Definition · also called NRR, net dollar retention, NDR
Net revenue retention (NRR) measures how much recurring revenue a group of existing customers generates now compared with a year ago, including upgrades, downgrades and cancellations, and excluding any new customers.
NRR above 100% means your existing customers are worth more each year even after churn: the business grows without adding a single customer. Gross revenue retention (GRR) is the same calculation without expansion, so it can never exceed 100%.
Net revenue retention formula
NRR = (starting MRR + expansion − contraction − churned MRR) ÷ starting MRR
- Use the MRR of customers who were active at the start of the period (usually 12 months ago). Revenue from customers acquired since then is excluded.
- GRR = (starting MRR − contraction − churned MRR) ÷ starting MRR.
- NRR above 100% is the same as negative net churn.
Worked example
A year ago your customers paid $20,000 MRR. Today those same customers pay: $3,000 more from upgrades and seats, $1,000 less from downgrades and $4,000 less from cancellations.
- NRR = ($20,000 + $3,000 − $1,000 − $4,000) ÷ $20,000 = 90%
- GRR = ($20,000 − $1,000 − $4,000) ÷ $20,000 = 75%
You'd need to win $2,000 MRR of new business just to stand still.
Net revenue retention benchmarks
NRR depends heavily on price point: expansion needs room to grow (seats, usage, higher tiers), which cheap single-user plans don't have.
| Benchmark | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Top-quartile NRR, ARPA under $10/month | 65.1% | ChartMogul SaaS Retention Report (2023) |
| Top-quartile NRR, ARPA over $500/month | 109.3% | ChartMogul SaaS Retention Report (2023) |
| Share of businesses under $10 ARPA with NRR above 100% | 2.7% | ChartMogul SaaS Retention Report (2023) |
| Share of businesses over $500 ARPA with NRR above 100% | 41.1% | ChartMogul SaaS Retention Report (2023) |
| Top-quartile NRR at $1–3M ARR | 94% | ChartMogul SaaS Retention Report (2023) |
| Best-in-class NRR, B2B mid-market and enterprise | 115–125% | ChartMogul SaaS Retention Report (2023) |
ChartMogul's figures cover 2022 data from companies using its platform. The 120%+ NRR numbers in public-company decks come from enterprise software with seat and usage expansion; they are not a realistic target for a $9/month tool.
Net revenue retention in practice: how indie makers use it
Very few indie makers publish NRR, and the data above explains why: most indie products are priced per user at a flat fee, so there is little to expand into. The ones who build expansion into pricing do it with usage and seats:
ScreenshotOne's plans are tiered by monthly screenshot volume (from 2,000 to 50,000 a month) with optional overage billing, so revenue per customer grows with usage, no sales team needed. It grew from $7 MRR in 2022 to about $36K MRR by September 2026. (sources: screenshotone.com, indiehackers.com, x.com)
Buffer publishes ARR and paying-customer counts in open shareholder updates ($22.4M ARR and 67,572 paying customers in May 2025), which lets anyone see how revenue per customer moves alongside churn. (source: buffer.com)
Designjoy's “expansion” came from price, not upsells: he raised the flat monthly fee from a few hundred dollars to $5,000 rather than hiring, keeping it a one-person business at about $100K MRR. (sources: highspirit.substack.com, x.com)
If your ARPA is low, focus on gross retention (stop the leaks) before NRR, and add a natural expansion path: more seats, more usage, a higher tier tied to customer success.
Free calculators
Frequently asked questions
What is a good net revenue retention rate?
It depends on price point. ChartMogul found top-quartile NRR of about 109% for SaaS with ARPA over $500/month but only about 65% under $10/month. Above 100% is excellent for any small SaaS.
What is the difference between NRR and GRR?
Gross revenue retention counts only losses (cancellations and downgrades), so it maxes out at 100%. Net revenue retention also adds expansion revenue from upgrades, so it can exceed 100%.
Is net dollar retention the same as NRR?
Yes. Net dollar retention (NDR) and net revenue retention (NRR) are two names for the same metric.
How can a small SaaS improve NRR?
Reduce cancellations and failed payments first, then add an expansion path such as per-seat pricing, usage tiers or add-ons that customers grow into as they succeed.
Related terms
Keep reading
Maker examples are paraphrased from the cited sources and from each maker's IndieMakerList profile; revenue is self-reported unless marked verified. Spotted an error? Tell us.