How this calculator works
| Metric | Formula |
|---|---|
| Churn rate | customers lost ÷ customers at start of period |
| Monthly churn from a longer period | 1 − (1 − period churn)^(1 ÷ months in period) |
| Annual churn | 1 − (1 − monthly churn)^12 |
| Average lifetime | 1 ÷ monthly churn (months) |
Worked example
With these inputs:
- Period of your numbers: One month
- Customers at start of period: 1,000
- Customers lost during period: 30
- New customers during period: 60
- Forecast length: 12 months
Churn rate per month: 3%. Losing 30 of 1,000 customers per month is 3% churn — 3% a month and 30.6% a year.
| Monthly churn (equivalent) | 3% |
|---|---|
| Annual churn (compounded) | 30.6% |
| Retention rate per month | 97% |
| Average customer lifetime | 33.3 months |
| Customers at end of period | 1,030 |
| Today’s customers left after 12 months | 69.4% |
| Customer count where churn equals new customers | 2,000 |
Open this example in the calculator
Monthly to annual churn conversion
| Monthly churn | Annual churn (correct) | × 12 (wrong) | Average lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5% | 5.8% | 6% | 200 months |
| 1% | 11.4% | 12% | 100 months |
| 2% | 21.5% | 24% | 50 months |
| 3% | 30.6% | 36% | 33 months |
| 5% | 46% | 60% | 20 months |
| 7% | 58.1% | 84% | 14 months |
| 10% | 71.8% | 120% | 10 months |
Customer churn vs revenue churn
This calculator measures customers. Revenue churn measures the recurring revenue lost, including downgrades, and can be very different if large and small customers behave differently.
For revenue retention including upgrades, use the net revenue retention calculator.
How to reduce churn
- Guide new customers to their first success quickly with onboarding.
- Watch product usage and contact accounts whose activity drops.
- Offer annual plans and pause options instead of cancellation.
- Ask every cancelling customer why, and fix the top reasons.
- Handle failed card payments with retries and reminders — involuntary churn is often a large share.
Open this calculator with your numbers
Every option can be set in the web address, so you can bookmark a scenario or send it to a colleague. AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity can use the same parameters to open this calculator with your numbers and the result already on the page.
| Parameter | What it sets | Accepted values |
|---|---|---|
period |
Period of your numbers | one of month, quarter, year |
start |
Customers at start of period | number from 1 to 1000000000, default 1000 |
lost |
Customers lost during period | number from 0 to 1000000000, default 30 |
new |
New customers during period | number from 0 to 1000000000, default 60 |
months |
Forecast length | number from 3 to 60 (months), default 12 |
Also available as plain text for AI assistants and a free JSON API (OpenAPI spec).
Last reviewed by the Infikey Technologies team.
Disclaimer
This calculator is provided free for general information and planning only. Results are estimates based on the inputs you enter and the assumptions described on this page, reference data such as published prices may change, and actual costs and outcomes will differ. Nothing on this page is financial, legal, tax, investment or other professional advice. Infikey Technologies Private Limited, Infikey Technologies LLC and their directors, employees and affiliates make no warranty, express or implied, about the accuracy, completeness or suitability of this tool or its results, and accept no liability for any loss or damage, direct or indirect, arising from its use or from reliance on its results. Verify all figures independently and seek professional advice before making any decision. Use of this tool is at your own risk.