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# 2026 SaaS NRR Report: The Median Is 101%, Not 120%
- URL: https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-nrr-2026/
- Published: 2026-08-28T06:09:59.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-28T06:09:59.000Z
- Description: Boards quote 120%. SaaS Capital’s 1,000-plus-company private file prints a 101% median. Switch to Aleph’s 230-company cut and the median is 102% — usage-based 108%, seat-based 98%. Here is which sample produced each number.
- Author: Alex H
- Tags: Report, Stats, Business, Sales, Guides

Boards quote 120%. That is the best-in-class bar Aleph still prints for 2026 planning, not a median. The typical private B2B SaaS company is at 101% on SaaS Capital’s 1,000-plus-company file and 102% on Aleph’s 230-company cut. Seat-based products sit at 98%. Usage-based products sit at 108%. Operators mix the bar, the median, and a public-cloud memory of 120, then treat a blended number as a customer-success plan.

Net revenue retention asks one question: of the recurring revenue you had a year ago, how much do you still have from *those same customers*, after expansion, contraction, and churn. It is not [logo churn](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-churn-rate-2026/). It is not gross revenue retention. New logos do not go in the numerator. This B2Bcentr report separates the samples, puts NRR next to GRR, and turns the percentage back into a number a founder can put next to the [marketing](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-marketing-budget-2026/) and selling lines.

For the efficiency half of the same P&L, see the [Magic Number](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-magic-number-2026/) report. For growth plus margin, see the [Rule of 40](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-rule-of-40-2026/). For the delivery ceiling expansion has to live under, see [gross margin](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-gross-margin-2026/).

## Key Takeaways

- SaaS Capital’s 14th annual survey of more than 1,000 private B2B SaaS companies (Research Brief 32, companies above $1 million ARR) prints a **101%** median net revenue retention and a **91%** median gross revenue retention on 2025 actuals. 101% is two points of expansion after a 9-point GRR hole. It is not 120.
- Aleph × Benchmarkit (1 June 2026, 342 B2B SaaS and AI-native companies; NRR from the 230 that reported it) prints a **102%** median, a **110%** top quartile, and a **92%** bottom quartile. Gross revenue retention in that cut is **84%**. Same year. Different population. Do not average 101 and 102.
- Pricing model is a 10-point split in Aleph: usage-based median **108%**, seat-based **98%**. The usage 75th percentile reaches **155%**. A seat-based company at 100% is ahead of its cohort. A usage-based company at 100% is behind it.
- ACV is SaaS Capital’s preferred cut. Median NRR: **98%** under $12,000, **103%** at $12,000–$25,000, **102%** at $25,000–$50,000, **104%** at $50,000–$100,000, **102%** at $100,000–$250,000, **106%** above $250,000\. GRR stays \~**91%** until the >$250,000 band, which prints **95%**.
- Growth compounds with NRR. In the same SaaS Capital file, companies below 90% NRR grew **15%**; 90–100% grew **16%**; 100–110% grew **21%**; 110–120% grew **30%**; 120–130% grew **38%**. Population median growth in that brief was **24%**. Moving from the 100–110% band to 110–120% added **9** growth points.
- Bootstrapped is a different row. SaaS Capital’s April 2026 $3 million–$20 million ARR bootstrapped cut (15th annual survey) prints **103%** median NRR (90th percentile **117.9%**) and **91%** GRR. Research Brief 32’s all-bootstrapped row is **104%** NRR / **92%** GRR; equity-backed is **101%** / **90%**. Do not treat 103, 104, and 101 as one number.
- Aleph: expanding a customer costs about **$0.80** per dollar of new ARR, versus **$1.63** to buy a new logo. Sub-$5 million ARR median NRR is **94%**. Above $100 million it is **103%**. The 25th percentile slipped from **95%** in 2024 to **92%** in 2025.

## Three samples, three different NRRs

Search “what is a good SaaS NRR” and you will get 120%, or 110%, or 100%, or 102%. The useful question is which sample produced the number sitting next to it.

**The bar, still 120%+.** Aleph’s 2026 page is explicit: 100% is the floor, 110%+ is top quartile, 120%+ is best-in-class. That is the number boards still write at the top of the slide. It is a target for a usage-heavy, expansion-native motion. It is not a 2026 private median.

