What is my churn rate?
Enter your customers at the start and at the end of a period and the new customers you gained, or just the customers you lost. The calculator gives your churn rate, the share of customers who left, and your retention rate, the share who stayed.
- Churn rate
- 5%
20 lost out of 400 at the start is a churn rate of 5% and a retention rate of 95%.
- Retention rate
- 95%
- Customers lost
- 20
- Customers kept
- 380
Churn rate: 5%. 20 lost out of 400 at the start is a churn rate of 5% and a retention rate of 95%.
The results are estimates for information only. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice. Check the numbers with your lender or a qualified professional before you decide. Terms of use
How to calculate
Computes the customer churn rate for a period (customers lost ÷ customers at the start × 100) and the retention rate, from customers at the start, at the end and new, or from the customers lost.
Example with the default inputs (I know the Start, end and new, Customers at the start 400, Customers at the end 410, New customers 30): 20 lost out of 400 at the start is a churn rate of 5% and a retention rate of 95%.
Method: Customers kept = customers at the end − new customers (or customers at the start − customers lost); churn rate = customers lost ÷ customers at the start × 100; retention rate = customers kept ÷ customers at the start × 100.
- The customers lost are customers from the start of the period; new customers gained during the period are all still customers at its end.
- Arithmetic is exact on the typed counts; the rates show to 2 decimals.
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- I know the Start, end and new, Customers at the start 400, Customers at the end 380, New customers 0 gives Churn rate 5%, Retention rate 95%, Customers lost 20, Customers kept 380.Source: HubSpot, "Customer Churn — What It Is And Why It Matters for Every Business" (churn rate = customers lost in the period ÷ customers at the start; 400 at the start and 380 at the end is 20 ÷ 400 = 5%). https://blog.hubspot.com/service/what-is-customer-churn; HubSpot, "7 Ways to Boost Your Customer Retention Rate" (retention rate = (customers at the end − new customers) ÷ customers at the start × 100%). https://blog.hubspot.com/service/customer-retention-rate: (380 − 0) ÷ 400 × 100 = 95
- I know the Start, end and new, Customers at the start 400, Customers at the end 410, New customers 30 gives Churn rate 5%, Retention rate 95%, Customers lost 20.Source: HubSpot, "7 Ways to Boost Your Customer Retention Rate" (retention rate = (customers at the end − new customers) ÷ customers at the start × 100%). https://blog.hubspot.com/service/customer-retention-rate
- I know the Customers lost, Customers at the start 1,250, Customers lost 75 gives Churn rate 6%, Retention rate 94%, Customers kept 1,175.Source: HubSpot, "Customer Churn — What It Is And Why It Matters for Every Business" (churn rate = customers lost in the period ÷ customers at the start; 400 at the start and 380 at the end is 20 ÷ 400 = 5%). https://blog.hubspot.com/service/what-is-customer-churn
- I know the Customers lost, Customers at the start 3, Customers lost 1 gives Churn rate 33.333333%, Retention rate 66.666667%.Source: HubSpot, "Customer Churn — What It Is And Why It Matters for Every Business" (churn rate = customers lost in the period ÷ customers at the start; 400 at the start and 380 at the end is 20 ÷ 400 = 5%). https://blog.hubspot.com/service/what-is-customer-churn
How it works
With the customers at the start of the period S, at the end E, and the new customers gained during it N:
- Customers kept K = E − N
- Customers lost L = S − K
- Churn rate = L ÷ S × 100
- Retention rate = K ÷ S × 100 = (E − N) ÷ S × 100
Choose Customers lost to type L yourself. Then K = S − L.
The churn rate and the retention rate always add up to 100%.
Rules:
- Each count is a whole number from 0 to 1 trillion, and the customers at the start at least 1.
- More new customers than customers at the end gives no answer, and so does E − N more than S, because the counts do not fit together. Customers lost more than the customers at the start gives no answer too.
- The arithmetic is exact on the counts you type. The rates show to 2 decimals.
Assumptions
- The rates follow the customers you had at the start of the period. Every new customer gained during the period is still a customer at its end.
- The counts cover one period, and the rates are for that period: a month's counts give a monthly churn rate.
Worked examples by hand
A quarter with no new customers (HubSpot). S = 400, E = 380, N = 0. K = 380, L = 400 − 380 = 20. Churn rate = 20 ÷ 400 × 100 = 5%, and retention rate = 380 ÷ 400 × 100 = 95%.
The same quarter with 30 new customers. S = 400, E = 410, N = 30. K = 410 − 30 = 380, so L = 20 again. Churn rate = 5%, retention rate = 95%.
A month of a subscription service. S = 1,250 subscribers, of whom L = 75 cancelled. Churn rate = 75 ÷ 1,250 × 100 = 6%, K = 1,175, and retention rate = 94%.
A small start. S = 3, L = 1. Churn rate = 1 ÷ 3 × 100 = 33.333…, shown as 33.33%, and retention rate 66.67%.
Other questions people ask
What is the churn rate?
The churn rate is the share of your customers who stopped being customers during a period, such as a month or a quarter. It is written as a percent of the customers you had at the start of the period.
How do I calculate the churn rate?
Divide the customers you lost during the period by the customers you had at the start, and multiply by 100. Starting a quarter with 400 customers and ending with 380, with no new ones, means 20 were lost: 20 ÷ 400 × 100 = 5%.
How do I calculate the retention rate?
Take the customers at the end of the period, subtract the new customers you gained during it, divide by the customers at the start, and multiply by 100. With 400 at the start, 410 at the end and 30 new: (410 − 30) ÷ 400 × 100 = 95%.
How are churn and retention related?
They add up to 100%. Every customer you had at the start either stayed (retention) or left (churn), so a 5% churn rate means a 95% retention rate.
Why subtract new customers?
New customers were not there at the start, so they cannot be part of the churn or the retention of that group. Counting them would make the customers you lost look fewer than they are.
What if some new customers also left during the period?
These formulas follow only the customers you had at the start, and assume every new customer is still there at the end. If new customers also left, count only the customers from the start of the period who left, and use the Customers lost option.