Chart: Gross MRR Retention
The Gross MRR Retention (GRR) chart tracks the percentage of recurring revenue retained from existing subscribers after losses from contraction and churn, excluding expansion and reactivation.
For SaaS businesses, it’s a clear measure of how well you retain customers at their current price point. The higher your GRR, the less your growth is being eroded by cancellations and downgrades. It’s also a strong signal of product-market fit, indicating that customers find enough value in your product to keep paying for it.
To view revenue retained including expansion and reactivation, use Net MRR Retention.
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What insights can I gain from GRR?
Gross MRR Retention, also known as Gross Renewal Rate (GRR), is an indicator of how well you retain subscribers at their current price point or contract value. The lower your GRR, the more your business growth is negatively impacted by contraction and churn. Learn more in our SaaS Retention Report.
GRR can be an indicator that your business is satisfying market demand, also known as product-market fit. If you’re just starting your business and have high GRR, it could indicate that your product has key features or meets requirements that customers need (and are willing to pay for). As your business grows and your product is more established, high GRR could indicate that customers see your product as a leader in the market. Use Benchmarks to compare your GRR to industry peers.
Chart Notes
- Excludes New Business, Reactivation and Expansion.
- The value of Starting MRR is from subscribers with an Active or Past due subscription at the start of the period.
- Non-recurring payments do not contribute to this chart.
- When filtering by Plan > is one of, ChartMogul calculates the percentage of revenue retained when a subscriber switches plans. When the plan switch results in expansion, ChartMogul reports it as 100% of revenue retained. When the plan switch results in contraction, ChartMogul calculates the percentage of revenue retained from the subscription.
- Toggle between the default (WoW/MoM/QoQ) and year-over-year (YoY) rates. Learn more.
- Select Exclude MRR contraction from numerator to remove contraction MRR from your retention calculation. Note: this will raise your retention numbers.
- When a plan filter is applied, use the Subscribers leaving the segment count as drop-down to control how plan switches are counted—as full churn, proportional retention, or full retention (excluded from the calculation entirely).
Calculation
When calculating GRR, ChartMogul takes total MRR from existing subscribers at the start of the period, subtracts contraction and churn during the interval, and divides the result by total MRR from subscribers at the start of the interval:
(Starting MRR − Contraction MRR − Churn MRR) ÷ Starting MRR
Selecting Exclude MRR contraction from numerator removes Contraction MRR from the formula. This will raise your retention numbers.
When a plan filter is applied, the Subscribers leaving the segment count as drop-down controls how subscribers who switch away from the filtered plan affect the formula:
| Option | How plan switches are counted | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| 100% revenue churn | The full MRR of subscribers who switched away is subtracted. | (Starting MRR − Contraction MRR − Churn MRR − MRR Leaving Segment) ÷ Starting MRR |
| Proportional revenue retention | Upgrades out are fully retained; only the MRR difference lost on a downgrade is subtracted (e.g., the $40 difference in a $100 to $60 switch, not the full $100). | (Starting MRR − Contraction MRR − Churn MRR − Contraction Out MRR) ÷ Starting MRR |
| Excluded from numerator (100% retention) | Subscribers leaving the segment are ignored entirely; the formula is unchanged. | (Starting MRR − Contraction MRR − Churn MRR) ÷ Starting MRR |
Example
At the start of the month, you have $100 in MRR. During the month, you lose $10 to churn and $10 to contraction. Your net GRR retention rate is 80%: ($100 − $10 − $10) ÷ $100.
Retention rate for the current period
When calculating retention rate for a period that hasn’t ended yet, ChartMogul uses the following formula to estimate retention rate at the end of the period:
(total number of days in the period ÷ number of days passed in the period) × real retention rate
Chart Data
The Chart Data table for Gross MRR Retention works differently from other charts. It provides the following breakdown:
- Starting MRR – The MRR at the start of each period.
- Contraction MRR – The loss in MRR from subscribers who had a net decrease in MRR. Hidden when Exclude MRR contraction from numerator is selected.
- Churn MRR – The net loss of MRR from existing customers who canceled their last (or only) subscription in the period.
- MRR Entering Segment – Total MRR of the subscriptions before they transitioned into the segment. Only visible when a plan filter is applied.
- MRR Leaving Segment – Total MRR of the subscriptions before they transitioned out of the segment. Only visible when a plan filter is applied. Expand the row to reveal:
- Expansions out of segment – MRR lost when subscribers upgrade to a plan outside the filtered segment.
- Contractions out of segment – MRR lost when subscribers downgrade to a plan outside the filtered segment.
- Gross MRR Retention – The percentage value of gross MRR retained in the period.
Next Steps
- View the cumulative (net) effect of all changes a customer makes to their subscriptions with Net MRR Movements.