Customer retention rate formula in Excel or Google Sheets
Put the inputs in column B from row 2, then paste the formulas below. They work the same in Excel and Google Sheets.
| Cell | What | Value or formula | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| B2 | Customers at start | 500 | 500 |
| B3 | Customers at end | 520 | 520 |
| B4 | New customers during period | 60 | 60 |
| B6 | Customer retention rate (%) | =ROUND((B3-B4)/B2*100,1) | 92 |
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Frequently asked questions
- How do you calculate customer retention rate?
- Take the customers you had at the end of the period, subtract the new customers you won during it, and divide by the customers you had at the start. With 400 at the start, 60 new and 430 at the end, CRR is (430 − 60) ÷ 400 = 92.5%.
- Why do you subtract new customers?
- Retention measures how many existing customers stayed, so new customers would inflate it. In the example, 430 ÷ 400 would suggest 107.5% retention, while only 370 of the original 400 customers actually stayed.
- What is a good customer retention rate?
- It depends on your segment and period. Many B2B SaaS companies with larger contracts keep 90% or more of their customers a year, while products sold to small businesses often see lower annual retention. Compare yourself with your own past periods first.
About the author
Abdessamad Ghanem
Customer Experience & Customer Success Consultant · Founder of Clarivoxx
Abdessamad Ghanem works across Customer Support, Sales, Customer Success, Account Management and Partner Management. He writes Clarivoxx Insights for B2B SaaS professionals who own retention, adoption and customer outcomes.