SaaS Metrics Cheatsheet
Learn more about important metrics for SaaS businesses and how you can act on them.
Revenue and growth
MRR
Predictable subscription revenue earned each month.
MRR
MRR is the foundational growth metric to track revenue consistency and growth trends.
How to act on this metric:
- If MRR is flat → review acquisition channels and campaigns.
- If MRR is down → investigate churn and downgrades.
- If MRR is up → double down on what’s working (pricing, campaigns, new tiers).
ARR
Predictable subscription revenue normalized annually.
ARR
ARR is often used in investor discussions and long-term planning.
How to act on this metric:
- If ARR is below target → adjust sales pipeline or spending to realign.
- If ARR is on target → track progress vs fundraising or board expectations.
- If ARR is ahead → leverage momentum in investor discussions.
Expansion Revenue
Additional revenue from existing customers (upsells, cross-sells, upgrades).
Expansion Revenue
Expansion revenue shows how well you grow existing accounts.
How to act on this metric:
- If low → invest in Customer Success and account growth playbooks.
- If high → identify repeatable upsell/cross-sell motions and product opportunities.
Net New MRR
MRR gained minus MRR lost in a given period.
Net New MRR
Net new MRR reveals whether growth is sustainable after churn.
How to act on this metric:
- If negative → prioritize churn reduction before scaling sales.
- If positive but inconsistent → check for seasonality or one-off spikes.
- If consistently positive → plan predictable scaling.
MRR Growth Rate
Month-over-month percentage change in MRR.
MRR Growth Rate
MRR growth rate measures the velocity of recurring revenue growth.
How to act on this metric:
- If declining → investigate churn, pricing, or market conditions.
- If accelerating → scale successful acquisition channels.
- If volatile → identify and smooth out seasonal patterns.
Gross Earnings
Total revenue before any deductions or expenses.
Gross Earnings
Gross earnings shows the raw revenue generation capability of the business.
How to act on this metric:
- If growing → validate that growth is profitable and sustainable.
- If flat → focus on expansion revenue and new customer acquisition.
- If declining → investigate market conditions and competitive pressures.
ARPU
Average Revenue Per User, calculated as total MRR divided by number of customers.
ARPU
ARPU indicates pricing power and customer value realization.
How to act on this metric:
- If low → consider pricing increases or feature upgrades.
- If high → validate customer satisfaction and retention.
- If declining → investigate downgrades or competitive pressure.
Retention and churn
Gross Revenue Churn
Percentage of recurring revenue lost due to cancellations or downgrades.
Gross Revenue Churn
Gross revenue churn indicates the leakiness of your revenue bucket.
How to act on this metric:
- If high → conduct churn surveys and fix common pain points.
- If low → focus on acquisition and expansion.
Net Revenue Retention (NRR)
Measures retained revenue from existing customers, including expansions and contractions.
Net Revenue Retention (NRR)
Net revenue retention (NRR) > 100% means your base of customers is growing without adding new logos.
How to act on this metric:
- If < 100% → plug churn and improve value delivery.
- If ≥ 100% → highlight in fundraising and sales materials.
Customer Churn Rate
Percentage of customers lost over a period.
Customer Churn Rate
Customer churn rate helps identify product/market fit issues or support/service challenges.
How to act on this metric:
- If high → investigate onboarding, support, and product-market fit.
- If low → invest in acquisition and expansion.
Logo Retention Rate
Percentage of customers retained, ignoring revenue size.
Logo Retention Rate
Logo retention rate is useful when customer sizes vary a lot.
How to act on this metric:
- If low → strengthen value proposition for SMBs or long-tail accounts.
- If high → use as proof point for reliability and product fit.
Net Revenue Churn
Revenue churn adjusted for expansion revenue from existing customers.
Net Revenue Churn
Net revenue churn shows true revenue retention when accounting for upsells and cross-sells.
How to act on this metric:
- If negative → expansion revenue exceeds churn; strong growth foundation.
- If positive but low → focus on reducing churn while maintaining expansion.
- If high → prioritize churn reduction before scaling acquisition.
Net Subscription Churn
Subscription churn adjusted for new subscriptions from existing customers.
Net Subscription Churn
Net subscription churn measures subscription retention accounting for multi-subscription customers.
How to act on this metric:
- If negative → customers are adding more subscriptions; strong expansion.
- If low → maintain current retention strategies.
- If high → investigate subscription-specific churn drivers.
Net Logo Churn
Customer churn adjusted for new logos added through existing customer referrals.
Net Logo Churn
Net logo churn shows true customer retention when accounting for referral growth.
How to act on this metric:
- If negative → referral program is driving net customer growth.
- If low → maintain current customer success and referral programs.
- If high → focus on improving customer satisfaction and referral incentives.
Customer acquisition
CAC
Average cost to acquire a new customer.
CAC
CAC determines if your sales and marketing spend is efficient.
How to act on this metric:
- If high → cut low-ROI channels and optimize conversion funnel.
- If low → test scaling acquisition budget.
LTV
Expected total revenue from a customer over their lifetime.
LTV
LTV helps decide how much you can afford to spend to acquire customers.
