Gross Revenue Retention (GRR)

Category: Metrics & KPIs · Level: Mid · Also called: GRR

TL;DR

The percentage of recurring revenue retained from a cohort after one year, excluding expansion — the pure retention metric.

GRR measures retention without the offsetting effect of expansion. It captures only contraction and churn, so GRR ≤ 100% by definition. GRR is the cleanest read on whether the product is structurally sticky; NRR is the read on whether the business is structurally compounding.

World-class SaaS GRR is 90%+ at enterprise and 80%+ at SMB. GRR below 75% in B2B SaaS suggests fundamental product or fit problems that high expansion can mask in NRR but cannot fix.

Formula

GRR = (Starting ARR − Churn − Contraction) ÷ Starting ARR × 100%

  • Starting ARR — ARR of the cohort at the start of the period
  • Churn — ARR lost from canceled customers in the period
  • Contraction — ARR lost from existing customers downgrading or reducing seats

GRR is capped at 100% — it excludes expansion. GRR < 90% (mid-market SaaS) signals product or onboarding problems.

Worked example

Cohort ARR $1.0M at start. Churned $80k, contracted $40k. GRR = ($1.0M − $0.08M − $0.04M) ÷ $1.0M = 88% — slightly below the 90% mid-market benchmark; investigate churn reasons.

Common pitfalls

  • Reporting only NRR and hiding weak GRR.
  • Treating temporary churn spikes as long-term GRR.
  • Failing to segment GRR by ICP and segment.

When this shows up in a pitch deck

Investor-grade SaaS decks show NRR and GRR side by side.

Related terms

  • Net Revenue Retention — The percentage of recurring revenue retained from a cohort after one year, including expansion, contraction, and churn.
  • Logo Churn — The percentage of customers (logos) who cancel in a given period, regardless of how much revenue they represented.
  • Revenue Churn — The percentage of recurring revenue lost from existing customers in a period through cancellation or downgrade.
  • Cohort Analysis — Grouping users by sign-up period and tracking each group's behavior over time to spot trends invisible in aggregate metrics.
  • Customer Success Manager — The post-sale owner of the customer relationship, responsible for adoption, retention, and expansion of an account.

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