**SaaS Capital, Research Brief 32 (2025 B2B SaaS Retention Benchmarks).** 14th annual survey, more than 1,000 private B2B SaaS companies. Excludes firms under $1 million ARR. Cohort formula: December 2024 MRR from customers who were customers in December 2023, divided by total MRR in December 2023\. Median NRR **101%**. Median GRR **91%**. This is the broad private file — the same survey family behind B2Bcentr’s [marketing budget](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-marketing-budget-2026/) and [churn](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-churn-rate-2026/) reports. ACV, contract length, and funding type are the cuts.

**Aleph × Benchmarkit, 1 June 2026.** 342 B2B SaaS and AI-native software companies; NRR from 230\. Full-year 2025 actuals. Median **102%**. Top quartile **110%**. Bottom quartile **92%**. GRR **84%**. Aleph’s own page is explicit: the report is a 2026 edition of 2025 actuals. This is the efficiency-survey number, weighted toward companies that also report Magic Number and Rule of 40.

If your board is using 120 and your finance team is using 101, you are not disagreeing about health. You are disagreeing about the sample. If someone is using 98, they are looking at seat-based. If someone is using 108, they are looking at usage. Put the cut on the slide.

## NRR is not GRR, and neither is logo churn

SaaS Capital’s formula:

**NRR = (December 2024 MRR from December 2023 customers) ÷ (total December 2023 MRR)**

Aleph’s equivalent:

**NRR = (starting ARR + expansion − contraction − churn) ÷ starting ARR**

Two conventions change the answer more than the decimal.

**Lock expansion in or out.** NRR includes upsells, cross-sells, usage growth, and price increases. It can exceed 100%. GRR uses the same cohort and strips those adds, so it cannot exceed 100%. SaaS Capital: median NRR 101%, median GRR 91%. Aleph: 102% and 84%. The gap is the expansion engine. A 102% NRR on an 84% GRR means expansion is covering 18 points of churn and contraction. A 101% NRR on a 91% GRR means expansion is covering 10\. Do not report NRR alone.

**Lock logos out.** New customers acquired during the period do not belong in NRR. Aleph calls leaking new-logo ARR into the expansion term the most common error — it inflates NRR and hides a retention problem. The [churn report](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-churn-rate-2026/) measures logo and revenue loss. This report measures what the starting cohort did. They are cousins. They are not substitutes.

A 101% NRR means the starting base grew 1% with zero new logos. It does not mean the [Rule of 40](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-rule-of-40-2026/) is 101\. It does not mean the [Magic Number](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-magic-number-2026/) is 1.01\. NRR is the installed-base engine. Magic Number is lagged sales-and-marketing efficiency. Rule of 40 is growth plus operating profit. Write the definition at the top of the slide.

| Sample / cut                                       | Median NRR         | Median GRR      | What it is                                             |
| -------------------------------------------------- | ------------------ | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| SaaS Capital, all private B2B (RB32, >$1M ARR)     | 101%               | 91%             | 14th annual survey, 1,000-plus companies, 2025 actuals |
| Aleph × Benchmarkit, reporters (n=230 of 342)      | 102%               | 84%             | 1 June 2026 report, full-year 2025                     |
| Aleph, usage-based                                 | 108%               | —               | Same Aleph file; 75th percentile 155%                  |
| Aleph, seat-based                                  | 98%                | —               | Same file; below the 100% floor                        |
| Aleph, top / bottom quartile                       | 110% / 92%         | —               | Headline quartiles on the fetched page                 |
| SaaS Capital, bootstrapped (RB32)                  | 104%               | 92%             | All bootstrapped in that survey                        |
| SaaS Capital, equity-backed (RB32)                 | 101%               | 90%             | All equity-backed in that survey                       |
| SaaS Capital, bootstrapped $3M–$20M ARR (Apr 2026) | 103%               | 91%             | 15th annual survey; 90th percentile NRR 117.9%         |
| SaaS Capital, multi-year / annual / month-to-month | 103% / 101% / 100% | 94% / 90% / 89% | Contract-length cut, RB32                              |

Do not average 101, 102, and 103\. Do not put Aleph’s 84% GRR next to SaaS Capital’s 91% and call one of them wrong. Recurly’s SaaS median in the churn report is a billing-file churn rate, not this NRR.

