What is Gross Revenue Retention (GRR)?

Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) is the percentage of recurring revenue you retain from existing customers, excluding any expansion. Because it only counts losses from churn and contraction, GRR can never exceed 100% — making it a pure, unflattering measure of how much revenue is leaking out.

Why GRR caps at 100%

GRR deliberately ignores upsells and expansion, counting only what you lost. That's the point: it can't be inflated by a few big upgrades masking widespread churn. A GRR near 100% means very little revenue is leaking; a low GRR means you have a retention problem no amount of expansion fully hides.

GRR vs NRR — read them together

NRR tells you whether your customer base is growing overall; GRR tells you how leaky the bucket is underneath that. A company can show a healthy NRR above 100% while having a mediocre GRR, meaning strong expansion is papering over real churn. Tracking both gives the honest picture.

Formula

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

Example: $100k starting MRR with $8k lost to churn and downgrades: (($100k − $8k) ÷ $100k) × 100 = 92%.

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Questions about Gross Revenue Retention (GRR)

What's a good GRR?

Higher is better and it maxes at 100%. Strong SaaS businesses often see GRR in the high 80s to 90s percent; the closer to 100%, the less revenue you're losing to churn and contraction.

Should I track GRR or NRR?

Both. GRR shows how leaky your base is (losses only); NRR shows net growth including expansion. Together they reveal whether healthy NRR is real or just expansion hiding churn.

Related terms

Net Revenue Retention (NRR)

Net Revenue Retention (NRR) is the percentage of recurring revenue you retain from existing customers over a period, including expansion (upgrades) and net of contraction and churn. An NRR above 100% means your existing customers grow your revenue even before you add a single new one.

Churn Rate

Churn rate is the percentage of customers (or revenue) you lose over a period. It's the inverse of retention and one of the most important health metrics for any subscription business — small differences in churn compound dramatically over time, so even a point or two matters.

Customer Retention Rate

Customer retention rate (CRR) is the percentage of existing customers you keep over a period, excluding any new ones you acquired. It's the inverse of churn and a direct measure of how well you hold onto the customers you already have — usually far cheaper than winning new ones.

Browse the full customer support glossary →