How to use this calculator
Enter starting customers, customers lost during the period, average MRR per customer, and period length.
The calculator estimates churn rate, retention, and recurring revenue lost from cancellations.
Calculate pre-seed churn from starting customers, lost customers, and revenue per customer. Use the result to see whether early customers are staying long enough to support repeatable growth.
Enter starting customers, customers lost during the period, average MRR per customer, and period length.
The calculator estimates churn rate, retention, and recurring revenue lost from cancellations.
Lower churn means the startup is keeping customers and can compound growth. High churn at pre-seed can erase acquisition progress and weaken investor confidence.
Monthly churn below 5% is stronger, 5% to 10% is a warning zone, and above 10% usually needs immediate retention work.
If 9 out of 120 customers churn in one month, churn is 7.5%, retention is 92.5%, and revenue lost is $441.
Divide customers lost during the period by starting customers, then multiply by 100.
Monthly churn above 10% is usually a serious warning sign unless the product is still in testing or the customer segment is being changed.
Multiply the number of churned customers by average MRR per customer to estimate recurring revenue lost.
Both matter, but weak retention can make growth unsustainable because new customers only replace lost customers.
Improve onboarding, identify cancellation reasons, strengthen customer success, and focus acquisition on customers who match the product best.
| Metric | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Primary metric | Churn Rate |
| Decision use | Use this result to judge startup health, investor readiness, and next operating priorities. |
| Benchmark | Monthly churn below 5% is stronger, 5% to 10% is a warning zone, and above 10% usually needs immediate retention work. |
| Recommendation | Improve the weakest driver before scaling spend or fundraising assumptions. |