Net Revenue Retention (NRR)
The Net Revenue Retention (NRR) report (also known as Net Dollar Retention or NDR) is the most comprehensive measure of customer value. It tracks the percentage of recurring revenue retained from an existing customer cohort, factoring in all revenue changes: Expansion, Reactivation, Contraction, and Churn.
NRR is considered the single most important metric for demonstrating built-in revenue growth. The primary goal is to achieve an NRR above 100%.
NRR is calculated by taking the Starting MRR of the cohort, adding all gains (Expansion + Reactivation), subtracting all losses (Contraction + Churned MRR), and dividing the result by the Starting MRR.
For an in-depth explanation of NRR as a metric, see the NRR guide in the SaaS Metrics Academy.
Overview
The Net Revenue Retention (NRR) report includes a timeline chart and a breakdown table. This report is critical because it demonstrates the financial growth you achieve from your existing customer base, without needing to acquire new logos. The breakdown table cells are not clickable and there is no detail table.
Timeline chart
The timeline chart displays the NRR rate over time, typically alongside an average line (e.g., 6 months).
The NRR line will often change color based on the 100% threshold:
- Green: When the rate is above 100%. This indicates Negative Churn (Expansion and Reactivation revenue outweighs all losses). This is the hallmark of a growth-stage SaaS company.
- Red: When the rate is below 100%. This indicates that the revenue lost from Contraction and Churn is greater than the revenue gained from Expansion and Reactivation.
The report employs the same month-to-month calculation convention as other MRR reports to ensure consistent data over time.
Breakdown table
The table underneath the chart displays a cohort-based view for each period, making it explicit that each data point compares today's state to the cohort that existed 1 or 12 months ago (depending on the trailing window selected).
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Original | The MRR contributed by the cohort at the start of the lookback window (1 or 12 months earlier). This is the cohort MRR being measured. |
| Retained | The MRR from those original customers that is still being paid at the end of the period. |
| Churned | The MRR lost from original customers who canceled all paid subscriptions during the lookback window. |
| Expansion | The MRR gained from original customers upgrading or adding more seats/products during the lookback window. |
| Reactivation | The MRR gained from former, churned customers who started a new paid subscription during the lookback window. |
| Contraction | The MRR lost from original customers downgrading their subscriptions during the lookback window. |
| NRR Rate | The final calculated Net Revenue Retention Rate ((Original + Expansion + Reactivation - Contraction - Churned) / Original), displayed as a percentage. This value should ideally be above 100%. |
Customers acquired inside the lookback window are excluded — they were never part of the cohort being measured.
Choosing the trailing window
The chart toolbar includes a trailing window selector that lets you switch between two ways of measuring NRR:
Trailing 1 month (default)
Each point compares today's cohort MRR to the cohort MRR 1 month earlier. This matches typical monthly retention reporting and is the right view for operational use — tracking expansion vs. churn dynamics month over month.
Trailing 12 months (TTM)
Each point compares today's cohort MRR to the cohort MRR 12 months earlier. TTM is the standard most investors and benchmarks reference when discussing NRR — when you see a "120% NRR" headline, it's almost always a trailing-12-month figure. Use this view for board decks, investor updates, and comparing your numbers to public benchmarks.
In both modes, customers acquired inside the lookback window are excluded from the calculation — they were never part of the cohort being measured against.
A worked example
Suppose you're looking at the trailing 1-month view as of Apr 30, 2026. The cohort is every customer paying on Mar 31, 2026. Six customers are in the picture:
| Customer | On Mar 31, 2026 | What happens by Apr 30 | In cohort? | Treated as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anna | Paying $100/mo | Still paying $100 | ✓ Yes | $100 retained |
| Ben | Paying $100/mo | Upgrades to $150 | ✓ Yes | $150 retained (+$50 expansion) |
| Cleo | Paying $200/mo | Downgrades to $120 | ✓ Yes | $120 retained (−$80 contraction) |
| Dan | Paying $100/mo | Cancels on Apr 12 | ✓ Yes | $0 retained (−$100 churn) |
| Eli | Not a customer | Signs up Apr 5 at $200 | ✗ No | Excluded — joined inside the window |
| Fiona | Churned back in Jan 2026 | Reactivates Apr 18 at $150 | ✗ No | Excluded — wasn't paying on Mar 31 |
- Original MRR = $500 (Anna + Ben + Cleo + Dan)
- Retained MRR = $370 ($100 + $150 + $120 + $0)
- NRR = $370 ÷ $500 = 74%
Eli's $200 and Fiona's $150 are real revenue, but they don't enter this cohort's NRR. Eli will be in next month's cohort (he's paying on Apr 30, the new "start"). Fiona's reactivation is captured separately as a Reactivation MRR movement; for cohort retention she'll only count once she's been present at the start of a future window.
The trailing 12-month view follows exactly the same logic, just with a wider window. The cohort is everyone paying on May 1, 2025, and the comparison runs through Apr 30, 2026:
| Customer | On May 1, 2025 | What happens by Apr 30, 2026 | In cohort? | Treated as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anna | Paying $100/mo | Still paying $100 | ✓ Yes | $100 retained |
| Greg | Not a customer | Signs up Sep 2025, churns Mar 2026 | ✗ No | Excluded — joined inside the 12-month window |
| Hana | Paying $200/mo | Churns Aug 2025, reactivates Mar 2026 at $200 | ✓ Yes | $200 retained — she was in the cohort and is paying again at the end |
A wider window means more customers will join and leave inside it, so more get excluded — but only the starting cohort counts toward Original, Retained, and Churned.
Filters
The report supports a wide range of filters to help you analyze where revenue growth or loss is concentrated. These include:
- Date range
- Interval (Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly)
- Additional filters – plan, region/country, billing frequency, etc. (see all filters)
Filters are applied to both the chart and the table simultaneously.
Exporting the data
You can export the table as a CSV file for offline analysis or reporting by clicking the "Export" icon next to the date picker.
Practical tips
- The 100% Benchmark: NRR is most valuable when it is above 100%. This means your revenue grows even if you acquire zero new customers. Venture Capitalists often look for NRR benchmarks of 120%+ for the most successful SaaS models.
- Identify Expansion Success: Use filters to segment NRR by plan or feature usage to see which customer segments and pricing tiers are most effective at driving Expansion MRR.
- NRR vs. GRR: Compare NRR against your Gross Revenue Retention (GRR). The difference between the two rates represents the percentage of your cohort MRR generated purely by your expansion and upsell strategies.