## ACV is the filter, not the slogan

SaaS Capital is blunt: for retention, benchmark by annual contract value first. More than by age, revenue, or industry, companies that share a selling price are organized the same way, go to market the same way, and support customers the same way. A $19.99/month product and a $250,000/year product are not peers.

| ACV (SaaS Capital RB32) | 25th NRR | Median NRR | 75th NRR | Median GRR |
| ----------------------- | -------- | ---------- | -------- | ---------- |
| Less than $12,000       | 90%      | 98%        | 106%     | 90%        |
| $12,000–$25,000         | 98%      | 103%       | 115%     | 91%        |
| $25,000–$50,000         | 97%      | 102%       | 111%     | 91%        |
| $50,000–$100,000        | 96%      | 104%       | 110%     | 90%        |
| $100,000–$250,000       | 94%      | 102%       | 109%     | 91%        |
| More than $250,000      | 98%      | 106%       | 110%     | 95%        |

The $25,000–$50,000 band is the slide most mid-market founders actually need: median **102%**, top quartile **111%**, bottom quartile **97%**. SaaS Capital’s own worked example: a company at $30,000 ACV that lifts NRR from 111% to 112% is already in the 75th percentile of that band. The extra point is not a miss against 120\. It is a 75th-percentile print against 102.

The >$250,000 band is the only row where GRR jumps, to **95%**. Higher-priced solutions bring longer sales cycles, implementation, and dedicated account management. That is stickiness, not a better slogan. The 25th percentile is still at or under 100% in every ACV band — at least a quarter of companies in each row are contracting on net. The $12,000–$25,000 band has the widest 25th-to-75th spread (98 to 115). Higher ACV tightens the range.

Aleph’s deal-size cut is a different grid. The $25,000–$50,000 ACV band leads at **105%**. Sub-$5,000 ACV sits at **98%**. 2025 was the first year the $10,000–$25,000 segment in that sample dropped below 100%. Use SaaS Capital’s table for a 1,000-company ACV file. Use Aleph when you also need pricing-model and ARR-scale rows. Do not splice 105 onto 102.

## Pricing model and scale move the number more than the year

Aleph’s sharpest 2025 split is not ACV. It is how you charge.

Usage-based median **108%**. Seat-based **98%**. Ten points. Usage expands when customers consume more, without a renegotiation. The 75th percentile on usage is **155%**. Seat-based NRR is under attack from the other direction: AI-driven headcount efficiency shrinks the seat count the contract is built on. The [gross margin](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-gross-margin-2026/) report is the trade-off: usage-only total gross margin sits at **62%**, against **76–84%** for subscription variants. Higher NRR, lower delivery margin. They are one model, not two scores to mix.

Scale is the other lever. Aleph: below $5 million ARR, median NRR **94%** — too little installed base and customer-success capacity for systematic expansion. $20 million–$50 million: **101%**. Above $100 million: **103%** (75th percentile **115%**). Sub-$5 million, getting to 100% is a strong result. The 110%+ and 120%+ bands apply later. Paste 120 onto a $3 million ARR seat-based product and you will either invent expansion you do not have or starve the new-logo motion that still has to refill the bucket.

The tails got worse. Aleph’s 25th percentile fell from 95% in 2024 to **92%** in 2025, below the 2023 trough. The 75th eased from 110–111% to **108%** on that commentary cut (the headline top quartile on the same page is still **110%**). Buyer budget scrutiny, slower upsell cycles, and AI-native alternatives in the evaluation set. The median held. The weaker half did not.

## Growth is the compounding check, not a second target

SaaS Capital’s Figure 3 is the leaky-bucket chart. Higher NRR is associated with higher growth because net retention already contains price increases, upgrades, upsells, and cross-sells — new “sales” that do not require a new logo.

| NRR band (SaaS Capital RB32) | Median growth |
| ---------------------------- | ------------- |
| Below 90%                    | 15%           |
| 90% to 100%                  | 16%           |
| 100% to 110%                 | 21%           |
| 110% to 120%                 | 30%           |
| 120% to 130%                 | 38%           |

Population median growth in that brief: **24%**. Companies above 110% NRR grew faster than that median. Companies below 100% grew slower. Moving from 100–110% to 110–120% added **9** growth points. Companies in the highest NRR band reported median growth about **double** the 24% population median. SaaS Capital calls that a rare case of increasing returns from upsell and cross-sell. GRR versus growth shows little correlation. GRR at **90%** is table stakes — the floor to have a shot at peer parity — not a growth engine.

