SaaS Quick Ratio vs NRR: Which Metric Should You Track?

~1 min read

Both SaaS Quick Ratio and Net Revenue Retention (NRR) measure revenue health — but they answer different questions.

NRR (Net Revenue Retention)

NRR measures what percentage of your existing ARR you retained after expansion and contraction/churn, excluding new logos.

Formula: NRR = (Starting ARR + Expansion − Contraction − Churn) / Starting ARR × 100

  • NRR > 100%: existing customers are growing your ARR without any new sales
  • NRR = 100%: flat — expansion offsets all churn
  • NRR < 100%: churn exceeds expansion

SaaS Quick Ratio

Quick Ratio measures the quality of all MRR growth — new logo acquisition + expansion versus contraction + churn.

Formula: Quick Ratio = (New MRR + Expansion MRR) / (Contraction + Churned MRR)

When to use each

Question Use
"Is our retention world-class?" NRR
"Is our growth high-quality?" Quick Ratio
"Investor due diligence on ARR quality" Both
"Monthly MRR health check" Quick Ratio

Track both: NRR for long-term revenue durability, Quick Ratio for monthly growth quality.

Calculate yours at the SaaS Quick Ratio Calculator.

Calculate it yourself — free

Use our free SaaS Quick Ratio Calculator to run the numbers for your own business.

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