Finance tools
Churn rate calculator
Free churn rate calculator and SaaS churn calculator for subscription businesses. Enter customers at the start of the period and customers lost to see monthly logo churn, retention rate, compound annualized churn (not monthly × 12), average customer lifetime, and optional gross revenue churn. Compare against segment benchmarks — then export CSV or PDF (Excel-friendly).
What this churn rate calculator does
This customer churn rate calculator measures how many paying customers you lost in a period. Enter customers at start and customers lost to get logo churn %, retention %, compound annualized churn, and average customer lifetime in months.
Open Revenue churn (optional) to add starting MRR and MRR lost to cancellations — logo churn and revenue churn often diverge when larger accounts churn at different rates than small ones.
Unlike thin SERP calculators that stop at a single percentage, you get period-aware math (monthly, quarterly, or annual inputs), a naive ×12 vs compound annual comparison, segment benchmarks, and export — built for founders and RevOps, not workforce attrition.
Monthly & annual churn
Compound annualization — e.g. 5% monthly ≈ 46% annual, not 60%.
Segment benchmarks
Enterprise, mid-market, SMB, and consumer subscription ranges with a health verdict.
Revenue churn mode
Optional gross revenue churn from starting MRR and MRR lost to cancellations.
CSV/PDF export
Download inputs and results for board decks, investor updates, or Excel models.
Related finance tools: compound interest calculator, quick ratio calculator, and current ratio calculator. For employee attrition (workforce retention), use the attrition rate calculator — not this page.
Churn rate formula
The standard logo churn rate formula is:
Churn rate (%) = (Customers lost ÷ Customers at start) × 100
Monthly churn rate formula: use customers at the start of the month and customers lost during that month. Quarterly and annual periods use the same structure — only the window changes.
Worked example: 100 customers at the start of the month, 5 lost → (5 ÷ 100) × 100 = 5% monthly logo churn. Retention = 100% − 5% = 95%.
Enter customers at start
Count paying customers or active subscriptions at the beginning of the period (month, quarter, or year).
Enter customers lost
Count customers who cancelled or churned during the same period — not new sign-ups.
Read your results
Review logo churn %, compound annualized churn, retention rate, benchmark verdict, and optional revenue churn.
Annual churn is not monthly churn × 12
Use compound annualization
A 5% monthly churn rate compounds to about 46% annual churn, not 60% (5 × 12). Formula: Annual churn = [1 − (1 − monthly rate)12] × 100. Each month you lose a percentage of a shrinking base.
Convert monthly to yearly churn: if you already know monthly churn as a decimal m, annual churn = 1 − (1 − m)12. To go the other way: monthly ≈ 1 − (1 − annual)1/12. The calculator applies compound math automatically for monthly, quarterly, and annual inputs.
What is a good churn rate?
| Segment | Healthy monthly churn (max) | Approx. annual (compound) |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise SaaS | < 0.5% | ~6% |
| Mid-market SaaS | 1–2% | ~12–22% |
| SMB SaaS | 3–5% | ~30–46% |
| Consumer subscriptions | 5–10% | ~46–72% |
Benchmarks vary by contract length, ACV, and onboarding. B2B SaaS leaders often cite <1% monthly logo churn as strong; consumer apps tolerate higher monthly rates. Use the segment selector for a quick health check — then track your own trend over time rather than chasing a single industry average.
Logo churn vs revenue churn
Logo (customer) churn counts accounts or subscribers lost. Gross revenue churn measures MRR lost to cancellations: MRR lost ÷ starting MRR × 100.
If your largest customers churn more often than small ones, revenue churn can exceed logo churn — or the reverse if you lose many small accounts. Track both for board and investor conversations.
Customer lifetime from churn rate
Average customer lifetime (in months) is the inverse of monthly churn expressed as a decimal:
Lifetime (months) ≈ 1 ÷ monthly churn rate
At 5% monthly churn (0.05), expected lifetime ≈ 20 months. At 2% monthly (0.02), lifetime ≈ 50 months. This is a simplifying average — real cohorts decay unevenly — but it is the standard back-of-envelope link between churn and LTV modeling.
