The Complete SaaS Metrics Benchmark Report 2025: 2,000+ Companies Analysed

Revenue & Growth: The New Normal

Growth rates stabilised… but not where you think

Private SaaS companies hit 19-21% median ARR growth in 2024, according to KeyBanc’s survey of 104 companies with median $26M ARR.

Compare that to the top quartile at 27-32%… down from 46% in 2022.

The hypergrowth era is dead.

By company size:

Here’s the kicker… larger companies are now growing faster than smaller ones.

That flies in the face of conventional wisdom.

But wait till you see what AI-native companies are doing.

AI-native companies are crushing it

High Alpha’s analysis of 800+ companies reveals AI-native startups under $1M ARR hit 100% median growth in 2024.

That’s 2x faster than horizontal SaaS.

Some AI-native companies reached $30M ARR in just 20 months… 5x faster than traditional SaaS which takes 100+ months on average.

Public SaaS? They’re limping along at 17-18% median growth in Q3-Q4 2024.

The gap between winners and losers has never been wider.

Net Revenue Retention: Your growth engine

Here’s a stat that’ll make you rethink everything… companies with NRR ≥100% grow at 48% YoY.

That’s 2x faster than companies below 100%.

ChartMogul’s analysis of 2,500+ businesses shows:

• Private median: 101-102% (holding steady)
• Public median: 108-110%
• Best-in-class: 120%+

But here’s where it gets interesting… NRR varies wildly by ARPA.

By monthly ARPA:

Only 2% of companies with sub-$25 ARPA achieve negative churn.

Nearly half of those charging $500+ do.

Pricing matters more than you think.

Revenue per employee surged

This one shocked us.

SaaS Capital’s 2025 survey of 1,000+ companies reveals median revenue per employee hit $129,724.

Public SaaS? $283K median, $369K top quartile.

The target for IPO? $300K+.

By company size:

Here’s why this matters… companies under $5M ARR reduced headcount 25-41% whilst maintaining growth.

AI isn’t coming. It’s already here.

And it’s slashing labour costs faster than anyone predicted.

Want to understand the hidden costs of building SaaS products? We’ve analysed the real numbers behind profitable SaaS businesses.

Customer Acquisition: The Brutal Truth

CAC by channel… and the winners are shocking

First Page Sage analysed 120+ B2B companies and found massive variations in customer acquisition costs.

Organic channels (lowest CAC):

Paid channels (highest CAC):

Email marketing costs $53 to acquire a customer.

Social ads? $937.

That’s a 17.7x difference.

But here’s what nobody talks about… the New CAC Ratio (how much you spend to generate $1 of new ARR) has gotten worse.

CAC Ratio worsened in 2024

Benchmarkit’s analysis of 936 companies shows:

• Median New CAC Ratio: $2.00 (up 14% from 2023)
• Target: $1.50 or lower
• Blended (new + expansion): $1.59

You’re now spending $2.00 to generate $1 of new ARR.

That’s unsustainable without strong retention.

Nearly half your marketing spend is wasted.

But there’s good news… CAC payback improved.

CAC payback by deal size

By ACV (Benchmarkit 2025):

KeyBanc found median payback hit 20 months in 2024… down from 25 months in 2022.

That’s progress.

But compare it to the historical 12-14 months and you’ll see we’re still in trouble.

The Magic Number is climbing

The Magic Number (how much new ARR you generate per dollar of S&M spend) hit 0.90 median in 2024.

Target? 1.0+.

Top quartile? >2.0.

Only the elite are generating $1+ of ARR for every dollar spent on sales and marketing.

Sales metrics that matter

AE Performance Benchmarks (2024):

Bridge Group’s research shows median AE tenure dropped to 2.2-2.5 years.

SDRs? 14 months… and 52% don’t last 12 months.

Win rates and loss reasons

Here’s the stat that’ll change how you think about competition…

61% of lost deals are due to buyer indecision.

Only 14% to competitors.

Gong’s analysis reveals median win rates hit 19% in 2024… down from 23% in 2022.

But with former advocates? 49% win rate.

That’s a 2.6x multiplier.

Your existing network is worth more than any outbound campaign.

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Retention & Churn: The Make-or-Break Metrics

Churn rates by customer segment

ChartMogul’s 2,500+ business analysis shows churn varies wildly by ARPA.

