[GTM glossary](/glossary.txt) Lifetime Deal (LTD) GTM Strategy & SaaS Metrics # Lifetime Deal (LTD) Also known as: lifetime deals In short A lifetime deal (LTD) is an offer where a customer pays once, usually at a steep discount, for ongoing access to a software product instead of paying a monthly or annual subscription. The scope of "lifetime" is set by the vendor, and typically means the life of the product or plan, not the life of the buyer. SaaS companies use LTDs to raise cash and gain early users, reviews, and feedback. The cost is lost recurring revenue, so the deal needs careful limits. ## How a lifetime deal works The vendor sells a fixed number of licenses for a plan at a one-time price, often through a launch window or a deal marketplace. Buyers get the plan features listed in the terms, and the vendor keeps the right to define what "lifetime" covers. --- ## Why companies offer them * **Upfront cash:** Money arrives immediately instead of over years, which can fund development. * **Early adopters:** Buyers test the product and surface bugs and feature gaps. * **Reviews and word of mouth:** Early users can create social proof for later launches. --- ## Risks for the vendor * **Lost recurring revenue:** Each LTD buyer may never pay again, yet still costs money to host and support. * **Support load:** Low-priced customers can generate as many tickets as full-price ones. * **Wrong customer mix:** Deal hunters may not match your ideal customer profile and may churn into silence. * **Price anchoring:** Public discounts can make regular pricing look too high. --- ## Risks for the buyer Buyers face the chance that the product is shut down, sold, or stops being updated. Check which plan is covered, whether future features are included, and what happens if the company changes hands. --- ## Example Say a startup sells 500 licenses at a one-time price equal to about eight months of its normal subscription. It collects cash early, but every one of those users is a customer it can never upsell on the base plan. Capping the number of licenses and excluding costly features keeps the downside small. --- ## Best practices * Cap the number of deals and the length of the window. * Define "lifetime" and the feature scope in writing. * Exclude high-cost features such as heavy usage or credits. * Route LTD users into a separate segment so they do not distort retention and revenue metrics. --- ## Lifetime Deal (LTD) FAQs **What is a lifetime deal (LTD) in SaaS?** A lifetime deal is a one-time payment, usually discounted, that gives a customer ongoing access to a software product instead of a recurring subscription. The vendor defines what lifetime covers, which is usually the life of the product or plan. **Are lifetime deals good for SaaS companies?** They can raise cash and bring early users, but they give up recurring revenue and still carry hosting and support costs. They work best when capped, tightly scoped, and offered by companies that can sustain the product long term. **What does lifetime mean in a lifetime deal?** It normally means the lifetime of the product or the specific plan, not the buyer. The terms may exclude future tiers or features, so read what the vendor promises about updates and support before buying. **How do lifetime deals affect SaaS metrics like MRR and churn?** LTD buyers pay once, so they add little or no monthly recurring revenue and can distort retention figures. Many teams track them as a separate segment so subscription metrics stay clean. Share term --- ## More related phrases * [Credit-based pricing](/glossary/credit-based-pricing.txt) * [Pricing strategy](/glossary/pricing-strategy.txt) * [Usage-based pricing](/glossary/usage-based-pricing.txt) ## Similar phrases * [Customer lifetime value (LTV)](/glossary/customer-lifetime-value.txt) Customer lifetime value (LTV) estimates the total gross profit or revenue a customer will generate over the whole relationship, and guides how much to spend to acquire them. * [Annual recurring revenue (ARR)](/glossary/annual-recurring-revenue.txt) Annual recurring revenue (ARR) is the yearly value of the subscription revenue a company expects to keep earning from its current customers. * [Monthly recurring revenue (MRR)](/glossary/monthly-recurring-revenue.txt) Monthly recurring revenue (MRR) is the predictable subscription revenue a business expects to earn each month, normalized across billing periods. * [Churn rate](/glossary/churn-rate.txt) Churn rate is the percentage of customers or revenue a business loses over a given period, and it is a core indicator of retention health. * [Seat-based pricing](/glossary/seat-based-pricing.txt) Seat-based pricing charges customers a fixed fee for each user who has access to a product, so revenue scales with headcount rather than usage.