Net revenue retention calculator.
Net revenue retention compares recurring revenue from an existing group of customers at the end of a period with what they paid at the start, counting upgrades, downgrades and cancellations. Starting at $200,000 MRR with $30,000 of expansion, $6,000 of contraction and $14,000 of churn gives 105% NRR and 90% gross retention.
Net revenue retention
105%
- Revenue from the same customers at the end
- $210,000
- Gross revenue retention
- 90%
- Expansion as a multiple of losses
- 1.5x
Indicative result from the numbers you enter. Not financial, tax or legal advice.
How it is calculated.
- Ending revenue from the group = start + expansion - contraction - churn. New customers won during the period are left out.
- NRR = ending revenue / starting revenue x 100.
- GRR = (start - contraction - churn) / start x 100; expansion is not counted, so GRR can never exceed 100%.
- Expansion cover = expansion / (contraction + churn).
Worked example.
Twelve months for one customer group
| Step | Working |
|---|---|
| Ending revenue | $200,000 + $30,000 - $6,000 - $14,000 = $210,000 |
| NRR | $210,000 / $200,000 = 105% |
| GRR | ($200,000 - $20,000) / $200,000 = 90% |
| Expansion cover | $30,000 / $20,000 = 1.5x |
Why investors weigh it heavily.
NRR above 100% means the existing customer base grows on its own, before a single new sale. That compounding is a big part of why software companies with high retention attract higher valuations, and it is one of the first numbers a growth investor asks for.
Rough ranges.
Published surveys of private and public SaaS companies often put median NRR somewhere around 100% to 110%, with companies selling to large enterprises frequently higher and those selling to small businesses lower. Gross retention near or above 90% is commonly seen as healthy for business software. Treat these as broad reference points that shift by market and year.
How to present it.
Measure over twelve months on a fixed group of customers, and show NRR and GRR side by side. A high NRR with a weak GRR means a few customers expanding are hiding many that leave, and diligence will find it in the cohort data.
Common mistakes.
- Including revenue from customers who signed during the period.
- Measuring over one month and annualizing it.
- Reporting NRR without GRR, which hides churn.
- Counting one-off fees or usage spikes as expansion.