Aleph rhymes. Companies growing more than 50% posted a **111%** median NRR (75th **155%**). Companies growing under 10% sat at **92%**. Fast growers are not doing it on new logos alone. Low-growth companies at 92% NRR face a shrinking base *and* a more expensive new-logo problem: Aleph prices expansion at about **$0.80** per dollar of new ARR and new-name CAC at **$1.63**.

Contract length is a smaller lever than ACV or pricing. SaaS Capital: multi-year **103%** NRR / **94%** GRR; annual **101%** / **90%**; month-to-month **100%** / **89%**. Longer paper helps. It does not turn 101 into 120.

The April 2026 bootstrapped $3 million–$20 million cut is the private founder row. Median NRR **103%**, 90th percentile **117.9%**. Median GRR **91%**, 90th **100%**. Median growth **15%** (down from 20%), 90th **42.3%** (down from 51%). Retention held while growth decelerated. That is the same 2025 P&L in the Rule of 40 and Magic Number reports: companies spent less, grew slower, and kept the installed base roughly flat. A 103% NRR at 15% growth is on-benchmark for that peer set. It is 17 points short of 120.

## What to put on the slide

NRR is not the 8% of ARR in the [marketing budget](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-marketing-budget-2026/) report. That 8% buys new logos. NRR is what the base does while marketing is buying them. At $5 million ARR, a 101% NRR adds about **$50,000** of expansion net of churn with zero new customers. A 120% NRR would add **$1 million**. Arithmetic from printed medians, not a surveyed mix. The gap is why boards write 120 and operators miss it.

1. **Pick the sample.** Private B2B, mixed funding, >$1 million ARR: SaaS Capital **101%** NRR / **91%** GRR. Efficiency-survey peers: Aleph **102%** / **84%**, top quartile **110%**, bottom **92%**. Bootstrapped $3 million–$20 million: **103%** (90th **117.9%**). Seat-based: **98%**. Usage-based: **108%**. Sub-$5 million ARR: **94%**. Do not staff a seat-based SMB product off Snowflake-era 120.
2. **Report NRR and GRR together.** SaaS Capital’s 10-point gap and Aleph’s 18-point gap are the expansion engine. If NRR is 102 and GRR is 84, expansion is covering a hole, not compounding a healthy base. Fix the hole in the [churn](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-churn-rate-2026/) motion before you hire another expansion AE.
3. **Lock ACV and pricing model before the target.** $25,000–$50,000 ACV median is **102%** (SaaS Capital) or **105%** (Aleph). Above $250,000 ACV, SaaS Capital’s median is **106%** and GRR is **95%**. Usage versus seats is a 10-point Aleph split. A 100% print is a win on seats and a miss on usage.
4. **Do not convert NRR into Magic Number or Rule of 40.** The [Magic Number](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-magic-number-2026/) median is **1.37** on lagged sales and marketing. The [Rule of 40](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-rule-of-40-2026/) median is **25**. Neither is 101\. At 15% bootstrapped growth you still need a 25-point margin to hit 40 — arithmetic, and a different report.
5. **Price expansion as a revenue function.** Aleph: about **$0.80** to expand versus **$1.63** to acquire. SaaS Capital: moving 100–110% NRR to 110–120% added **9** growth points, and the top NRR band grew about twice the 24% population median. Under-resourcing customer success to “protect” the [marketing](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-marketing-budget-2026/) line is how 101 stays 101.

Circle 101 / 91 (SaaS Capital), 102 / 84 (Aleph), 108 / 98 (usage vs seats), 103 / 117.9 (bootstrapped median / 90th), and 102 / 111 (mid-market ACV median / 75th) on the same slide. If those numbers do not fit, the 120% quote was never your number. Change the sample.

