What is logo churn versus revenue churn?
Short Answer
Logo churn measures the percentage of customers lost (account closure rate), while revenue churn measures the percentage of recurring revenue lost (accounting for expansion/downgrades).
Full Explanation
A company might have 5% logo churn but -2% revenue churn (negative churn = growth). This happens when remaining customers expand whilst a small number leave. Conversely, 2% logo churn with 5% revenue churn suggests that lost customers represented a larger share of revenue than average — often a red flag indicating customer concentration risk or loss of key accounts. Industry benchmarks vary widely: B2B SaaS targets <5% logo churn monthly, B2C SaaS often accepts 5-10%. For enterprise SaaS, logo churn can be artificially low (sticky contracts, high switching costs) whilst revenue churn is negative (expansion). For self-serve SaaS, logo churn is often higher but expansion MRR is lower. The key insight: two companies with the same logo churn can have completely different growth trajectories depending on revenue churn. If your logo churn is high but revenue churn is negative (meaning expansion outpaces departures), your business is actually growing from the existing base.
For investors evaluating startup opportunities, unit economics and cohort analysis provide insight into the sustainability and quality of growth. Vanity metrics like total users or gross revenue can mask underlying problems, while metrics like payback period, contribution margin, and cohort retention curves reveal the true health of the business model. Opagio Intangibles integrates these metrics into a comprehensive view that connects operational performance to intangible asset value, helping both founders and investors make more informed decisions.
Try It Yourself
Related Glossary Terms
Related Questions
CAC is the fully loaded cost to acquire a customer — including sales, marketing, and onboarding — divided by the number of customers acquired in a per...
Time-to-value measures how long it takes a user to realise meaningful benefit from your product, directly impacting activation rates and viral potenti...
Gross Margin = (Revenue − Cost of Goods Sold) / Revenue. Contribution Margin = (Revenue − Variable Costs) / Revenue. Both measure profitability at dif...
Further Reading
LTV:CAC for Founders: The Ratio That Predicts Fundraising Success
LTV:CAC is the ratio investors use to determine whether your business model works. This guide explains how to calculate it correctly, the benchmarks by stage and business model, and why improving LTV:CAC signals intangible asset compounding.
Read more →Want to see these concepts in action?
Take the free intangible asset assessment to see how these concepts apply to your business.