What is Gross Revenue Retention (GRR)?
How much recurring revenue you keep from existing customers before any upsell - a pure churn measure.
Gross Revenue Retention (GRR): definition
GRR strips out upsell to reveal the raw ability to keep revenue. Because it ignores expansion, it can never exceed 100% - it only measures losses from cancellations and downgrades. This makes it a stricter, more conservative retention metric than net revenue retention, and a clearer read on product stickiness and customer satisfaction, since strong expansion cannot mask underlying churn.
Gross revenue retention
GRR = (Starting MRR − Churned − Contraction) ÷ Starting MRR × 100
Expansion is deliberately excluded. GRR of 90% means 10% of recurring revenue from existing customers was lost to churn and downgrades.
How Fintra handles it
Fintra computes both gross and net revenue retention from the same billing data, so you see churn and contraction (GRR) separately from the boost that expansion provides (NRR). Cohort curves reveal how retention trends over time, and the metrics tie into LTV so the effect of retention on lifetime value is grounded.
- GRR and NRR computed from the same billing records
- Churn and contraction isolated from expansion
- Cohort retention curves feed LTV and forecasting
Worked example
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between gross and net revenue retention?
Gross revenue retention excludes expansion and is capped at 100%, measuring only losses from churn and downgrades. Net revenue retention includes expansion and can exceed 100%. GRR shows how well you retain revenue; NRR shows retention plus growth from existing customers.
What is a good gross revenue retention?
For subscription businesses, GRR above 90% is generally strong, with best-in-class often above 95%. Because GRR cannot exceed 100%, even small improvements matter. Lower GRR signals churn or contraction that expansion may be hiding in the net figure.
Why track GRR if you already track NRR?
Because NRR can look healthy while gross churn is high, if expansion is masking it. GRR exposes the underlying retention problem. Tracking both shows whether growth from existing customers is built on a stable base or is papering over losses.
Can gross revenue retention be over 100%?
No - by definition GRR excludes expansion revenue, so it can only stay flat or decline from churn and downgrades. A retention figure above 100% is net revenue retention, which includes upsell and cross-sell from existing customers.
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