SaaS Benchmarks by ARR: Growth, Retention and Gross Margin
Yoni Rubin, founder of BurnRateIQ · October 4, 2026 · 7 min read
"Is our growth good?" has no answer without a comparison, and the right comparison depends on your size. A company at $500K of ARR and one at $30M live in different worlds. Here are the medians for private B2B SaaS companies by ARR band, from the reports BurnRateIQ uses for its peer comparisons. Every number links to its source.
ARR Growth
Annual ARR growth by ARR band, from Benchmarkit 2025 B2B SaaS Performance Metrics (calendar 2024):
| ARR | Lower quartile | Median | Upper quartile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | 80% | 100% | 150% |
| $1M to $5M | 25% | 45% | 100% |
| $5M to $20M | 18% | 27% | 48% |
| $20M to $50M | 4% | 15% | 30% |
| $50M to $100M | 8% | 10% | 22% |
Growth slows as companies scale: doubling is the median under $1M, while 45% is the median between $1M and $5M. Across all companies, the median was 26%.
SaaS Capital 2026 Private SaaS Growth Benchmarks found a median of 22% for 2025 across more than 1,000 private SaaS companies, down from 25% the year before. Equity-backed companies grew 25%; bootstrapped companies grew 20%.
Net Revenue Retention
Net revenue retention (NRR) is the revenue you keep from last year's customers, including upgrades and expansion, minus churn and downgrades. Over 100% means existing customers grow on their own.
From High Alpha 2025 SaaS Benchmarks Report:
| ARR | Lower quartile | Median | Upper quartile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | 78% | 100% | 116% |
| $1M to $5M | 91% | 104% | 110% |
| $5M to $20M | 95% | 103% | 115% |
| $20M to $50M | 98% | 103% | 110% |
| Over $50M | 97% | 101% | 108% |
SaaS Capital 2025 B2B SaaS Retention Benchmarks puts the median across all companies at 101%.
One caution: these surveys skew toward companies selling to businesses with sales teams. ChartMogul SaaS Retention Report, December 2025, which measures billing data directly and leans toward self-serve and smaller customers, found a median NRR of 82%. If you sell to small businesses on monthly plans, compare yourself to the lower numbers.
Gross Revenue Retention
Gross revenue retention (GRR) counts only what you keep, without upgrades, so it can't go above 100%. High Alpha's medians: 92% under $1M, 92% from $1M to $5M, 88% from $5M to $20M, 90% from $20M to $50M and 88% above $50M. SaaS Capital's median across all companies is 91%.
Gross Margin
Software gross margin from High Alpha 2025 SaaS Benchmarks Report: 74% under $1M, 77% from $1M to $5M, 80% from $5M to $20M, 78% from $20M to $50M and 79% above $50M.
Benchmarkit 2025 B2B SaaS Performance Metrics separates the two: a median of 81% on subscription revenue alone and 77% on total revenue, since services usually earn less.
CAC Payback
The months of gross profit it takes to earn back what you spent to win a customer. The median in Benchmarkit 2025 B2B SaaS Performance Metrics was 18 months, with the middle half of companies between 12 and 24.
How to Use These
- Compare against your own band. A $2M company growing 45% is at the median, not behind.
- Look at the spread, not just the median. The quartiles show what "strong" looks like.
- Mind the definitions. NRR and margin are calculated differently from company to company. Check how a report defines a metric before you quote it to an investor.
BurnRateIQ shows where you stand against these benchmarks for your ARR band on every key metric, with the source behind each comparison. See how you compare.