What is Gross Retention Rate?
Gross Retention Rate is a core concept in modern B2B revenue. Here is a clear, accurate definition, why it matters, and how Ardovo handles it.
Short answer
Gross retention rate is the percentage of recurring revenue retained from existing customers over a period, excluding any expansion. It counts only losses from churn and contraction, so it can never exceed 100 percent and measures how sticky the base is.
Key takeaways
- Revenue retained excluding expansion.
- Only reflects churn and contraction losses.
- Capped at 100 percent, unlike net retention.
Why it matters
Gross retention isolates how well you keep revenue before any upsell, exposing churn that net retention can hide behind expansion.
How Ardovo handles it
Ardovo separates churn and contraction from expansion so gross and net retention are both reported cleanly from live data.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between gross and net retention?
Gross retention excludes expansion and caps at 100 percent. Net retention includes expansion and can exceed 100 percent, masking churn.
What is a good gross retention rate?
Strong B2B SaaS often sees gross retention above 90 percent; below 80 percent signals a churn problem worth fixing before scaling.