Gross Revenue Retention (GRR)
This metric is defined in Core Metrics. Customer Success references it as a key outcome metric.
GRR isolates the retention component, removing the influence of expansion.
Gross Revenue Retention (GRR): The percentage of revenue retained from existing customers, excluding expansion revenue. Also known as Gross Dollar Retention.
Also known as: GRR
Formula
GRR = Sum of min(Beginning MRR, Current MRR) per customer / Beginning MRR × 100GRR = (Beginning MRR - Contraction MRR - Churned MRR) / Beginning MRR × 100Benchmarks
- Below 80%: Severe retention problem
- 80-85%: Below average for most segments
- 85-90%: Average for SMB-focused businesses (Median for bootstrapped SaaS: 92%)
- 90-95%: Good, typical for mid-market
- 95%+: Excellent, typical for enterprise (90th percentile: 98%)
What It Tells You
The baseline health of your customer relationships, independent of upsell. Investors examine GRR alongside NRR because strong expansion can mask high churn.
Dual-Lens Note
GRR measures revenue retained from existing customers, excluding expansion. Because expansion is already stripped out, the Operating/Market distinction that drives dual-lens treatment for other metrics does not apply — there is no expansion classification to filter. GRR is GRR: the same calculation serves both internal planning and investor reporting. The existing definition is the standard for both lenses.
Related Metrics
Connected in the GASP relationship graph.
Upstream — what drives this
- Churned MRR component of GRR (Core)
GASP Standard v1 · Last updated