Blog / The 12 essential SaaS metrics every founder should track
The 12 essential SaaS metrics every founder should track
By DashViz Team · 2026-05-08
Reviewed by the DashViz editorial team for SMB operators.
There are dozens of SaaS metrics; only 12 matter for most founders. This guide covers MRR, ARR, churn, LTV, CAC, NRR, and the other essentials — with formulas, example calculations, and benchmarks. Each metric also links to its glossary entry for the full definition.
TL;DR
- •Track 12 metrics, not 50. Most others are derivatives or vanity.
- •Revenue metrics: MRR, ARR, ARPU.
- •Customer metrics: customer count, churn rate, NRR.
- •Efficiency metrics: CAC, LTV, LTV/CAC ratio, gross margin.
- •Pipeline metrics: trial-to-paid conversion, expansion MRR, contraction MRR.
Methodology note
Benchmarks and healthy ranges are directional planning ranges, not financial, accounting, tax, or legal advice. Use DashViz to compare them against your own source systems before making operational decisions.
The 12 metrics
Revenue
- MRR — Monthly Recurring Revenue. The headline number for any SaaS business.
- ARR — Annual Recurring Revenue. MRR × 12. Used at the company level.
- ARPU — Average Revenue Per User. Total revenue divided by customers.
Customer
- Customer count — total active paying customers.
- Churn rate — percentage of customers (or revenue) lost per period.
- Net Revenue Retention — NRR. Existing-customer revenue growth or contraction.
Efficiency
- CAC — Customer Acquisition Cost. Marketing + sales spend divided by new customers.
- LTV — Customer Lifetime Value. Average revenue per customer divided by churn rate.
- LTV/CAC ratio — LTV divided by CAC. Target 3:1 or higher.
- Gross margin — Revenue minus COGS divided by revenue. Target 70-90% for SaaS.
Pipeline
- Trial-to-paid conversion — percentage of free trials that convert to paid plans.
- Expansion MRR / Contraction MRR — revenue change from existing customers (upgrades and downgrades).
Benchmarks
| Metric | Typical | Strong | Best-in-class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly logo churn | 3-5% | 1-2% | <1% |
| NRR | 95-100% | 100-110% | 120%+ |
| LTV/CAC ratio | 2:1 | 3:1 | 5:1 |
| Gross margin | 60-70% | 70-80% | 80%+ |
| Trial-to-paid conversion | 5-15% | 15-25% | 25%+ |
These are SMB-SaaS benchmarks; PLG-heavy and enterprise SaaS have different shapes.
Why these 12
Each of these answers a specific question:
- Are we growing? MRR, ARR.
- Are existing customers growing? NRR, expansion MRR.
- Are we acquiring efficiently? CAC, LTV/CAC.
- Are we keeping customers? Churn, NRR.
- Are unit economics healthy? Gross margin, LTV.
- Is the funnel working? Trial-to-paid conversion.
If you can answer all six questions weekly, you have a working SaaS dashboard.
Related articles
Related glossary terms
Try it on your own data
DashViz auto-builds dashboards from your CSV and Excel exports today — native Stripe, QuickBooks, and Shopify connectors are on the roadmap. 14-day free trial, no credit card required.