← Guides · November 10, 2026
SaaS Metrics Every Founder Should Track: MRR, Churn, LTV and CAC
You do not need a dashboard of 40 metrics. Four numbers tell you whether the business is healthy.
MRR
Monthly recurring revenue is the sum of monthly subscription revenue. Convert annual plans to a monthly equivalent.
Churn
Churn rate is the share of customers (or revenue) lost in a period. If you start the month with 200 customers and lose 8, customer churn is 4%.
LTV
Customer lifetime value estimates the gross profit a customer brings before leaving. A simple version: average monthly revenue per customer × gross margin ÷ monthly churn. With $50, 80% margin and 4% churn: 50 × 0.80 ÷ 0.04 = $1,000.
CAC
Customer acquisition cost is sales and marketing spend divided by new customers. If you spend $5,000 and win 10 customers, CAC is $500.
Reading them together
LTV compared to CAC shows whether growth pays back. A commonly cited target is LTV at least three times CAC, but context matters. Also track payback period: how many months of gross profit repay the CAC.
Caveats
Early data is noisy. Use cohorts and avoid mixing very different customer types.
Enter your numbers in the calculator to see these metrics together.