## FAQ

### What is a good NRR for SaaS in 2026?

100% is the floor. SaaS Capital’s private median is 101%. Aleph’s is 102%. Top quartile in Aleph is 110%. 120%+ is best-in-class on that page, not typical. Match ACV and pricing model: $25,000–$50,000 ACV median 102% (SaaS Capital) or 105% (Aleph); usage-based 108%; seat-based 98%; bootstrapped $3 million–$20 million 103%.

### What is the difference between NRR and GRR?

NRR includes expansion and can exceed 100%. GRR excludes expansion and cannot. SaaS Capital: 101% NRR, 91% GRR. Aleph: 102% NRR, 84% GRR. The gap is how hard expansion is working to cover churn and contraction. Report both.

### Why do boards still quote 120%?

Because 120%+ is the best-in-class bar, not the median. Aleph prints it that way. A usage-based 75th percentile of 155% makes 120 look conservative in the right tail. The typical private company in the 1,000-plus-firm file is at 101%.

### Is 98% NRR a miss?

It depends on the cut. It is Aleph’s seat-based median, so it is typical for that model and below the 100% floor. It is also SaaS Capital’s median for ACV under $12,000\. It is a miss against 120, and against usage-based 108%. It is on-benchmark for a low-ACV or seat-based product. Name the sample.

### Does a 101% NRR mean we can stop acquiring customers?

No. 101% adds 1% from the starting base. At $5 million ARR that is about $50,000\. New logos still do the growth. Companies below 100% NRR in SaaS Capital grew 15–16%; the 100–110% band grew 21%; the population median was 24%. NRR at the median is a shallow tailwind, not a substitute for pipeline.

## Methodology

Figures are from the primaries below, fetched 28 August 2026\. No number is averaged across samples. ChartMogul’s public NRR explainer was fetched; its HTML tables are older ARR-band cuts (top-quartile 94% at $1–3 million ARR) and are not used as 2026 medians. SaaS Capital did not print a single 2026 all-company NRR median on the April bootstrapped page; that 103% is the $3 million–$20 million bootstrapped cut. Research Brief 32’s 101% is the all-company 2025 median for firms above $1 million ARR. They are not merged.

- SaaS Capital, [Research Brief 32: 2025 B2B SaaS Retention Benchmarks](https://www.saas-capital.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/RB32WS1-2025-B2B-SaaS-Retention-Benchmarks.pdf?ref=b2bcentr.com). 14th annual survey, more than 1,000 private B2B SaaS companies. Source of 101% / 91%, the ACV median and quartile tables, growth-by-NRR bands, bootstrapped 104% / 92%, equity-backed 101% / 90%, and the multi-year / annual / month-to-month contract rows. Excludes companies under $1 million ARR.
- SaaS Capital Research Brief 32 companion HTML (18 September 2025) restates the same cohort formulas and the $25,000–$50,000 ACV worked example (median 102%, 75th 111%, 25th 97%). Not linked separately; the PDF above is the primary.
- SaaS Capital, [2026 Benchmarking Metrics for Bootstrapped SaaS Companies](https://www.saas-capital.com/blog-posts/benchmarking-metrics-for-bootstrapped-saas-companies/?ref=b2bcentr.com). 24 April 2026\. 15th annual survey. Source of the $3 million–$20 million ARR bootstrapped cut: NRR 103% (90th 117.9%), GRR 91% (90th 100%), growth 15% (90th 42.3%).
- Aleph × Benchmarkit, [Net revenue retention (NRR) benchmarks (2026)](https://www.getaleph.com/answers/net-revenue-retention-saas-2026/?ref=b2bcentr.com). Published 1 June 2026 on full-year 2025 actuals. 342 companies; NRR from 230\. Source of 102% / 110% / 92%, GRR 84%, usage 108% vs seats 98%, ARR-scale rows, $0.80 vs $1.63, and the 120%+ best-in-class bar.

The $5 million ARR illustrations are arithmetic from printed medians, not surveyed dollars. Related B2Bcentr cuts used only as context: [churn](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-churn-rate-2026/), [Rule of 40](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-rule-of-40-2026/), [Magic Number](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-magic-number-2026/), [gross margin](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-gross-margin-2026/), [marketing budget](https://www.b2bcentr.com/saas-marketing-budget-2026/).