SMB (sub-$25 ARPA):

• Monthly MRR churn: 8.2% gross, 6% net
• Annual churn: 31-58% (you’re replacing half your customers yearly)

Mid-Market ($500+ ARPA):

• Monthly churn: 2.4% gross, 0.4% net
• Annual churn: 11-22%

Enterprise:

• Monthly churn: ~1%
• Annual churn: 6-10%

SMB churn is 8.2x higher than enterprise.

If you’re targeting small businesses, you need expansion revenue to survive.

LTV:CAC ratios reality check

The standard advice? Aim for 3:1 or higher.

Benchmarkit found median LTV:CAC hit 3.6:1 in 2024.

But here’s the breakdown by channel:

LTV:CAC by acquisition channel:

Social ads barely break even.

SEO delivers 3.3x better unit economics.

This is why our micro-SaaS revenue analysis emphasises organic growth strategies.

Expansion revenue is the new growth

Companies with $15-30M ARR get 40% of growth from expansion… up from 30% in 2021.

For companies with ARPA >$1,000… 40% of total ARR comes from expansion.

Companies with ≥100% NRR? >50% from expansion.

Negative churn prevalence:

Nearly half of high-ARPA companies achieve negative churn.

That means they grow without acquiring a single new customer.

Profitability: The New Religion

Gross margins holding strong

Subscription gross margins:

• Median: 79%
• Top quartile: 85%+
• Target: 80%+

Total gross margins (including services): 71-72%.

If you’re below 70%, you’ve got a cost structure problem.

Operating margins improving

Blossom Street’s Q1 2025 public SaaS data shows:

• Median operating margin: -9%
• Profitable companies: ~11% median
• Private SaaS 2024E: -6% median (up from -26% in 2022)

We’ve gone from “burn cash to grow” to “show a path to profitability.”

The market won’t fund losses anymore.

Rule of 40: More aspiration than reality

The Rule of 40 (growth rate + profit margin ≥ 40%) is the gold standard.

But only 11-30% of companies achieve it.

Public SaaS (Q4 2024):

• Median score: 15%
• % meeting Rule of 40: ~30%

Private SaaS (KeyBanc 2024):

• Median: 15% (up from -7% in 2022)
• % meeting: 11-13%
• Top quartile: 31%

Only 1 in 4 companies meet the standard.

But here’s why it matters… companies with Rule of 40 >40% get valued at 9.4x median revenue.

Companies <20%? 3.5x.

That’s a 121% valuation premium.

Want to see how these metrics affect your SaaS valuation? Use our calculator to model different scenarios.

Cash efficiency worsening

Burn Multiple (how much you spend to generate $1 ARR):

• Best: <1.0x
• Median 2024: 1.8-2.0x
• Concerning: >2.0x

You’re burning nearly $2 to generate $1 of ARR.

Runway by company size (KeyBanc 2024):

Large companies have concerningly low runway.

The fundraising environment hasn’t recovered.

Pricing & Monetisation: The Revolution

Freemium conversion rates

Lenny Rachitsky’s analysis of 1,000+ products combined with OpenView data shows:

Freemium conversion rates:

Only 15% achieve >20% conversion.

The rest are leaving money on the table.

Free trial conversion

First Page Sage found massive differences by trial type:

Trial structure impact:

Requiring a credit card increases conversion 2.7x.

Shorter trials (≤7 days) outperform long trials.

Urgency matters more than exploration time.

By vertical:

CRM converts 1.6x better than enterprise software.

Pricing structure trends

Average SaaS product has 3.5 tiers… with 3-4 being optimal.

Annual discount sweet spots:

• Most common: 16.7% (“2 months free”)
• Second most common: 8.3% (“1 month free”)
• Median: 15-20%

Price increases accelerating

Paddle’s research shows 42-73% of companies raised or plan to raise prices in 2024.

Median increase? ~20%.

Companies >$1B raised prices 8.4% vs smaller companies at 5.0%.

SaaS inflation is real:

SaaS price inflation hit 8.7-11.4% YoY.

Compare that to G7 market inflation at 2.7%.

SaaS is inflating at 5x the market rate.

ProfitWell found companies updating prices every 6 months gain 2x ARPU vs annual updates.

