Net Dollar Retention (NDR) Calculator

Calculate net dollar retention rate to measure revenue retention from existing customers. Track expansion, contraction, and churn in a waterfall view.

$
Upsells, cross-sells
$
Downgrades
$
Full cancellations
$
Net Dollar Retention
107.00%
Good
Net Dollar Retention
107.00%
NDR / NRR
Gross Dollar Retention
87.00%
Excluding expansion
Expansion Rate
20.00%
$2,000,000.00
Net ARR Change
+$700,000.00
$10,000,000.00 → $10,700,000.00

Revenue Waterfall

Starting ARR
$10,000,000.00
+ Expansion
$2,000,000.00
− Contraction
$500,000.00
− Churn
$800,000.00
Ending ARR
$10,700,000.00

Multi-Year Existing Customer Revenue (at current NDR)

YearProjected ARRCumulative ChangeGrowth from Existing
1$10,700,000.00+$700,000.007.00%
2$11,449,000.00+$1,449,000.0014.49%
3$12,250,430.00+$2,250,430.0022.50%
4$13,107,960.10+$3,107,960.1031.08%
5$14,025,517.31+$4,025,517.3140.26%

NDR Impact on Revenue Over Time

NDRYear 1Year 3Year 5
80%$8,000,000.00$5,120,000.00$3,276,800.00
90%$9,000,000.00$7,290,000.00$5,904,900.00
95%$9,500,000.00$8,573,750.00$7,737,809.37
100%$10,000,000.00$10,000,000.00$10,000,000.00
105%$10,500,000.00$11,576,250.00$12,762,815.63
110%$11,000,000.00$13,310,000.00$16,105,100.00
115%$11,500,000.00$15,208,750.00$20,113,571.87
120%$12,000,000.00$17,280,000.00$24,883,200.00
130%$13,000,000.00$21,970,000.00$37,129,300.00
140%$14,000,000.00$27,440,000.00$53,782,400.00
150%$15,000,000.00$33,750,000.00$75,937,500.00
Planning notes, formulas, and examples

About the Net Dollar Retention (NDR) Calculator

Net Dollar Retention (NDR), also known as Net Revenue Retention (NRR), measures how much revenue a company retains and grows from its existing customer base over a given period. It includes the effects of expansion (upsells, cross-sells), contraction (downgrades), and churn (cancellations). An NDR above 100% means existing customers are generating more revenue over time, even before counting new customer acquisition.

NDR is widely considered the single most important SaaS metric because it reflects both product value and customer satisfaction. Companies with NDR above 120% are growing their revenue from existing customers alone by 20% annually — new customer acquisition is additive on top. Top public SaaS companies like Snowflake, Twilio, and Datadog have achieved NDR rates of 130–170%.

This calculator computes your NDR, visualizes the revenue waterfall from starting ARR to ending ARR (for existing customers only), benchmarks your result, and projects multi-year revenue impact of different NDR levels. Understanding NDR helps you prioritize product development, customer success, and expansion strategies.

When This Page Helps

NDR reveals the true health of your customer relationships. Unlike gross retention, which only captures losses, NDR shows whether your existing customer base is a growth engine or a leaking bucket. This calculator pairs the retention score with a revenue waterfall and longer-term scenarios so you can see how expansion, contraction, and churn combine over time.

How to Use the Inputs

  1. Enter your starting ARR (annual recurring revenue) from existing customers at the beginning of the period.
  2. Enter expansion ARR gained from upsells, cross-sells, and price increases on existing accounts.
  3. Enter contraction ARR lost from downgrades on existing accounts.
  4. Enter churned ARR completely lost from canceled accounts.
  5. Review your NDR percentage, waterfall breakdown, and multi-year projections.
Formula used
Net Dollar Retention (%) = (Starting ARR + Expansion − Contraction − Churn) ÷ Starting ARR × 100 Gross Dollar Retention (%) = (Starting ARR − Contraction − Churn) ÷ Starting ARR × 100 Expansion Rate (%) = Expansion ARR ÷ Starting ARR × 100

Example Calculation

Result: NDR = 107.0%

Starting with $10M ARR, adding $2M from expansion, losing $500K to contraction and $800K to churn, the ending ARR from existing customers is $10.7M. NDR = ($10M + $2M − $0.5M − $0.8M) ÷ $10M × 100 = 107.0%. This means existing customers are generating 7% more revenue year over year without counting any new customer acquisition.

Tips & Best Practices

  • Target NDR above 110% for SaaS companies selling to mid-market and enterprise customers.
  • Separate logo retention from dollar retention — you can have great NDR even with some customer churn if expansion compensates.
  • NDR above 100% creates a powerful compounding effect — revenue grows even without new customers.
  • Invest in customer success and product-led expansion to drive NDR improvement.
  • Track NDR by customer segment to identify which types of customers expand most.
  • Be cautious of NDR inflation from price increases that may not reflect genuine value expansion.
  • Best-in-class public SaaS companies achieve NDR of 120–150% consistently.

The Power of NDR Compounding

Net dollar retention above 100% creates a compounding revenue engine. If your NDR is 110%, last year's $10M cohort becomes $11M this year, $12.1M next year, and $13.3M the year after — all without acquiring a single new customer. This compounding effect is why investors consider NDR the most important SaaS metric. A 10-percentage-point improvement in NDR can be worth more than a 20% increase in new customer acquisition.

NDR Waterfall Analysis

Breaking NDR into its components provides actionable insights. If churn is the primary drag, invest in customer success and product improvements. If contraction dominates, re-evaluate pricing tiers and packaging to better match customer value. If expansion is low despite good retention, focus on upselling motions, usage triggers, and product features that encourage growth.

Cohort-Based NDR

The most sophisticated teams track NDR by customer cohort (month or quarter of acquisition). This reveals whether newer cohorts retain and expand at different rates than older ones. Improving cohort NDR over time signals that product-market fit and customer success processes are maturing.

Sources & Methodology

Last updated:

Frequently Asked Questions

  • For SMB-focused SaaS, NDR of 90–100% is acceptable. For mid-market, 100–110% is good. For enterprise SaaS, 110–130%+ is the target. Top-performing public SaaS companies often report NDR of 120–170%. Any NDR above 100% means your existing customer base is growing without new customer acquisition.