Churn Rate Calculator

Customers at the start of the period

Lost during the period

Gained during the period

Result

Churn, %5%
Retention, %95%
Lifespan, periods20
Annual churn, %45.96%
Customers at the end1,030
Net growth, %3%

Five percent a month is almost half a year's base

Churn and retention for a period, average customer lifespan, and monthly churn converted into an annual figure.

Churn is the share of customers lost over a period. It looks harmless until you annualise it: five percent a month means forty-six percent of the base gone in a year — nearly half.

Customer lifespan follows directly from churn: one divided by the rate. At five percent a month a customer stays an average of twenty months, and that figure is what feeds lifetime value.

What this calculator shows

Churn and retention as percentages
Average customer lifespan in periods
Annual churn derived from the monthly rate, and net growth of the base

What to keep in mind

Churn is measured against customers at the start of the period — the standard basis, which excludes new arrivals from the denominator.
Annual churn is one minus retention to the twelfth power; monthly percentages cannot simply be added.

FAQs

What churn is acceptable?

5 to 7 percent monthly for consumer subscriptions, 1 to 2 for B2B, under one percent for enterprise contracts. Above ten percent monthly usually points at the product rather than the marketing.

How does churn relate to lifespan?

Lifespan is one divided by churn. Two percent monthly gives fifty months, ten percent gives ten. That is why churn has such an outsized effect on lifetime value.

Why is annual churn less than twelve monthly rates?

Because each month loses a share of what remains, not of the original base. Multiplying by twelve overstates it and can exceed a hundred percent, which is meaningless.

What is negative churn?

When remaining customers expand their spend faster than departures remove revenue. The revenue base grows on its own without acquisition — the sign of a genuinely healthy product.

Worked example

A month of a subscription service

Input: 1,000 customers at the start, 50 lost, 80 gained

Output: Churn 5 percent, retention 95, lifespan 20 months

Note: Annual churn works out at 46 percent rather than the 60 a simple multiplication would give. The base grew three percent — acquisition is outrunning churn, but only just.

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Churn Rate Calculator

Result

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