SaaS & Retention

Net Revenue Retention Calculator

Net revenue retention answers one question: if you signed no new customers at all, would revenue grow? Above 100 percent means your existing base is a growth engine on its own, and that is the strongest position a subscription business can hold.

Your numbers

Result

Net revenue retention103.0%
Gross revenue retention91.0%Expansion excluded. This one cannot exceed 100 percent.
Expansion rate12.0%
MRR in twelve months with no new customers$285,152

FormulaNRR = (starting MRR + expansion − contraction − churn) ÷ starting MRR × 100

Worked example

Starting from $200,000 of MRR with $24,000 of expansion, $6,000 of contraction and $12,000 of churn, net revenue retention is 103 percent while gross revenue retention is 91 percent. Expansion is running at 12 percent. Held for a year with no new customers at all, that base would grow to roughly $285,155 of MRR, which is the clearest possible argument for funding account management.

What to watch for

Report NRR and GRR together or neither. NRR above 100 percent with GRR at 91 percent tells you a handful of accounts are expanding fast enough to cover meaningful churn, which is a different and more fragile business than one where almost nobody leaves.

NRR above 120 percent usually depends on usage-based or seat-based pricing where customer growth automatically becomes your growth. If your pricing is flat per account, expect a structurally lower ceiling and plan accordingly.

Segment NRR by customer size. A blended figure carried by two large expanding accounts hides a small-account base that is bleeding, and the fix for each of those problems is completely different.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good net revenue retention rate?

Above 100 percent means the existing base grows without new sales, which is the target. Best-in-class enterprise software often reports 120 percent or higher, while a figure below 90 percent means acquisition is permanently running to stand still.

What is the difference between NRR and GRR?

GRR excludes expansion revenue and therefore can never exceed 100 percent, so it measures pure leakage. NRR includes expansion and can exceed 100 percent. GRR shows how leaky the bucket is, NRR shows whether the tap is winning.

Should new customers be included?

No. Both metrics measure only the cohort that existed at the start of the period. Including new business turns them into a growth metric and destroys the thing they were designed to tell you.

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