Gross Revenue Retention (GRR)
Revenue from existing customers after churn and contraction, excluding any expansion revenue.
Definition
GRR measures how much of existing customer revenue is retained over a period, considering only losses from churn and downgrades but NOT including expansion revenue. GRR can never exceed 100%. It isolates the company's ability to keep its existing business, separate from upsell success. A GRR above 90% is considered strong for SaaS companies.
Why it matters
GRR reveals the true churn picture without the masking effect of expansion revenue. A company with 95% GRR and 130% NRR is in great shape. A company with 75% GRR and 105% NRR is churning badly but hiding it with upsells, which is unsustainable.
Example
Starting ARR from existing customers: $5M. Churn: $300K. Downgrades: $100K. GRR = ($5M - $300K - $100K) / $5M = 92%. Even though NRR might be 110% due to upsells, the underlying retention is 92%.