What Is Gross Revenue Retention?
Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) measures the percentage of recurring revenue retained from your existing customer base over a period, excluding any upsells or expansion. It isolates pure retention — how much of last period's revenue you kept without adding anything new.
GRR is capped at 100% because it only accounts for losses (churn and contraction), never gains.
Formula
GRR = (Beginning MRR - Churned MRR - Contraction MRR) / Beginning MRR × 100
For example, with $100K starting MRR, $3K churned, and $2K contraction:
GRR = ($100K - $3K - $2K) / $100K × 100 = 95%
GRR vs NRR
| Metric | Includes Churn | Includes Contraction | Includes Expansion | Max Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GRR | Yes | Yes | No | 100% |
| NRR | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited |
GRR tells you how well you retain what you have. NRR tells you whether the overall base is growing or shrinking.
Benchmarks
| GRR Range | Quality |
|---|---|
| > 95% | Best-in-class |
| 90% – 95% | Healthy |
| 85% – 90% | Needs attention |
| < 85% | Significant retention problem |
Enterprise SaaS typically has higher GRR (>95%) than SMB-focused SaaS (85-90%) because enterprise contracts are stickier.
GRR in AI-Run Companies
AI-run companies have a structural advantage in GRR because the product itself often improves autonomously. AI that learns from user behavior, auto-fixes bugs, and optimizes the experience creates deepening lock-in without human intervention.
However, the lack of human customer success managers can hurt GRR if the AI cannot handle complex retention situations. Investors on EvolC look for AI-run companies where automated retention systems (churn prediction, proactive outreach, dynamic pricing) maintain GRR above 90%.