NetNet vs Lifetimely
LTV, cohort and profit analytics with an AI agent, by Amp
Lifetimely's depth is in lifetime value, cohorts and retention by channel and segment, with an AI agent delivering alerts in Slack. NetNet's depth is in the cost model behind a single order. If your central question is what a customer becomes worth over time, Lifetimely is built for it. If it is what today's orders actually left behind, that is NetNet.
Written by Atul Tirkey · Co-founder, NetNet
Updated September 6, 2026 · 3 min read
Lifetimely and NetNet both report net profit per order, which makes them look like direct alternatives. The centre of gravity of each product is somewhere else, and that is what should decide between them.
Two centres of gravity
Lifetimely began as an LTV and cohort tool and that inheritance is still visible. Retention by segment, acquisition cost by channel, cohort curves, forecasting, benchmarking — the product is organised around what a customer becomes worth over time.
NetNet is organised around what an order left behind today. The depth is in the cost model: gateway rates with fee tax modelled separately, shipping rules by weight and region, refunds attributed back to originating orders, per-order overrides when reality differs from the rule.
Both produce a profit number. They arrive from opposite directions, and each is more detailed on the side it came from.
Why the retention side matters for margin
These are not unrelated questions, and it is worth being explicit about how they connect.
Contribution margin per order sets a ceiling on acquisition cost — spend more than an order contributes and it loses money. But if customers reliably buy again, the first order does not have to carry the whole acquisition cost, and the ceiling rises by however much the repeat business is worth.
That adjustment is only legitimate with a measured repeat rate, taken by cohort rather than as a store average. Which is precisely what Lifetimely does well.
So a store with strong retention and no cohort data is systematically underbidding, and a store with weak retention that assumes otherwise is overbidding. Both errors are expensive, and neither is visible from margin data alone.
Where NetNet is the deeper tool
Three places, and they are narrow but consequential.
Gateway fee modelling. Percentage, flat fee and the tax charged on the fee, configured separately and testable against a real payout. In markets where fees are taxed, a blended percentage is wrong on every order by a small, constant amount that never surfaces.
Shipping variation. Rules by weight and region rather than an average. Delivery is the largest source of margin variation between two orders of the same value, and an average hides exactly the orders worth finding.
Per-order overrides. When an order’s real cost differs from what the rules predict — a split shipment, a manual refund of shipping, a one-off supplier price — the figure can be corrected on that order rather than distorting the model for everything else.
Delivery, and whether you will read it
A difference that sounds cosmetic and is not: Lifetimely pushes its Profit Agent’s alerts and insights into Slack. NetNet writes a weekly analysis you read in the app or by email.
Analytics that arrive where you already are get read. Analytics behind a login get opened in the first fortnight and then not. If your team lives in Slack, that is a real advantage and worth weighing above several matrix rows.
Pricing
NetNet’s entry plan is $15 against Lifetimely’s $49, though it covers $5K of monthly revenue rather than 500 orders — NetNet’s $49 tier is the one that covers $25K. Above that the paths diverge: Lifetimely runs $149 at 3,000 orders and $299 at 7,000, metering on order count. NetNet runs $99 and $199, metering on monthly revenue.
Which is cheaper is entirely a function of average order value. A store shipping 3,000 orders at $30 sits at $90,000 of monthly revenue — Lifetimely’s $149 tier against NetNet’s $99 one. A store shipping 800 orders at $200 is at $160,000 of revenue and the ordering reverses.
Lifetimely also has a free plan under fifty orders a month, which is a genuinely good answer for a store that is just starting and has no budget for either.
Work out your own position before comparing tiers. Multiply your average order value by your monthly order count, then read both pricing tables against those two numbers rather than against the entry price. For a meaningful share of stores the cheaper headline is the more expensive subscription, and the gap widens as you grow rather than closing.
If you have already decided against Lifetimely and are looking at the wider field rather than at us specifically, Lifetimely alternatives lists what else is available and what each one is worse at.
