Metrics · Retention · Monthly · % · Updated 2026-07-21

What is Customer Churn Rate?

Short answer: The percentage of customers who cancel or stop paying within a given period.

Definition

The percentage of customers who cancel or stop paying within a given period.

Formula

Customers lost in period / Customers at start of period x 100

How to measure

Divide the count of customers who churned during a month by the total customer count at the start of that month.

Why track it

Churn rate directly caps growth; a company adding 5% new customers a month while churning 5% is standing still.

Example

A company with 1,000 customers at the start of the month loses 40, a monthly churn rate of 4%.

FAQ

What is Customer Churn Rate?
The percentage of customers who cancel or stop paying within a given period.
How do you calculate Customer Churn Rate?
Customers lost in period / Customers at start of period x 100
Why track Customer Churn Rate?
Churn rate directly caps growth; a company adding 5% new customers a month while churning 5% is standing still.