Two companies adding identical MRR look the same on a growth chart. The quick ratio separates them: one is compounding, the other is refilling a leaking bucket.
Fees & Pricing
The customers you lose without anyone deciding to leave.
SaaS Quick Ratio Calculator
MRR gained divided by MRR lost — growth efficiency, not growth.
$
$
Upgrades from existing customers
$
$
Downgrades
All four figures should come from the same month. The ratio is volatile month to month at small scale, so a three-month average is usually more informative than any single reading.
Quick ratio4Efficient growth — the benchmark
- MRR gained
- $16,000
- MRR lost
- $4,000
- Net new MRR
- $12,000
At 4 you keep roughly 75% of what you win. Growth here is efficient — acquisition compounds instead of refilling a bucket.
A quick ratio of 4 is the commonly cited benchmark for healthy SaaS: four dollars gained for every one lost.
Reading the number
| Ratio | Reading |
|---|---|
| Under 1 | Shrinking — losses exceed gains |
| 1 – 2 | Treading water; most new revenue replaces lost revenue |
| 2 – 4 | Growing, but leaking meaningfully |
| 4+ | Efficient growth — the benchmark |
| 8+ | Exceptional |
Why it beats a growth rate
Consider two businesses that both added $10,000 of net new MRR. The first won $12,000 and lost $2,000 — a quick ratio of 6. The second won $30,000 and lost $20,000 — a ratio of 1.5. Identical growth, completely different companies.
The second is spending three times as much acquisition effort for the same result, and it will get worse as the base grows, because losses scale with the base while acquisition does not.
Its limitation
It is noisy below roughly $50,000 MRR, where a single large customer leaving swings it wildly. Use a rolling three-month average, and read it alongside net revenue retention, which measures the same underlying health on a cohort basis.
GOOD QUESTIONS
Frequently asked
What is a good SaaS quick ratio?+
4 is the commonly cited benchmark — four dollars of new and expansion MRR for every dollar churned or contracted. Below 2 the business is leaking badly; below 1 it is shrinking despite new sales.
How is the quick ratio different from growth rate?+
Growth rate shows the net result. The quick ratio shows the efficiency behind it. Two companies with identical growth can have very different ratios, and the one with the lower ratio is working far harder for the same outcome.
Why is my quick ratio so volatile?+
Because it is a monthly ratio of two relatively small numbers. Below roughly $50,000 MRR a single large customer leaving moves it dramatically. Use a rolling three-month average instead of reading single months.
Should I use the quick ratio or NRR?+
Both. The quick ratio includes new customers and measures overall growth efficiency this month. NRR excludes new customers and measures whether your existing base grows on its own. They answer different questions.