The calculator converts your period input to a monthly equivalent before estimating lifetime. At 0% churn, lifetime is undefined for that period because you retained every customer.
How to calculate churn rate in Excel
To build a churn rate calculator in Excel or Google Sheets, set up three cells:
- A1 — customers at start of period
- A2 — customers lost during period
- A3 — logo churn %:
=IF(A1>0, A2/A1*100, "")
For compound annual churn from monthly logo churn in cell A3 (as a percent): =(1-(1-A3/100)^12)*100
Prefer not to build the sheet? Use this calculator, then export CSV and open it in Excel — inputs, logo churn, annualized churn, retention, and benchmark verdict are included.
Common churn calculation mistakes
- Counting free trials as customers — measure paying subscribers unless you explicitly track trial conversion churn.
- Mixing cohorts — use customers active at the start of the period; do not blend new sign-ups into the denominator unless you use an adjusted formula.
- Annualizing with × 12 — compound monthly churn for annual figures; naive multiplication overstates annual loss.
- Ignoring downgrades — cancellations drive gross revenue churn; downgrades are contraction (net revenue churn — coming in a future update).
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Frequently asked questions about this churn rate calculator
How do you calculate churn rate?
Divide customers lost during the period by customers at the start of the period, then multiply by 100. Example: 5 lost ÷ 100 start = 5% churn.
What is a good churn rate for SaaS?
It depends on segment. Enterprise often targets <0.5% monthly; SMB may see 3–5% monthly. Compare against your segment in the calculator and focus on improving your own trend.
Is annual churn just monthly churn × 12?
No. Churn compounds on a shrinking base. 5% monthly ≈ 46% annual using 1 − (1 − 0.05)12, not 60%.
What is the difference between customer churn and revenue churn?
Customer (logo) churn is the % of accounts lost. Revenue churn is the % of MRR lost to cancellations. They diverge when churn is concentrated in high- or low-value accounts.
What is net revenue churn?
Net revenue churn includes expansion (upsells) minus contraction (downgrades) and cancellations. Negative net revenue churn means expansion revenue exceeded losses — a strong signal for SaaS businesses.
Should new customers be included in the churn formula?
For simple logo churn, no — use customers at the start of the period. Some companies use adjusted formulas (e.g. Shopify-style averages); this calculator uses the standard start-of-period denominator.
How do you calculate customer lifetime from churn?
Average lifetime (in months) ≈ 1 ÷ monthly churn rate (as a decimal). At 5% monthly churn (0.05), lifetime ≈ 20 months. At 0% churn, lifetime is undefined — you retain every customer in that period.
Should free trial users count as customers?
Usually no for SaaS churn reporting — measure paying customers or active subscriptions. Trial drop-off is a separate conversion metric.
How often should I measure churn?
Monthly for operational reviews; quarterly for board reporting. Use consistent definitions and the same denominator each period.
What is retention rate vs churn rate?
Retention rate = 100% − churn rate for the same period and customer set. 5% churn = 95% retention.
How do I convert monthly churn to yearly churn?
Use compound math: Annual churn = [1 − (1 − monthly rate)12] × 100. Example: 5% monthly → about 46% annual, not 60%. The calculator annualizes automatically for monthly, quarterly, or annual period inputs.
What does a 20% churn rate mean?
A 20% churn rate means you lost 20% of your starting customer base in the period measured. If that is monthly logo churn, annualized loss compounds to roughly 93% — only a small fraction of the starting cohort would remain after a year at that pace. Context matters: 20% annual B2B churn is very different from 20% monthly consumer churn.
How do you calculate churn rate in Excel?
Logo churn % = (customers lost ÷ customers at start) × 100. In Excel: =B2/B1*100 where B1 is start count and B2 is lost count. For annualized churn from monthly % in cell C1: =(1-(1-C1/100)^12)*100. Or export CSV from this calculator and open it in Excel.