Metrics
Cohort Retention Analysis: A Step-by-Step Guide
Cohort retention analysis step by step: build a cohort table in a spreadsheet, read the retention curve and turn the patterns you find into concrete actions.
Churn Rate & Retention Rate Calculator
Enter how many customers you had at the start and end of a period and how many you added. You get churn, retention, monthly and annual equivalents, and the average customer lifetime.
Calculation
Period length
Month
Quarter
Year
Churn rate (Month)6.0%
30 customers were lost in this period, measured against the 500 you had at the start.
- Retention rate
- 94.0%
- Customers lost
- 30
- Annual equivalent
- 52.4%
- Average customer lifetime
- 16.7 months
Runs entirely in your browser. No data is sent to a server.
How it works
- Choose the period length: month, quarter or year.
- Enter customers at the start, new customers won during the period and customers at the end.
- Read churn and retention instantly; the calculator also converts the rate to monthly or annual figures.
- Switch to the cohort table to paste how many customers from one starting group were still active in each later period.
FAQ
How do you calculate customer churn rate?
Churn rate = customers lost during the period ÷ customers at the start of the period. Customers lost = start + new customers − end. New customers are excluded from the denominator so growth does not hide losses.
What is the difference between churn rate and retention rate?
They are two sides of the same number for one period: retention rate = (customers at end − new customers) ÷ customers at start, which equals 1 − churn rate.
How do I convert monthly churn to annual churn?
Annual churn = 1 − (1 − monthly churn)^12. Multiplying the monthly rate by 12 overstates it, because each month's losses come from a smaller base.
What is a cohort retention table?
It follows one group of customers who started at the same time and shows what share is still active after each period. It reveals when customers drop off, which a single churn rate cannot show.