SaaS Revenue Metrics: What Investors Actually Look At
Last updated: February 10, 2026
A Series A pitch went sideways when the founder quoted $2.4 million in annual revenue. The lead partner asked one question: "What's your net revenue retention?" The founder couldn't answer. The meeting ended fifteen minutes early. MRR and ARR are table stakes. Investors dig into churn metrics because those numbers reveal whether your growth is sustainable or whether you're filling a leaky bucket.
Monthly recurring revenue tracks the predictable portion of your subscription income. It excludes one-time fees, implementation charges, and variable usage that doesn't repeat. Churn measures how much of that recurring revenue walks out the door each month through cancellations and downgrades. Net revenue retention captures the full picture: churn losses offset by expansion from existing customers upgrading or adding seats.
This calculator takes your current MRR, new customer revenue, expansion revenue, and churn figures, then projects your revenue trajectory. You'll see logo churn versus revenue churn, net revenue retention percentage, and growth rates that matter during due diligence.
MRR Metrics VCs Ask For
Investors parse MRR into components because each piece tells a different story about your business.
New MRR
Revenue from customers who signed up this month. This reflects your sales and marketing engine. Strong new MRR with weak retention signals a leaky bucket problem.
Expansion MRR
Additional revenue from existing customers through upgrades, seat additions, or usage increases. High expansion MRR indicates product-market fit and customer success. According to SaaS Capital's annual survey, top-quartile companies generate expansion MRR equal to 30% or more of new MRR.
Churned MRR
Revenue lost from cancellations and downgrades. Investors want to see churned MRR as a percentage of starting MRR. Enterprise SaaS benchmarks at under 1% monthly gross churn; SMB-focused products often run 3% to 5%.
Net New MRR
The sum of new plus expansion minus churn. This single number shows whether your subscription base is growing or shrinking. Positive net new MRR month over month is the minimum bar for growth-stage funding.
ARR conversion:
ARR = MRR × 12
Investors use ARR for valuation multiples. A $1M ARR company at 10x multiple is valued at $10M. The multiple depends heavily on growth rate and net revenue retention.
Logo Churn vs Revenue Churn
These two metrics can tell opposite stories about your business health.
| Metric | Formula | What It Reveals |
|---|---|---|
| Logo Churn | Churned Customers / Total Customers | How many customers you lose, regardless of size |
| Revenue Churn | Churned MRR / Starting MRR | How much revenue you lose as a percentage |
A company losing 20 customers per month at $50 each has $1,000 revenue churn. If they also lose one enterprise customer at $5,000, revenue churn jumps to $6,000. Logo churn was 21 customers either way, but revenue churn tells a completely different story. Track both.
Warning Sign
Low logo churn with high revenue churn means your largest customers are leaving. This is worse than the reverse because enterprise accounts are harder and more expensive to replace.
Net Revenue Retention Reality Check
Net revenue retention (NRR) is the single metric that separates good SaaS companies from great ones. It measures how much revenue you keep and grow from your existing customer base, excluding new customers entirely.
NRR formula:
NRR = (Starting MRR + Expansion - Churn) / Starting MRR × 100
NRR above 120%
Elite territory. Your expansion revenue significantly exceeds churn. Companies like Snowflake and Twilio have reported NRR above 150%. You grow even without acquiring new customers.
NRR between 100% and 120%
Healthy SaaS. Expansion offsets churn. Most venture-backed B2B SaaS companies target this range. You're not dependent on new customer acquisition to maintain revenue.
NRR below 100%
Churn exceeds expansion. Every month your existing customer base shrinks in value. You need constant new acquisition just to stay flat. This is the leaky bucket that concerns investors.
Worked Examples
Example 1: B2B Project Management Tool
Setup: Starting MRR $85,000. New MRR $12,000. Expansion from seat additions $4,500. Churned MRR $3,200. 340 customers, 8 churned.
Calculations: Net new MRR = $12,000 + $4,500 - $3,200 = $13,300. Ending MRR = $98,300. Logo churn = 8/340 = 2.4%. Revenue churn = $3,200/$85,000 = 3.8%. NRR = ($85,000 + $4,500 - $3,200)/$85,000 = 101.5%.
Interpretation: Healthy growth with expansion slightly exceeding churn. The gap between logo churn (2.4%) and revenue churn (3.8%) suggests larger accounts are churning more than small ones.
Example 2: Developer Tools API Company
Setup: Starting MRR $220,000. New MRR $35,000. Expansion from usage growth $28,000. Churned MRR $8,500. 180 customers, 3 churned.
Calculations: Net new MRR = $35,000 + $28,000 - $8,500 = $54,500. Ending MRR = $274,500. Logo churn = 3/180 = 1.7%. Revenue churn = $8,500/$220,000 = 3.9%. NRR = ($220,000 + $28,000 - $8,500)/$220,000 = 108.9%.
Interpretation: Strong NRR driven by usage-based expansion. The business grows substantially from existing customers. Low logo churn (1.7%) with higher revenue churn (3.9%) suggests a few larger customers left.
Sources
For Educational Purposes Only - Not Financial Advice
This calculator provides estimates for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, tax, investment, or legal advice. Results are based on the information you provide and current tax laws, which may change. Always consult with a qualified CPA, tax professional, or financial advisor for advice specific to your personal situation. Tax rates and limits shown should be verified with official IRS.gov sources.