Churn Rate Calculator
Inputs
| Customers at Start of Period | 500 |
|---|---|
| Customers Lost in Period | 25 |
| MRR at Start of Period | 50,000 $ |
| MRR Churned in Period | 2,000 $ |
Churn Rate Calculator
Calculate logo churn and revenue churn for a subscription business from customers lost and MRR churned over a period, plus the implied logo retention rate.
Inputs
Period Activity
Results
Enter a value to see results.
Details
Understanding churn rate
Churn rate measures how much of a subscription business slips away over a period. It comes in two main forms: logo churn, which counts customers lost, and revenue churn, which counts recurring revenue lost. Both compare what was lost to what existed at the start of the period, and both are expressed as a percentage. Tracking the two together reveals patterns that either one alone can hide.
Logo churn and revenue churn
Logo churn divides the number of customers lost by the number of customers at the start of the period:
Logo Churn=Customers at StartCustomers LostRevenue churn (gross MRR churn) divides the recurring revenue lost by the monthly recurring revenue at the start:
Revenue Churn=MRR at StartMRR ChurnedThe difference between the two depends on the size of the accounts that leave. When small accounts depart, revenue churn sits below logo churn. When a few large accounts depart, revenue churn rises above it. Reporting both numbers shows not just how many customers left but how much they were worth.
Worked example
A SaaS company starts a month with 500 customers and $50,000 in MRR. During the month, 25 customers cancel and $2,000 of MRR is lost.
Logo Churn=50025=5% Revenue Churn=$50,000$2,000=4%Logo churn is 5% while revenue churn is 4%. Because revenue churn is lower, the customers who left were, on average, smaller than the typical account. The logo retention rate is the complement of logo churn: 1 − 5% = 95%.
Churn and retention
For a single metric, churn and retention are two sides of the same coin and sum to 100%. A 5% logo churn means 95% logo retention; a 4% gross revenue churn means 96% gross revenue retention. One can be derived from the other, so businesses usually report whichever frames the conversation more naturally — churn for loss, retention for staying power.
Gross revenue churn ignores expansion. Existing customers who upgrade add revenue back, and once that is counted the picture can look very different. Net revenue retention can rise above 100% when expansion outweighs losses, something gross churn figures never show on their own.
Monthly versus annual churn
A common mistake is to multiply a monthly churn rate by twelve to estimate the annual figure. That overstates the loss, because the customer base shrinks each month, so each month's churn applies to a smaller base. The correct approach compounds the monthly retention rate:
Annual Retention=(1−Monthly Churn)12At 2% monthly churn, monthly retention is 98%. Over twelve months that is 0.98 raised to the twelfth power, about 78.5% — an annual churn near 21.5%, not the 24% a simple multiplication would suggest.
What counts as a good churn rate
There is no universal target. Businesses serving large enterprises often hold monthly logo churn near 0.5–1%, helped by long contracts and high switching costs. Products aimed at very small businesses or individual consumers commonly see several percent per month, because those customers are quicker to leave. Revenue churn usually matters more than logo churn for the bottom line, since it weights each loss by its recurring value. A churn rate is most meaningful when compared against similar businesses rather than judged against an absolute number.
Acting on churn
A churn figure is a starting point, not a verdict. Investigating which customers leave, when, and why turns the number into something actionable — whether that points to onboarding gaps, pricing mismatches, or a product that underdelivers for a particular segment. To see the full retention picture including expansion, pair this calculator with the Net Revenue Retention (NRR) Calculator for net revenue retention.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the difference between logo churn and revenue churn?
Logo churn counts the number of customers lost as a share of the customers at the start of the period. Revenue churn counts the recurring revenue lost as a share of starting MRR. They diverge when customers differ in size: if mostly small accounts leave, revenue churn is lower than logo churn; if a few large accounts leave, revenue churn is higher. Both are worth tracking because one number alone can hide the pattern.
What is a good churn rate?
It depends on the segment. Established SaaS businesses serving larger companies often run monthly logo churn around 0.5–1%, while products serving very small businesses or consumers commonly see 3–5% or more per month. Lower is better, and revenue churn matters more than logo churn for the bottom line. Benchmarks vary widely, so a churn rate is best compared against similar businesses rather than a universal target.
How does monthly churn relate to annual churn?
Annual churn is not twelve times the monthly rate, because the base shrinks each month. With a constant monthly retention of (1 − monthly churn), annual retention is that figure raised to the twelfth power. For example, 2% monthly churn means 98% monthly retention; over a year that is 0.98 to the twelfth power ≈ 78.5% retained, or roughly 21.5% annual churn — well below 24%.
How are churn and retention related?
For a given metric, retention and churn sum to 100%: a 5% logo churn implies 95% logo retention. They describe the same movement from opposite directions. Revenue retention, however, can exceed 100% when expansion from existing customers outweighs losses — a case logo and gross churn cannot show on their own.
Disclaimer
This calculator measures gross churn over a single period from the figures entered. It does not account for expansion revenue, reactivations, or cohort timing within the period. Definitions of churn vary between businesses; use consistent definitions when comparing results over time.
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Net Revenue Retention (NRR) Calculator
Calculate net revenue retention (NRR) and gross revenue retention (GRR) from starting MRR plus expansion, contraction, and churn within the existing customer cohort.