
      "label": "Bonus per referral",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 150,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": null,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "referrals",
      "label": "Referrals per month",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 20,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "convert",
      "label": "Referral conversion",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 45,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 1,
      "max": 100
    },
    {
      "id": "ltv",
      "label": "Customer lifetime value",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1200,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": null,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "cac",
      "label": "Effective CAC",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "ratio",
      "label": "LTV : CAC",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "customers",
      "label": "New customers / mo",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "cost",
      "label": "Monthly payout cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Bonus per referral: 150 $",
      "Referrals per month: 20",
      "Referral conversion: 45 %",
      "Customer lifetime value: 1200 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Effective CAC: $333.33",
      "LTV : CAC: 3.6",
      "New customers / mo: 9",
      "Monthly payout cost: $3,000"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter bonus per referral ($).",
      "Enter referrals per month.",
      "Enter referral conversion (%).",
      "Enter customer lifetime value ($).",
      "Read your effective cac on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "payout": 90,
        "referrals": 12,
        "convert": 27,
        "ltv": 700
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "payout": 150,
        "referrals": 20,
        "convert": 45,
        "ltv": 1200
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "payout": 240,
        "referrals": 32,
        "convert": 72,
        "ltv": 1900
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Estimates assume standard, average conditions — local rules, pricing, and materials vary.",
    "Results are rounded for readability; add a buffer before ordering, booking, or committing.",
    "Double-check anything with a real cost attached against a local quote."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the referral program payout calculator work?",
      "a": "Referral bonuses are cheap acquisition if the payout stays under your customer value. This compares payout to lifetime value and gives the effective CAC. The underlying maths is: CAC = total payouts ÷ converted referrals."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "4 values: bonus per referral, referrals per month, referral conversion, and customer lifetime value. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the effective cac result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Estimates assume standard, average conditions — local rules, pricing, and materials vary."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone doing everyday planning maths — a quick estimate that would otherwise need four browser tabs and a calculator app."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/proposal-win-rate",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/loyalty-points-value"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Referral Program Payout Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/referral-program-payout)"
}