Methodology How we calculate + source

How every calculator on this site computes, where the benchmark numbers come from, what is in scope and what is not, and how often the data is refreshed.

Calculator inputs, formulas, and defaults

Twelve calculators, one row each. The formula column gives the exact arithmetic; notes capture the assumptions and exclusions that matter.

Page	Inputs	Formula	Notes
/arr-calculator	Monthly MRR, annual contract value, churn, expansion, contraction	ARR = (MRR x 12) + annual contracts; net new ARR = new + expansion - churn - contraction	Multi-year contracts counted at annual value only; one-time setup and implementation fees excluded.
/mrr-calculator	New, expansion, churned, contraction, reactivation MRR	Net new MRR = New + Expansion + Reactivation - Churn - Contraction; SaaS Quick Ratio = (New + Expansion) / (Churn + Contraction)	Quarterly contracts divided by 3, annual contracts divided by 12 before entry.
/churn-rate-calculator	Starting customers, churned customers; starting MRR, churned MRR	Logo churn = lost customers / starting customers. Revenue churn = lost MRR / starting MRR. Annual churn = 1 - (1 - monthly churn)^12.	Compounding annualisation, not 12x multiplication. ChartMogul uses the same compounded definition.
/nrr-calculator	Starting MRR, churn MRR, contraction MRR, expansion MRR	NRR = (Start - Churn - Contraction + Expansion) / Start. GRR = (Start - Churn - Contraction) / Start, capped at 100%.	GRR cannot exceed 100% because it excludes expansion. NRR can exceed 100% when expansion outpaces revenue loss.
/ltv-calculator	Monthly ARPU, gross margin %, monthly churn rate %	LTV = ARPU x Margin / Monthly Churn	Uses gross profit, not revenue. Cohort-based LTV recommended once you have 18+ months of retention data and NRR > 110%.
/cac-calculator	Total S&M spend (or itemised: salaries, paid ads, content, events, tools, agencies), new customers acquired	CAC = Total fully-loaded S&M / New customers	Fully-loaded means salaries and benefits included, not just paid media. Excludes R&D, customer success post-sale, and G&A.
/ltv-cac-ratio	Combined LTV and CAC inputs	LTV:CAC = LTV / CAC	3:1 healthy floor; 3-5x sweet spot; above 5x often signals underinvestment.
/cac-payback-calculator	CAC, monthly ARPU, gross margin %	Payback months = CAC / (ARPU x Margin)	Acceptable payback varies by ACV; benchmark vs your segment, not against a generic standard.
/rule-of-40-calculator	Revenue growth rate %, EBITDA margin %	Rule of 40 score = Growth + EBITDA Margin	Both inputs as percentages, not ratios. Negative EBITDA margins subtract from the score.
/magic-number-calculator	Current quarter revenue, previous quarter revenue, previous quarter S&M spend	Magic Number = (Current Q Revenue - Previous Q Revenue) x 4 / Previous Q S&M Spend	One-quarter spend lag assumption. Fails for sales cycles over 6 months; use 2-quarter lag for enterprise.
/burn-multiple-calculator	Net burn (monthly or period), net new ARR (matching period)	Burn Multiple = Net Burn / Net New ARR. Bessemer Efficiency Score = Net New ARR / Net Burn (inverse).	Both must cover the same period. Sacks 2022 origin scale applied.
/gross-margin-calculator	Revenue and itemised COGS: hosting, support team, onboarding/PS, third-party APIs, data + bandwidth	Gross Margin % = (Revenue - COGS) / Revenue	COGS excludes R&D, sales and marketing, customer success post-onboarding, and G&A.

Benchmark sources

Eight named primary sources. Every range cited on the benchmarks pages maps back to one of these. The source URL is shown so you can verify the underlying data and refresh year.

Bessemer Venture Partners

source

State of the Cloud (annual)

Burn multiple, NRR, Rule of 40, Cloud 100 efficiency benchmarks. Bessemer publishes the Efficiency Score formulation (inverse of burn multiple).

OpenView Partners

source

SaaS Benchmarks Report (annual)

ARR growth by stage, NRR/GRR distributions, CAC payback medians, gross margin benchmarks. OpenView's report is the most-cited public benchmark for private SaaS.

KeyBanc Capital Markets

source

SaaS Survey (annual, with Sapphire Ventures)

Median + top quartile NRR by ACV tier, CAC payback by GTM motion, burn rate medians, gross margin breakdown.

High Alpha + OpenView

source

SaaS Benchmarks Survey

B2B SaaS efficiency metrics by stage; revenue per FTE, sales productivity.

ChartMogul

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SaaS Subscription Index

Real subscription data (anonymised aggregate) on churn rate distributions, logo vs revenue churn divergence, expansion trends.

David Sacks (Craft Ventures)

source

Burn multiple framework (2022)

Original definition of burn multiple = Net Burn / Net New ARR plus the rating scale (sub-1.0 great, 1.0-1.5 good, 1.5-2.0 suspect, 2.0-3.0 bad, 3.0+ horrible).

Public SaaS company filings

source

SEC 10-K and 10-Q

Verifiable data points on NRR, gross margin, S&M efficiency for named public companies (Datadog, CrowdStrike, Snowflake, Atlassian, HubSpot, Salesforce).

Battery Ventures

source

Cloud Software Spending Survey

Buyer-side perspective on usage-based vs subscription pricing trends; SaaS budget allocation.

In scope and out of scope

In scope

Standard B2B and B2C SaaS subscription metrics (MRR, ARR, NRR, GRR, churn, LTV, CAC, etc.)
Capital efficiency metrics (burn multiple, Rule of 40, magic number, CAC payback)
2026 benchmark ranges by funding stage (Seed to Growth)
Comparison content: logo vs revenue churn, GRR vs NRR
Worked numerical examples for every formula

Out of scope

Per-vertical benchmarks (cybersecurity SaaS, vertical SaaS)
Public SaaS multiples (covered at saasvaluationmultiple.com)
Cap table and dilution math
Stock-based compensation modelling
GAAP vs non-GAAP revenue recognition guidance
Tax and transfer pricing

Refresh cadence

Benchmarks are refreshed when a primary source publishes new data (typically annually, late Q1 to early Q3). The verification timestamp on every page resolves from a single source-of-truth constant (LAST_VERIFIED_DATE) in code, so when a substantive review is completed the entire site updates atomically. Cosmetic edits do not touch the constant.

Last full verification: May 2026. Next scheduled refresh: late Q3 2026 (after the next OpenView SaaS Benchmarks release).

Corrections

Email [email protected] with the page, the figure, the corrected figure, and a citation. We turn around corrections in five business days, update the LAST_VERIFIED_DATE constant when the correction lands, and credit the reporter in the commit message.

Limitations

Benchmarks are distributions. A range like "NRR 100 to 120% at Series A" means the middle of the public distribution sits there. Outliers exist.
Stage definitions are approximate. Funding stage is a useful sorting axis but ACV, GTM motion, and vertical also shape what counts as healthy. Use stage as a starting comparison; refine against your segment.
Public data lags reality. The most recent benchmark report covers a window that ended 12 to 18 months ago. Current market conditions may have shifted; we note mid-year directional updates from VC commentary where available.
Calculators do not store inputs. All math runs in your browser. No data leaves the page. We do not track or persist anything you enter.
Educational, not advisory. Investor and board decisions should be reviewed with a qualified finance advisor. The calculators are a literacy tool, not a substitute for professional guidance.