What Lifetimely does better
Lifetime value and cohort analysis are where Lifetimely started and remain the strongest part of the product — retention and acquisition cost tracked by segment and by channel, with forecasting and benchmarking on top. Its AI Profit Agent delivers alerts and insights into Slack rather than waiting to be opened, which is a real advantage over analytics that sit behind a login.
What NetNet does better
The cost model behind an individual order goes considerably deeper. Gateway fees split into rate, flat component and the tax charged on the fee, testable against a real payout. Shipping by weight and region rather than an average. Per-order overrides for split shipments and one-off supplier prices, and four profit layers that reconcile to one another — including contribution margin as an explicit line, which is the ceiling every retention forecast is eventually multiplied against.
Capability comparison
| Capability | NetNet | Lifetimely |
|---|---|---|
| Lifetime value and cohorts | New versus returning, repeat purchase rate | LTV and retention by segment and channel |
| Forecasting | Not offered | Sales forecasting and benchmarking |
| Profit layers | Gross profit, contribution margin, marketing profit, net profit | Net profit per order and product |
| Gateway fee modelling | Rate, flat fee and tax on fee, with a test tool | Transaction costs tracked |
| Shipping cost detail | Per-weight and per-region rules, carrier integrations | Shipping costs in the profit model |
| AI delivery | Written weekly report in-app and by email | Profit Agent with alerts in Slack |
| Ad platforms | Meta, Google | Google Ads, Meta, TikTok |
| Subscription tooling | Not supported | Recharge and Skio integrations |
| Amazon data | Not supported | Available as a paid add-on |
| Channel attribution | Spend against order margin | Channel-level marketing attribution |
| Free tier | None, 14-day trial instead | Free under 50 orders per month |
Pricing
| Tier | NetNet | Lifetimely |
|---|---|---|
| Free | None, 14-day trial instead | Free up to 50 orders per month |
| Entry | $15/month, up to $5K monthly revenue ($49 at $25K) | $49/month, 500 orders |
| Mid | $99/month, up to $100K monthly revenue | $149/month, 3,000 orders |
| Upper | $199/month, up to $250K monthly revenue | $299/month, 7,000 orders |
| Add-on | None | Amazon data at $75/month |
NetNet now starts lower, at $15 against Lifetimely's $49, and the two meter differently — Lifetimely counts monthly orders while NetNet counts monthly revenue. A high-volume store at a low average order value will find Lifetimely's tiers escalate faster; a low-volume store at a high average order value will find the opposite.
Which one fits
Choose Lifetimely if
- Retention is central to your model and you need cohort analysis by channel and segment
- You run subscriptions through Recharge or Skio and want them in the same view
- You want alerts pushed into Slack rather than a dashboard you have to remember to open
- You are under fifty orders a month and want something capable for free
Choose NetNet if
- Your margin problem sits in shipping, gateway fees or refunds rather than retention
- You need contribution margin as an explicit layer to set an acquisition ceiling
- Your gateway rates are non-standard, or your market charges tax on processing fees
- You want per-order cost overrides when an order's real cost differs from the rule
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for lifetime value analysis?
Lifetimely, without much argument. LTV and cohorts are its origin and the deepest part of the product, with retention and acquisition cost tracked by segment and channel. NetNet reports new versus returning and repeat rate, which is a far shallower treatment.
Do both calculate net profit per order?
Yes. The difference is in the cost model underneath — how gateway fees, shipping variation and refund attribution are handled — rather than in whether a per-order profit figure exists at all.
Is Lifetimely free?
There is a free plan for stores under fifty orders a month, which is genuinely useful for a new store. Above that, paid plans start at $49 a month and scale on order volume, with a fourteen-day trial.
Can I use both?
You could, though for most stores at this size two subscriptions covering overlapping ground is hard to justify. If retention analysis is the binding question, start there; if per-order margin is, start here.