SaaS Benchmarks 2025: Key Metrics by Stage and Vertical
How do you know if your metrics are "good"?
You need benchmarks. This guide compiles the latest SaaS benchmarks by stage, metric, and vertical.
Growth Benchmarks
ARR Growth by Stage
| Stage | Median Growth | Top Quartile | |-------|---------------|--------------| | Pre-seed (under $1M ARR) | 100%+ | 200%+ | | Seed ($1-3M ARR) | 80% | 150%+ | | Series A ($3-10M ARR) | 60% | 100%+ | | Series B ($10-30M ARR) | 50% | 80%+ | | Series C+ ($30M+ ARR) | 40% | 60%+ |
2025 trend: Growth expectations have normalized from the 2021 peak. Sustainable growth now matters more than growth at all costs.
T2D3 Framework
The classic SaaS growth framework:
- Year 1-2: Triple ARR (3x)
- Year 3-4: Triple ARR (3x)
- Year 5-6: Double ARR (2x)
- Year 7+: Double ARR (2x)
| Year | Starting ARR | End ARR | |------|-------------|---------| | 1 | $1M | $3M | | 2 | $3M | $9M | | 3 | $9M | $27M | | 4 | $27M | $54M | | 5 | $54M | $100M+ |
Very few companies achieve this. Top-decile performance.
Retention Benchmarks
Net Revenue Retention (NRR)
| Segment | Median | Good | Excellent | |---------|--------|------|-----------| | SMB | 90% | 95% | 100%+ | | Mid-market | 100% | 105% | 115%+ | | Enterprise | 105% | 115% | 130%+ | | Overall SaaS | 100% | 110% | 120%+ |
Key insight: NRR above 100% means you can grow even with zero new customers.
Gross Revenue Retention (GRR)
| Segment | Median | Good | Excellent | |---------|--------|------|-----------| | SMB | 80% | 85% | 90%+ | | Mid-market | 88% | 92% | 95%+ | | Enterprise | 92% | 95% | 98%+ |
GRR cannot exceed 100%. It measures pure retention without expansion.
Monthly Churn by Segment
| Segment | Typical | Good | Excellent | |---------|---------|------|-----------| | Consumer | 5-8% | 4% | Under 3% | | SMB | 3-5% | 2% | Under 1.5% | | Mid-market | 1.5-2.5% | 1% | Under 0.75% | | Enterprise | 0.5-1% | 0.5% | Under 0.3% |
Remember: Monthly churn compounds. 3% monthly = 31% annual.
Unit Economics Benchmarks
LTV:CAC Ratio
| Stage | Minimum | Good | Excellent | |-------|---------|------|-----------| | Early (proving PMF) | 1:1 | 2:1 | 3:1+ | | Growth | 3:1 | 4:1 | 5:1+ | | Scale | 3:1 | 5:1 | 7:1+ |
Healthy target: 3:1 or higher for sustainable growth.
CAC Payback Period
| Segment | Typical | Good | Excellent | |---------|---------|------|-----------| | SMB | 6-12 mo | Under 6 mo | Under 4 mo | | Mid-market | 12-18 mo | Under 12 mo | Under 9 mo | | Enterprise | 18-24 mo | Under 18 mo | Under 15 mo |
Gross Margin
| Business Type | Typical | Good | Excellent | |---------------|---------|------|-----------| | Pure SaaS | 70-80% | 80% | 85%+ | | SaaS + Services | 60-70% | 70% | 75%+ | | Usage-based | 50-70% | 70% | 80%+ |
Efficiency Benchmarks
Burn Multiple
Burn Multiple = Net Burn / Net New ARR
| Assessment | Burn Multiple | |------------|---------------| | Excellent | < 1x | | Good | 1-1.5x | | Acceptable | 1.5-2x | | Concerning | 2-3x | | Critical | > 3x |
Magic Number
Magic Number = Net New ARR / S&M Spend (prior quarter)
| Score | Assessment | |-------|------------| | > 1.0 | Excellent - invest more in S&M | | 0.75-1.0 | Good - efficient growth | | 0.5-0.75 | Acceptable - optimize before scaling | | < 0.5 | Concerning - fix before spending more |
Rule of 40
Growth Rate + Profit Margin ≥ 40%
| Score | Assessment | |-------|------------| | > 60% | Exceptional | | 40-60% | Healthy | | 20-40% | Work to do | | < 20% | Needs attention |
2025 shift: Investors now expect Rule of 40 compliance earlier than in previous years.
