Written by
Chris Pitchford
Reading time
10 Min
Tracking the right Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with this SaaS KPI Glossary is essential for SaaS companies to monitor growth, optimize operations, and align cross-functional teams. Below is a comprehensive KPI glossary for modern SaaS technology companies covering everything from revenue metrics to product adoption and operational efficiency.
Here is our comprehensive SaaS KPI glossary with corresponding formulas (use 'Command +F' to find a metric quickly):
1. Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Sum of revenue from all active subscriptions in a month
2. Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Sum of revenue from all active subscriptions in a month* 12
3. Churn Rate
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: (Customers Lost in Period / Total Customers at Start) * 100
4. Churn
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Previous period ARR from customers who discontinued their subscription in the current period.
5. Net Revenue Retention (NRR)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: (Revenue from existing customers + expansions - churned revenue) / Starting Revenue
6. Net Dollar Retention (NDR) Trailing Period
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Current ARR from customers active in a specific period / ARR from the same customers in that period
7. Net Dollar Retention (NDR) Cohorted
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Current ARR from customers active in a specific period / ARR from the same customers 1, 3, 6, or 12 months later.
8. Net Dollar Retention (NDR) Renewal
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Current ARR from customers' expiring contract / ARR from the same customers in their new contract
9. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Total Sales & Marketing Costs / Number of New Customers
10. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: (Average Revenue per User * Gross Margin %) / Churn Rate
11. CAC Payback Period
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: CAC / Average MRR per Customer
12. Logo Retention Rate
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: (Customers Retained / Starting Customers) * 100
13. Average Contract Value (ACV)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Total Contract Value / Number of Contracts
14. Sales Efficiency (Magic Number)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: (New ARR * 4) / Sales & Marketing Spend
15. Product Adoption Rate
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: (Number of Active Users / Total Signups) * 100
16. Feature Adoption Rate
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: (Number of Users for a Feature / Total Users) * 100
17. Expansion Revenue
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Revenue from Upsells & Cross-Sells / Total ARR
18. Customer Health Score
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Weighted average of product usage, engagement, and support metrics
19. Gross Revenue Retention (GRR)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: (Revenue Retained - Churned Revenue) / Starting Revenue
20. Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: % Promoters - % Detractors
21. Opportunities Created
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Total number of sales opportunities in period
22. Pipeline Value
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Total value of all open deals in sales pipeline
23. Weighted Pipeline Value
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Pipeline value weighted by stage
24. Stage Conversion Rate
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Percentage of opportunities that progress to the next stage
25. Stage Win Rate
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Percentage of deals in stage that are eventually won
26. Average Time in Stage
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Average time a sales opportunity or deal stays in a stage
27. Pipeline Waterfall
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Changes and movement in a sales pipeline
28. Compounded Monthly Growth Rate (CMGR)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: CMGR = (ARR at the current month ÷ ARR n months ago) raised to the power of (1 ÷ n) minus 1.
29. Year over Year (YoY)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: The measure of a metric from the previous year to the current year
30. Retained Revenue
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Sum of ARR in the current period
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31. Period over Period
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: The measure of a metric from any two distinct time periods
32. Contracted Annual Recurring Revenue (cARR)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Total contracted ARR includes customers starting from their 'close date', or the date that sale closes.
33. Live annual recurring revenue (Live ARR)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Total ARR counts the beginning of a contract from the 'start date', the first day services are being rendered.
34. Resurrected recurring revenue (ARR or MRR)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: ARR/MRR added from customers who have been active in a previous period, but not the most recent period.
35. Revenue Contraction
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Lost ARR from customers who did not churm
36. New Revenue
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: The sum of ARR from new customers in a period
37. Net New Revenue
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: The sum of ARR from new customers, resurrected customers, and expansion customers in a period, minus contraction, and minus churn.
38. Total Contract Value (TCV)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Sum of all active, non-annualized contract values, including any mid-contract changes (expansion or contraction), and incorporating non-recurring revenue in the total value.
39. Bookings
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: New sales revenue + expansions revenue + renewed revenue
40. Customer Concentration
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Cumulative Percentage of Revenue = (Sum of Revenue from Top i Customers ÷ Total Revenue) × 100
41. Billings
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Total Value of invoices sent to customers in a period.