ARPU by segment

KeyBanc found median ACV hit $62,000 in 2024.

Usage-based pricing explosion

This is the biggest pricing shift in SaaS history.

Metronome’s 2025 report reveals 85% adopted or are testing usage-based pricing.

78% adopted within the last 5 years.

50% in just the last 2 years.

Performance benefits:

Usage-based pricing delivers 10% higher NRR, 22% lower churn, and 2x faster growth.

API revenue stats:

Postman’s 2024 survey of 5,600+ respondents shows:

• 62% generate revenue from APIs
• 21% derive >75% of revenue from APIs
• 73% increase in AI-driven API traffic

APIs aren’t just plumbing anymore. They’re the product.

Team & Organisational Metrics

Revenue per employee by size

SaaS Capital’s 2025 data shows clear scaling patterns:

If you’re not hitting $300K+ at scale, you won’t IPO.

Sales productivity benchmarks

AE metrics (2024):

SDR metrics:

Over half your SDRs won’t make it a year.

CSM ratios

Gainsight’s 2024 research shows:

By touch model:

ARR per CSM:

• Target: $1-2M
• Median: $1.4M
• Top quartile: $4.2M

Headcount distribution

Typical allocation:

For a $10M ARR company with 100 employees:

• S&M: 40 people
• Product/Eng: 35 people
• G&A: 25 people

Remote work performance

High Alpha’s 2024 data shows:

Work model distribution:

Performance comparison:

In-office companies show 28% higher growth.

But Rule of 40 scores are identical… both models can win with right execution.

Span of control

Modern optimal: 5-6 direct reports per manager.

By company size:

Formula: +1 per 750 employee increase.

Curious about the micro-SaaS market explosion and how team metrics differ at smaller scale? We’ve analysed the complete landscape.

Product Metrics & GTM Strategy

Product-led growth goes mainstream

OpenView’s 2023-2024 research shows 55% identify as product-led… up from 48% in 2020.

61% of Cloud 100 use PLG.

PLG companies grow 2x faster than traditional SaaS.

Conversion funnel:

PQL conversion advantage

Product-Qualified Leads convert 5-6x higher than Marketing-Qualified Leads.

Typical PQL-to-paid: 20-30%.

Traditional MQLs? Only 6% ultimately convert.

Yet only 25% of companies measure PQLs… with 37% on roadmap.

This is a massive missed opportunity costing millions.

Time to value

Userpilot’s analysis of 62 B2B companies shows:

• Average: 1 day, 12 hours, 23 minutes
• Median: 1 day, 1 hour, 54 minutes

Targets by segment:

Feature adoption rates

Core feature adoption (Userpilot 2024, 181 companies):

• Average: 24.5%
• Median: 16.5%

By industry:

Only 1 in 4 users adopt your core features.

The rest never see your value.

Multi-product strategy

Performance data:

• Freshworks: 21% use 2+ products (35% for $5K+ customers)
• JFrog: 95% use multiple products
• Economics: 30-70% of revenue from expansions
• 50% less expensive than new customer acquisition

Multi-product is the new growth engine.

Fundraising & Valuation: The New Reality

Public SaaS multiples stabilised

Current valuations (2024-2025):

We’re down 65-70% from the 2021 peak of 20-21x.

But at least we’ve stabilised.

Private valuations by stage

Carta’s Q1 2025 data shows:

Pre-money valuations:

Overall private median: 4.1x ARR (Q4 2024).

Bootstrapped companies command 4.8x predicted.

Equity-backed: 5.3x predicted.

Growth-adjusted multiples

By growth rate:

Rule of 40 impact:

Companies meeting Rule of 40 get a 121% valuation premium.

That’s $124M vs $56M on $10M ARR.

Time between rounds lengthening

Carta’s 2024 analysis shows:

Months between rounds:

You’re waiting 30-40% longer between rounds.

Plan accordingly.

Dilution rates declining

Good news for founders:

Founders retain 7.6 percentage points MORE equity through Series D in 2024 vs 2019.

Despite market correction, founder-friendly terms improved.

IPO requirements doubled

The bar for IPO has skyrocketed.

