Churn Rate Calculator
96 of 2,400 customers left, a 4.0% churn rate this period.
What is Churn rate?
Churn rate is the share of customers who leave over a period, calculated as customers lost divided by customers at the start, times 100.
It is the quiet killer of recurring revenue. Small churn compounds: a rate that looks modest each month erodes a large slice of the base over a year.
The period matters as much as the number. 4% monthly and 4% annual describe completely different businesses, so always state the window when you quote a churn rate.
How to calculate Churn rate
Churn = Customers lost ÷ Customers at start × 100
- Count customers at the start. How many customers you had when the period began. The example uses 2,400.
- Count customers lost. How many of those left during the period, 96 in the example. Count only losses, not new signups.
- Divide and multiply by 100. 96 divided by 2,400, times 100, is a 4% churn rate.
- Always state the period. Label it monthly, quarterly or annual, because the same percentage means very different things.
Worked example
A business starts the period with 2,400 customers and loses 96.
| Customers at start of period | 2,400 |
|---|---|
| Customers lost | 96 |
| Result | 4.0% · Healthy |
Losing 96 of 2,400 customers is a 4% churn rate, just inside the 5% convention. 2,304 customers stayed, a 96% retention rate for the period.
What is a good Churn rate?
Many subscription businesses treat 5% or less per period as healthy, the level at which the calculator marks churn green. It is a convention, not a fixed rule.
| Churn rate | Read |
|---|---|
| healthy 5% or less | A common gut check for monthly churn |
| watch 5% to 10% | Manageable but eats a real share of the base over a year |
| high over 10% | At a monthly rate, little of the base survives twelve months |
What counts as good depends heavily on the period and the model: B2B SaaS churn is usually far lower than consumer apps. Compare to your own trend and your sector, not a universal number.
How to improve Churn rate
- Strengthen onboarding so new customers reach value before they have a chance to leave.
- Close the gap between what was sold and what was delivered, a frequent churn cause.
- Add a reason to stay: ongoing value, switching cost or a clear roadmap.
- Run exit surveys and cohort analysis to find what your leaving customers share, then fix it.
Guides
- What is a good churn rate?There is no universal good churn rate. It turns on the period you measure and the kind of business you run, and monthly churn compounds fast.6 min read
- How to calculate churn rateThe formula is one line. The value is counting the right base, knowing customers from revenue, and converting a monthly rate into the truth about a year.6 min read
Frequently asked questions
- How do you calculate churn rate?
- Divide the customers you lost during a period by the customers you had at the start, then multiply by 100. Starting with 2,400 customers and losing 96 is 4% churn. Always state the period: 4% monthly and 4% annual are very different.
- What is a good churn rate?
- Lower is better, and many subscription businesses treat 5% or less per period as healthy, but that is a convention, not a fixed rule. What counts as good depends on the period and the model: B2B SaaS churn is usually far lower than consumer apps. Compare to your own trend and industry.
- Is a 5% churn rate good?
- It depends on the period. 5% monthly compounds to roughly 46% of customers gone over a year, which is high for most models; 5% annual is strong. The 5% rule of thumb is a useful gut check for monthly churn, but treat it as a convention, not a law.
- What does a 20% churn rate mean?
- A 20% churn rate means one in five customers left during the period measured. Starting with 2,400 customers, that is 480 lost and 1,920 retained, an 80% retention rate. If that 20% is monthly, very little of the base survives a year.
- What causes a high churn rate?
- High churn usually traces to weak onboarding so customers never reach value, a mismatch between what was sold and delivered, pricing that outruns perceived value, poor support, or a product gap a competitor fills. Find which your leaving customers share through exit surveys and cohort analysis.