MRR & ARR Skaičiuotuvas

MRR and total monthly revenue are often confused but measure distinctly different things. Monthly revenue includes all cash collected in a month — one-time setup fees, professional services, one-time add-on purchases, variable usage charges, and the full cash amount of annual prepayments. MRR includes only the normalized, recurring portion of that revenue — the predictable, contractually committed subscription amount that repeats each month. This distinction matters because investors and operators use MRR to forecast future revenue, model growth trajectories, and assess business value. Including non-recurring items in MRR overstates its predictive value and makes the business look artificially larger. Always strip out one-time fees and normalize annual prepayments when calculating MRR.

Usage-based pricing presents a genuine challenge for MRR calculation because, by definition, the revenue is variable rather than predictable. The most common approach is to use a baseline contracted minimum as the MRR contribution and treat usage above that minimum as non-recurring revenue. For companies with predominantly usage-based models (like Twilio, Snowflake, or AWS), some operators use a trailing-12-month average of monthly revenue per customer as a proxy for MRR, while explicitly noting that it is an estimate rather than a committed recurring figure. Another approach is to calculate 'annualized run rate' (ARR) from the most recent month's total revenue multiplied by 12, with disclosure that it includes variable components. Whichever method you choose, be transparent and consistent in how you define and report MRR.

MRR growth rate benchmarks depend heavily on company stage and starting ARR base. Early-stage companies (under $1M ARR) should target 15–20% month-over-month MRR growth or higher to demonstrate strong product-market fit — at 20% MoM growth, a company doubles its MRR in under 4 months. Mid-stage companies ($1M–$10M ARR) typically target 10–15% MoM or 100–200% year-over-year. Growth-stage companies ($10M+ ARR) are benchmarked against the 'Rule of 40' and may grow at 40–100% annually while also managing profitability. The SaaS community's 'T2D3' benchmark (Triple ARR two years in a row, then Double three years in a row) is the gold standard for venture-backed SaaS companies aiming for a $100M+ ARR outcome.

Professional services revenue — implementation, training, consulting, customization — should generally not be included in ARR or MRR. ARR is designed to capture only predictable, recurring subscription revenue. Professional services are by nature non-recurring, project-based engagements that do not repeat reliably. Including them would inflate ARR in periods of heavy implementation activity and make it an unreliable predictor of future revenue. Most SaaS companies report professional services revenue separately from subscription ARR, both in internal metrics and in investor communications. The exception is if your company offers a recurring managed services contract with a fixed monthly retainer — that predictable recurring element could reasonably be included in MRR.

Run rate revenue is a more informal, forward-looking estimate: you take the most recent month's total revenue and multiply by 12 to get an annualized projection. ARR is a more precise metric that counts only the contractually committed, recurring subscription base. They are similar but not identical. A company with $100,000 in subscription MRR, $20,000 in one-time setup fees, and $10,000 in professional services has an ARR of $1,200,000 but a run rate of $1,560,000. ARR is the preferred metric in SaaS reporting because it excludes the noise of non-recurring items and gives a cleaner picture of the sustainable revenue base. When you see ARR cited in a SaaS company's press release or investor materials, it almost always means the subscription-only recurring revenue annualized.

Churn has a compounding negative effect on MRR over time that can be surprisingly devastating. If a company with $100,000 MRR adds no new customers but experiences 5% monthly churn, after 12 months its MRR will have fallen to approximately $54,000 — nearly half its starting value. At 2% monthly churn, MRR falls to $78,000 after 12 months. At 1% monthly churn, it falls to $88,000. This illustrates why even 'low' churn rates are significant over time, and why the entire SaaS industry focuses so intensely on retention. The bright side: positive expansion MRR from upsells can offset churn and produce net MRR growth even without any new customer acquisition — the goal of achieving 'negative churn' through expansion revenue exceeding lost revenue.

Certain ARR milestones carry outsized significance in the venture capital ecosystem because they signal progression through distinct phases of company development. $100K ARR (roughly $8,300 MRR) typically marks the transition from idea to initial traction and is often the minimum threshold for credible seed fundraising. $1M ARR signals product-market fit and is the typical benchmark for a Series A round in SaaS. $3M–$5M ARR often supports Series B fundraising, demonstrating the ability to scale. $10M ARR is considered the beginning of meaningful scale and is a common target for Series B companies. $50M ARR and $100M ARR are thresholds that attract growth equity and pre-IPO interest. These milestones compress or expand based on market conditions and investor appetite at any given time.