2024-2025 requirements:

• Realistic minimum: $250M ARR with 25%+ growth
• Recent IPOs: $400-800M ARR
• Growth: 25%+ YoY minimum, ideally 40%+
• Rule of 40: Must meet or exceed
• Market cap target: $5B+ ($10B+ preferred)

Recent examples:

• ServiceTitan: ~$800M ARR (Dec 2024, opened +42%)
• Rubrik: ~$500M ARR at $5.6B valuation (11.2x)

Down rounds normalised

Prevalence (2024-2025):

Nearly 1 in 4 rounds are flat or down.

For Series B+ Enterprise… 41% flat or down in Q2 2024.

Down rounds are the new normal.

Valuation compression from peak

From 2021 peak to 2025:

Exception: AI-native companies command 20-40% premiums.

Some trade at 100-300x ARR.

The AI hype is real… and potentially dangerous.

Understanding the 18-month rule for micro-SaaS survival can help you avoid becoming a down-round statistic.

Geographic & Vertical Variations

Geographic valuation differences

2024 median multiples:

Central and Eastern Europe trades at half the US valuation.

Geographic arbitrage opportunities exist.

European profitability surge

Europe EBITDA-positive companies:

• 2023: 33%
• 2024: 44%

European companies embraced profitability faster than Americans.

Pricing sensitivity by region

PricingSaaS research shows:

• Europeans: 20-25% more price-sensitive than North Americans
• UK/Northern Europe: 20-30% higher WTP for dev tools
• Southeast Asia: 60-70% lower WTP

Conversion rates by region (TestDome):

That’s a 48x difference between best and worst.

Geography matters more than you think.

Vertical SaaS outperforming

OpenView found vertical SaaS companies are 1.5-3.3x more likely to be outliers.

Market size:

• Current: $157.4B by 2025 (23.9% CAGR)
• Bessemer prediction: Vertical AI will 10x legacy vertical SaaS by 2030

Fintech SaaS stats (Tidemark 2024, 249 companies):

• 39% of vertical SaaS offer fintech products
• Payments most common: 30%
• Take rates: 2.8-3.2% median, 3.5-4.0% top quartile
• Mandatory payments increase attach by 40-60%

M&A dominance:

• 54% of Q3 2025 SaaS M&A was vertical (up from 43% YoY)
• Healthcare: 18% of deals
• Financial Services: 14%

B2B vs B2C economics

Growth rates (2024):

• B2B: 11% CAGR
• B2C: 8% CAGR

Unit economics comparison:

Example CAC budget:

• B2B ($70/month, 3% churn): Can spend $280 per acquisition
• B2C ($7/month, 10% churn): Can only spend $2.80 per acquisition

That’s a 100x difference in acquisition budget.

SaaSyTrends analysed 30,000 companies and found:

• B2B success rate: 61.1%
• B2C success rate: 64.2%

Interestingly, B2C has slightly higher success rates… but lower revenue potential.

Forward-Looking Trends: What’s Next

AI impact accelerating

Current adoption:

• 60%+ of enterprise SaaS have embedded AI
• 95% expected to adopt by 2025
• AI-native reaching $30M ARR in 20 months… 5x faster than traditional

Growth advantage:

• AI-native: 22% higher growth than horizontal SaaS
• 3.3x more likely to be outliers
• Nearly 70% monetising or testing monetisation

Market projections:

• $770.32B by 2031 (40.2% CAGR)
• $59B in GenAI funding in 2024 (+119% YoY)

Efficiency gains:

Companies <$5M ARR show 25-41% headcount reduction whilst maintaining growth.

Employees saving 12 hours/week on average.

AI isn’t a feature. It’s a fundamental restructuring of how software works.

Consumption pricing goes mainstream

Adoption trajectory:

• 2023: 28%
• 2024: 85% adopted or testing
• 2025: 59% expect growth as % of revenue

50% adoption happened in just 2 years.

Performance benefits:

Usage-based pricing isn’t optional anymore.

Product-led sales emergence

Adoption:

• 2021: 35% identify as product-led
• 2024: 60%
• 90%+ investing in PLS approach
• 97% investing in product-focused experience

Performance:

• 2x median enterprise value of non-PLG
• PLG grows 50% YoY vs 21% traditional
• All top 2019 IPOs were PLG businesses

The consumerisation of B2B is complete.

