Metric guide · MOIC
MOIC (multiple on invested capital): formula, calculator and benchmarks
MOIC divides what an investment returned, in cash and current value, by what went in. Free calculator, worked example and dated VC and PE benchmarks.
Startup and VC metrics, with the math and the sources
Each guide gives the formula, a free calculator, dated benchmarks and how investors read the number. Every figure links to its source, and every formula is checked by tests before the page ships.
Start with a guide
THE GUIDE · SAAS METRICS
SaaS metrics: the 15 numbers that matter, how they connect and how investors weigh them
Fifteen numbers run the conversation between SaaS founders and the people who fund them. They answer five questions: how big, how sticky, how costly to grow, how efficient, and what it is all worth. Here is how they connect, which matter when, and how investors' weighting has swung since 2008.
Read the guide →THE GUIDE · VC FUND METRICS
VC fund metrics: MOIC vs IRR, TVPI vs DPI, and how the six numbers fit together
Six numbers decide how a venture or private equity fund is judged. They answer three questions: how much money came back, how fast, and how much of it is real. Here is how they fit together, who leans on which, and how the weight has shifted from IRR towards cash.
Read the guide →VC fund metrics
SaaS metrics
Metric guide · ARR vs MRR
ARR vs MRR: the difference, the conversion and which to report
ARR vs MRR: MRR is monthly recurring revenue, ARR the annual figure, usually MRR × 12. Calculator, when to report which, and why run-rate is not ARR.
Metric guide · CAC payback period
CAC payback period: formula, calculator and 2026 benchmarks
CAC payback is how many months a new customer takes to repay its acquisition cost. Free calculator, the gross-margin formula, and 2025–26 benchmarks.
Metric guide · LTV:CAC ratio
LTV:CAC ratio: formula, calculator and 2026 benchmarks
The LTV:CAC ratio compares what a customer is worth with what it cost to win. Free calculator, the gross-margin formula, the 3:1 rule and 2025–26 benchmarks.
Metric guide · NRR
NRR (net revenue retention): formula, calculator and 2026 benchmarks
Net revenue retention is the recurring revenue you keep and grow from existing customers over a year. Free NRR calculator, formula and 2026 benchmarks.
Metric guide · RPO
RPO (remaining performance obligations): definition, calculator and examples
Remaining performance obligations (RPO) are contracted revenue not yet recognized. Calculator, RPO vs cRPO, backlog and deferred revenue, and 2026 examples.
Metric guide · Rule of 40
Rule of 40: calculator, formula and 2026 SaaS benchmarks
The Rule of 40 says a SaaS company's growth rate plus profit margin should reach 40%. Free calculator, the profit measures in use, and 2026 data.
Glossary
- ARR vs MRR (annual recurring revenue vs monthly recurring revenue)
- MRR is monthly recurring subscription revenue; ARR is its annual equivalent, normally MRR × 12.
- CAC payback period (customer acquisition cost payback period)
- Months of gross profit from a new customer needed to recover what it cost to acquire that customer; shorter is better.
- LTV:CAC ratio (customer lifetime value to customer acquisition cost)
- Customer lifetime value (gross profit over the customer's life) divided by customer acquisition cost; higher is better.
- MOIC (multiple on invested capital)
- What an investment has produced, cash returned plus the current value of what is still held, divided by the capital invested.
- NRR (net revenue retention)
- Recurring revenue from last year's customers today, after expansion, downgrades and churn, divided by what they paid a year ago.
- RPO (remaining performance obligations)
- Contracted revenue not yet recognized: deferred revenue plus non-cancellable amounts still to be invoiced.
- Rule of 40 (revenue growth rate plus profit margin)
- Revenue growth rate plus profit margin; 40% or more is considered healthy for a software company.