Net Revenue Retention (NRR) — also called Net Dollar Retention (NDR) — measures the percentage of recurring revenue retained from an existing cohort of customers over a period, including expansion, contraction, and churn.
NRR formula
NRR = (Starting MRR + Expansion − Contraction − Churn) ÷ Starting MRR × 100
Why NRR can exceed 100%
When expansion (upsells, upgrades) exceeds contraction and churn, your existing customer base generates more revenue than it did at the start of the period — even without adding a single new customer.
This is the defining characteristic of world-class SaaS: the customer base itself is a growth engine.
NRR vs GRR
Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) excludes expansion — it measures purely how well you prevent revenue loss. GRR can never exceed 100%.
NRR includes expansion, which is why NRR > 100% is possible. Investors look at both: GRR shows retention quality; NRR shows expansion motion.
Use the NRR calculator to model your current NRR and see what expansion rate you need to reach 110%.