Vertical SaaS & multi-product domination

M&A activity:

• 54% of Q3 2025 M&A was vertical SaaS
• 2,107 transactions in 2024 (2nd highest on record)

Vertical AI predictions:

• Market cap 10x legacy vertical SaaS (Bessemer)
• 400% growth rates with ACVs ~80% of traditional
• First Vertical AI IPO within next 3 years

The horizontal SaaS era is ending.

Vertical-first wins.

Embedded finance explosion

Market size:

• 2024: $104.8-146.2B
• 2030-2034: $690B-$1.43 trillion (23-36% CAGR)
• 56% of businesses offer at least one embedded finance form

SaaS adoption:

• 50%+ of relevant ISVs offering embedded payments (2025)
• Expected to reach 45% of SME acquiring revenues by 2028

Payments as a feature becomes table stakes.

IPO market outlook

2025 predictions:

• At least 10 enterprise software IPOs (Sapphire)
• 52 new U.S. IPOs priced (up 62.5% vs 2024)
• Q1 2025: 59 IPOs raised $8.9B (55% increase)

Performance requirements:

• ~63% growth rate in year before IPO
• 59% of Q1 2025 IPOs were profitable (vs 29% in Q1 2024)
• Valuation: AI-native 15-20x ARR, traditional 6-8x

Pipeline:

Figma, Genesys, Databricks, Stripe, Klarna all filed or IPO-ready.

The IPO window is cracking open.

VC funding trajectory

2025 predictions:

• Global VC funding to exceed $400B (double-digit growth)
• Enterprise software: 42% of all VC (all-time high)
• $155B deployed in enterprise software (up 27% YoY)

GenAI funding:

• 2024: $59B (+119% YoY)
• 2025: Growth expected <100% (law of large numbers)
• Application layer sees greatest expansion

The venture market recovered faster than expected.

Surprising & Contrarian Insights

1. The Founder-Friendly Dilution Paradox

Despite market correction, founders retain 7.6% MORE equity through Series D in 2024 vs 2019.

Dilution declined even as valuations compressed.

Counter-intuitive but true.

2. The $200M Valuation Wall

Very few “traditional” (non-AI) SaaS can raise above $200M post-money in 2024.

Mathematical impossibility for VCs to achieve returns with 5-7x exit multiples.

You either go AI-native or bootstrap to profitability.

3. AI Valuation Premium Exceeds 2021

Private AI startups MORE overvalued vs publics than in 2021… 3.2x premium vs 1.8x in 2021.

Battery Ventures data shows we’re in bubble territory.

Again.

4. Expansion CAC Tripled

2010: $0.28 expansion CAC.

2024: $1.00 (3.6x increase).

Rising expansion CAC particularly concerning as 35% of revenue now comes from expansion.

Your most valuable customers cost more to upsell than ever.

5. The ACV Efficiency Paradox

$25K-$50K ACV range MORE efficient to acquire than $50K-$100K.

Contradicts conventional wisdom that bigger deals = better economics.

Benchmarkit 2024 proves it.

6. Indecision Beats Competition

61% of lost deals due to buyer indecision.

Only 14% to competitors.

Top reps are 364% less likely to lose to indecision.

You’re not competing against other vendors. You’re competing against status quo.

7. PQL Tracking Gap

Only 25% measure PQLs despite 5-6x higher conversion than MQLs.

Massive missed opportunity costing companies millions annually.

Why isn’t everyone tracking this?

8. Rule of 40 More Aspiration Than Reality

Only 11-30% of companies achieve it.

Yet it drives 121% valuation premium.

Companies >40 valued at 9.4x vs 3.5x for <20.

The bar is high. Very few clear it.

9. Remote Growth Gap

In-office companies show 50% median growth vs remote 39%.

But Rule of 40 identical for both.

Both models can succeed with right execution.

Location matters less than leadership.

10. SaaS Inflation 5x Market Rate

SaaS price inflation 8.7-11.4% YoY vs G7 market inflation 2.7%.

Salesforce price increases equal 72% of go-forward growth.

Price increases are the new growth lever.

11. API Revenue Concentration

21% of companies derive >75% of revenue from APIs.

APIs aren’t just plumbing. They’re the product.

Postman’s 2024 data shows the API economy is real.

12. The Seven-Day Window

40.4% conversion for ≤7 day trials vs 30.6% for 61+ days.

Urgency matters more than exploration time.

Shorter trials convert better.