Operational Benchmarks
Sales Efficiency
| Metric | Early Stage | Growth | Scale | |--------|-------------|--------|-------| | Quota attainment | 60% | 65% | 70%+ | | Ramp time | 6 mo | 4 mo | 3 mo | | Win rate | 15-20% | 20-25% | 25-30% | | Sales cycle | 30-60 days | 45-90 days | 60-120 days |
Customer Success
| Metric | Typical | Good | Excellent | |--------|---------|------|-----------| | Time to value | 30 days | 14 days | 7 days | | Onboarding completion | 60% | 75% | 90%+ | | NPS | 30 | 50 | 70+ | | Support response | 24h | 4h | 1h |
Benchmarks by Vertical
B2B SaaS Overall
| Metric | Median | Top Quartile | |--------|--------|--------------| | Annual growth | 40% | 80%+ | | NRR | 105% | 120%+ | | Gross margin | 75% | 82%+ | | LTV:CAC | 3:1 | 5:1+ |
Developer Tools
| Metric | Median | Top Quartile | |--------|--------|--------------| | Annual growth | 60% | 120%+ | | NRR | 110% | 130%+ | | Product-led conversion | 3% | 7%+ | | Time to PQL | 14 days | 3 days |
Fintech SaaS
| Metric | Median | Top Quartile | |--------|--------|--------------| | Annual growth | 45% | 90%+ | | NRR | 108% | 125%+ | | Gross margin | 70% | 78%+ | | Compliance cost % | 15% | 10% |
HR/People Tech
| Metric | Median | Top Quartile | |--------|--------|--------------| | Annual growth | 35% | 70%+ | | NRR | 102% | 115%+ | | Gross margin | 78% | 85%+ | | Seats expansion | 15%/yr | 30%/yr |
Security
| Metric | Median | Top Quartile | |--------|--------|--------------| | Annual growth | 50% | 100%+ | | NRR | 115% | 135%+ | | Gross margin | 80% | 88%+ | | Enterprise % | 40% | 60%+ |
Valuation Multiples (2025)
Private SaaS Multiples
| Growth Rate | ARR Multiple | |-------------|--------------| | < 20% | 3-5x | | 20-40% | 5-8x | | 40-60% | 8-12x | | 60-100% | 12-18x | | > 100% | 18-30x |
Modifiers:
- +2-3x for NRR > 120%
- +1-2x for gross margin > 80%
- -2-3x for high churn
- -1-2x for customer concentration
Public SaaS Multiples (Q1 2025)
| Quartile | NTM Revenue Multiple | |----------|---------------------| | Top 10% | 15x+ | | Top 25% | 10-15x | | Median | 6-8x | | Bottom 25% | 3-5x |
How to Use These Benchmarks
1. Know Your Stage
Don't compare seed metrics to Series C benchmarks.
2. Know Your Segment
SMB metrics look very different from enterprise.
3. Trend Matters More
Are you improving quarter over quarter?
4. Context Is Everything
A 50% growth rate with 130% NRR is very different from 50% growth with 85% NRR.
Calculate Your Metrics
Use our tools to see where you stand:
- Unit Economics Calculator - Calculate LTV:CAC
- Runway Calculator - Track burn efficiency
- Viral Coefficient Calculator - Measure growth loops
Key Takeaways
- Retention is king - NRR above 100% is the goal
- Efficiency matters now - Burn multiple under 2x
- Rule of 40 is baseline - Growth + margin ≥ 40%
- Segment-specific - Compare to your peer group
- Trends over snapshots - Improvement trajectory matters
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