42. Gross Dollar Retention (GDR)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: The lesser of current ARR and ARR in a specific past period from customers active in that period / ARR from those customers in that past period.
43. ARR up for renewal
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: ARR from expiring customer contracts
44. Customers up for renewal
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Count of customers with expiring contracts
45. Renewal
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: ARR (or count) of expiring customer contracts / ARR (or count) of renewal customer contracts
46. ARR per employee
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: ARR / Headcount
47. Monthly Active Users (MAU)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Total active users in a given month
Daily Active Users (DAU)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Total active users on a given day
48. Weekly Acitive Users (WAU)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Total active users in a given week
49.DAU/MAU
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Total active users in a day/total active users in a month
50. Headcount
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Total number of employees
51. Burn
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Change in cash balance over a period
52. Runway
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Total operating months remaining current cash balance and burn
53. Burn Multiple
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: -Burn/NetNew ARR
54. Net Income
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Revenue - All expenses
55. Lifetime Value / Customer Acqusition Cost Ratio (LTV/CAC Ratio)
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: (Annual contract value + gross margin/chrun rate) / (total sales and marketing expenses/number of new customers acquired)
56. Gross Profit
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Revenue minus Cost of goods sold
57. Gross Margin
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: Gross profit divided by Revenue
58. New Sales ARR / S&M
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: New Sales ARR divided bySales and Marketing Expenses
59. S&M % of Revenue
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: S&M Expenses divided by Revenue
60. R&D % of Revenue
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: R&D Expenses divided by Revenue
61. G&A % of Revenue
Definition: A crucial metric for SaaS companies.
Formula: G&A Expenses divided by Revenue
In Closing;
The KPIs in this SaaS KPI glossary are the lifeline of any SaaS technology company. By tracking the right metrics from this KPI glossary—from revenue growth and customer retention to operational efficiency—you can gain valuable insights that drive smarter decisions, stronger performance, and sustainable growth. Whether you’re optimizing sales efficiency, reducing churn, or improving product adoption, this KPI Glossary will ensure you have a clear understanding of the KPIs essential for aligning your teams and achieving your business goals. We hope this KPI Glossary made it easier for you to identify the right metrics to measure.
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FAQ
What are the most important SaaS KPIs for operations and finance teams?
The essential SaaS KPIs for ops and finance teams are: ARR and MRR (revenue scale), Net Revenue Retention (expansion vs. contraction), CAC Payback Period (capital efficiency), Gross Margin (unit economics), and WAU/MAU (product engagement). These six together tell you whether the business is growing efficiently, retaining what it acquires, and building a product users come back to — the three questions that matter most at every stage.
What is Net Revenue Retention and why does it matter more than gross churn?
Net Revenue Retention (NRR) measures the revenue retained from existing customers including expansion, contraction, and churn. Formula: (Starting MRR + Expansion − Contraction − Churn) / Starting MRR × 100. An NRR above 100% means the customer base is growing even without new logos — the existing base expands faster than it churns. Best-in-class SaaS companies target 120%+ NRR. It's more important than gross churn because expansion can mask churn problems — or solve them entirely.
What is a good CAC Payback Period for a SaaS company?
CAC Payback Period is the number of months to recover the cost of acquiring a customer through gross margin. Formula: CAC / (MRR × Gross Margin %). A payback period under 12 months is strong for SMB SaaS; under 18 months is solid for mid-market; under 24 months is acceptable for enterprise with long contract terms. Anything beyond 24 months typically signals either high CAC, low ACV, or margin problems that compound at scale.
How do SaaS companies track product engagement KPIs and why do they matter?
SaaS product engagement is measured through WAU/MAU ratio (stickiness), feature adoption rates, time-to-first-value, and session depth. WAU/MAU above 50% is considered strong retention signal; below 25% often predicts churn before it shows up in revenue numbers. Engagement KPIs matter because they're leading indicators — a disengaged user base churns 60–90 days later. Ops teams that track engagement get earlier warning than those watching only revenue.
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