Industry-by-industry SaaS churn benchmarks across 15 sectors · Data curated from public SaaS research · Published by ChurnLens
Churn rates vary dramatically by industry, customer segment, and pricing model — yet most published benchmarks collapse everything into a single number. This report disaggregates the data by industry vertical and ACV band to give SaaS founders, acquirers, and analysts a more useful comparison set.
The data reveals that ACV is the single strongest predictor of churn, explaining more variance than industry vertical alone. Enterprise SaaS products (ACV >$25K) consistently report the lowest churn and highest NRR, while SMB products at under $5K ACV face monthly churn rates above 5%. Payment failure — not product dissatisfaction — is the top cause in SMB land.
| Industry | Gross Churn | Best-in-Class | Bottom Quartile | NRR | Typical ACV | Top Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMB SaaS (<$5K) | 5.2% | 2.1% | 8.5% | 95% | $2.4K | Payment failure |
| B2B SaaS ($5-25K) | 3.1% | 1.2% | 5.8% | 101% | $12K | Lack of engagement |
| Enterprise (>$25K) | 1.8% | 0.6% | 3.5% | 115% | $48K | Champion turnover |
| E-commerce | 4.8% | 2.5% | 8.2% | 96% | $5K | Competition |
| EdTech | 4.5% | 2.0% | 7.8% | 97% | $6K | Seasonality |
| Analytics | 4.2% | 1.9% | 7.5% | 99% | $11K | Data quality |
| Communication | 4.0% | 1.6% | 6.5% | 101% | $14K | Platform switching |
| DevTools | 3.9% | 1.8% | 6.8% | 100% | $9K | Free tier adequacy |
| Fintech | 3.8% | 1.5% | 6.2% | 98% | $8K | Regulatory churn |
| Vertical SaaS | 3.6% | 1.4% | 6.1% | 100% | $18K | Market contraction |
| HR Tech | 3.5% | 1.3% | 6.0% | 102% | $15K | Employee turnover |
| CRM & Sales | 3.3% | 1.1% | 5.5% | 104% | $22K | Implementation failure |
| Infrastructure | 2.8% | 1.0% | 5.0% | 107% | $28K | Vendor consolidation |
| Security | 2.5% | 0.9% | 4.8% | 106% | $32K | Scope creep |
| HealthTech | 2.2% | 0.8% | 4.1% | 108% | $36K | Budget cycles |
These benchmarks are curated from publicly available SaaS research including published surveys by SaaS Capital, Recurly, Benchmarkit, KeyBanc, OpenView, and Pacific Crest / DTTC. Figures represent cross-study medians compiled from the most recent available data (2024–2026 publications). Where studies reported annual rates, monthly rates are derived by dividing by 12 (this is a simplification; actual monthly churn varies).
"Best-in-class" represents the top 10th percentile across each segment. "Bottom quartile" represents the 25th percentile (worse than 75% of companies). NRR (Net Revenue Retention) measures expansion minus contraction and churn — values above 100% mean existing customers are spending more over time.
Data disclaimer: These figures are compiled from multiple third-party research reports, not a single controlled survey. Definitions of churn (logo vs. revenue, voluntary vs. involuntary, monthly vs. annual) vary between sources. Always verify against the primary source before relying on a specific figure for M&A due diligence or financial planning. Last reviewed: July 2026.
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