Gross Revenue Retention (GRR)

What is Gross Revenue Retention (GRR)?

Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) measures the percentage of recurring revenue retained from existing customers over a specific period, excluding any expansion revenue from upsells or cross-sells. Unlike NRR, GRR strictly focuses on your ability to maintain existing revenue streams.

GRR can never exceed 100% because it doesn't account for revenue growth—only revenue preservation. This makes it a pure measure of your ability to prevent churn and downgrades.

How to Calculate GRR

GRR Formula:

GRR (%) = [(Starting MRR - Contraction MRR - Churned MRR) ÷ Starting MRR] × 100

Example Calculation:

Starting MRR: $100,000
Contraction: -$5,000
Churn: -$10,000

GRR = ($100,000 - $5,000 - $10,000) ÷ $100,000 × 100 = 85%

GRR Benchmarks

• Excellent: 95%+ (enterprise SaaS)
• Good: 90-95%
• Needs attention: Below 85%

GRR vs NRR: Key Differences

GRR shows your floor—how well you retain what you have. NRR shows your ceiling—how much you can grow from existing customers. Both metrics together give a complete picture of customer success performance.