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SaaS Retention Calculator

The SaaS Retention Calculator measures customer retention, gross revenue retention (GRR), and net revenue retention (NRR) for an existing customer base. It tracks the opening cohort through customer losses, recurring revenue churn, contraction, and expansion without adding revenue from newly acquired customers.

This view helps customer success, finance, and leadership teams understand whether the installed base is stable and whether expansion offsets losses. Customer retention focuses on account counts, GRR isolates revenue preserved before expansion, and NRR includes expansion from retained customers. Because each metric answers a different question, reviewing them together is more informative than relying on a single rate.

Retention period inputs

customers
customers
USD
USD
USD
USD
Result
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Net revenue retention
Customer retention—
Gross revenue retention—
Ending cohort MRR—
Net cohort revenue change—

1. Define the opening cohort
Use customers and recurring revenue active at the beginning of one consistent period.

2. Enter lost customers
Count customers from the opening cohort that canceled or failed to renew.

3. Enter churned and contracted MRR
Separate full revenue losses from downgrades among retained customers.

4. Enter expansion MRR
Include upgrades, additional seats, or cross-sells from the opening cohort only.

5. Review the three retention views
Customer retention tracks accounts, GRR excludes expansion, and NRR includes expansion.

6. Keep new sales separate
Do not add revenue from customers acquired after the period began.

Customer retention = (Starting customers − Lost customers) ÷ Starting customers × 100
GRR = (Starting MRR − Churned MRR − Contraction MRR) ÷ Starting MRR × 100
NRR = (Starting MRR − Churned MRR − Contraction MRR + Expansion MRR) ÷ Starting MRR × 100

GRR is capped conceptually at 100% because it excludes expansion. NRR can exceed 100% when expansion is greater than churn and contraction.

What the result means

The main result shows how recurring revenue from the opening cohort changed after losses and expansion.

Retention should be calculated consistently by cohort, period, currency, and recurring-revenue definition.

Given: 800 starting customers, 24 lost, $160,000 starting MRR, $7,000 churned MRR, $3,000 contraction, and $12,000 expansion.

Calculation: Customer retention = 776 ÷ 800 = 97.0%. GRR = ($160,000 − $7,000 − $3,000) ÷ $160,000 = 93.75%. NRR = ($160,000 − $7,000 − $3,000 + $12,000) ÷ $160,000 = 101.25%.

Result: NRR is 101.25%, meaning expansion slightly more than offset recurring revenue losses.

Why can NRR exceed 100%?

NRR includes expansion from the opening cohort. It exceeds 100% when upgrades and additional usage are greater than churn and contraction.

Why can GRR not benefit from expansion?

GRR is designed to show the portion of starting revenue retained before expansion. It isolates downside in the existing base.

Should paused subscriptions count as churn?

Use a consistent policy. If paused revenue is removed from recurring revenue and not expected to resume, treating it as churn or contraction may be appropriate.

Can customer retention rise while NRR falls?

Yes. The company may retain many small customers while losing or shrinking a few large accounts, causing revenue retention to underperform account retention.

How is retention different from churn?

Retention measures what remains; churn measures what was lost. For customer counts, retention plus churn generally equals 100% for the same opening cohort and period.