Churn rate

The share of recurring customers who leave in a period. The number that decides whether a membership base compounds or quietly dissolves.

Churn is measured per period: members lost in the month divided by members at the start of it. It compounds mercilessly: at 5 percent monthly churn roughly half a membership base dissolves within a year and must be re-won just to stand still.

The response to churn is diagnosis before discounting. Leavers cluster into the fixable (onboarding failed, usage lapsed, a service issue) and the unfixable (moved away). Exit conversations, usage-lapse alerts before cancellation, and honest easy leaving (which preserves the relationship for a return) outperform lock-in tactics, which convert quiet leavers into public detractors.

For any business building recurring revenue, churn belongs on the short weekly dashboard next to new sign-ups, as covered in the KPIs guide.