How to act on this metric:
- If low → improve retention or pricing.
- If high → use to justify higher CAC or more aggressive acquisition.
LTV:CAC Ratio
Compares the value of a customer to the cost of acquiring them.
LTV:CAC Ratio
LTV:CAC ratio helps determine if your acquisition spend is efficient.
How to act on this metric:
- If < 2:1 → acquisition is too expensive; cut costs or improve retention.
- If ≥ 3:1 → acquisition spend is efficient.
- If > 5:1 → potentially under-investing in growth.
CAC Payback Period
Number of months it takes to recoup the CAC.
CAC Payback Period
CAC payback period helps determine if your acquisition spend is efficient.
How to act on this metric:
- If > 12 months → reduce CAC or improve early monetization (annual contracts, upfront billing).
- If < 12 months → consider scaling acquisition spend.
Efficiency and profitability
Gross Margin
Percentage of revenue left after cost of goods sold (COGS).
Gross Margin
Gross margin helps determine if your business is profitable.
How to act on this metric:
- If < 70% → reduce infra or support costs, revisit pricing.
- If ≥ 80% → strong efficiency, track ongoing.
Burn Rate
Monthly net cash outflow.
Burn Rate
Burn rate shows how quickly you’re consuming capital.
How to act on this metric:
- If high → cut discretionary spend or slow hiring.
- If low → balance with growth goals; some burn is expected.
Runway
Number of months a company can operate before running out of cash.
Runway
Runway is critical for planning fundraising and growth pacing.
How to act on this metric:
- If < 12 months → start fundraising or reduce burn.
- If ≥ 18 months → plan for growth milestones before next raise.
Rule of 40
Growth rate plus profit margin; a benchmark for SaaS health. Should be equal to or greater than 40%.
Rule of 40
Rule of 40 is used by VCs to quickly evaluate SaaS business performance.
How to act on this metric:
- If < 40 → rebalance growth vs profitability strategy.
- If ≥ 40 → strong investor signal.
Quick Ratio
Measures growth efficiency by comparing new MRR to lost MRR (New MRR / Lost MRR).
Quick Ratio
Quick ratio indicates how efficiently you're growing relative to churn. A ratio of 4:1 or higher is considered healthy.
How to act on this metric:
- If < 2:1 → churn is too high relative to growth; focus on retention.
- If 2-4:1 → moderate efficiency; balance growth and retention efforts.
- If > 4:1 → strong growth efficiency; consider scaling acquisition.
Engagement and product usage
DAU/MAU
Measures product stickiness by seeing how how many daily and monthly active users you have.
DAU/MAU
DAU (Daily Active Users) and MAU (Monthly Active Users) indicate whether customers are actually engaged and using your product.
How to act on this metric:
- If low → revisit product’s engagement loops and stickiness.
- If high → promote usage case studies in marketing.
Activation Rate
Percentage of new users reaching a key action, milestone, or "aha" moment in your product.
Activation Rate
Activation rate measures onboarding effectiveness.
How to act on this metric:
- If low → improve onboarding, guided flows, or CS outreach.
- If high → scale acquisition confidently.
Feature Adoption Rate
Percentage of users adopting new or critical features.
Feature Adoption Rate
Feature adoption rate helps prioritize product development and training.
How to act on this metric:
- If low → increase in-app education or sunset unused features.
- If high → build on adoption patterns to guide roadmap.
Customer success
Customer Health Score
Composite metric combining product usage, support tickets, and satisfaction.
Customer Health Score
Customer health score is used by Customer Success teams to predict churn risk.
How to act on this metric:
- If many accounts are "red" → prioritize outreach and support interventions.
- If most accounts are "green" → focus on upsell and expansion opportunities.
Customer Satisfaction Score
Measured through surveys (CSAT, NPS) to gauge overall customer happiness.
Customer Satisfaction Score
Customer satisfaction score indicates customer loyalty and likelihood to renew or refer.
How to act on this metric:
- If low → investigate pain points and improve customer experience.
- If high → leverage testimonials and case studies for marketing.
- If declining → review recent changes and customer feedback.
Customer Effort Score
Measures how easy it is for customers to accomplish their goals with your product.
Customer Effort Score
Customer effort score lower effort typically correlates with higher satisfaction and retention.
How to act on this metric:
- If high → simplify workflows and improve product usability.
- If low → maintain current experience and consider advanced features.
- If increasing → investigate recent UI/UX changes or feature additions.
Feature Request Rate
Number of feature requests per customer or per support interaction.
Feature Request Rate
Feature request rate indicates product-market fit gaps and customer engagement level.
How to act on this metric:
- If high → prioritize roadmap based on common requests.
- If low → customers may be disengaged or product meets needs well.
- If increasing → consider expanding product capabilities or integrations.
Support Ticket Volume and Resolution Time
Number of support tickets and average time to resolution.
Support Ticket Volume and Resolution Time
Support ticket volume and resolution time indicates product complexity, documentation quality, and support efficiency.
How to act on this metric:
- If volume high + resolution slow → improve documentation and support processes.
- If volume low + resolution fast → strong product usability and support.
- If volume increasing → investigate product issues or onboarding gaps.