> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.saletides.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Retention and cohorts

> Monthly subscription and MRR retention and churn, expected lifetime, and cohorts of subscriptions by start month.

## Subscription retention

![Subscriptions Retention: subscription retention, MRR retention, subscription churn and MRR churn, with charts over time](https://mintcdn.com/saletides/3XTFrAAYfSpBbQ4q/images/subscription-retention.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=3XTFrAAYfSpBbQ4q\&q=85\&s=7eabc33c17666eab48ec19b116dc6f12)

**Reports → Subscriptions Retention** looks at each **complete month**: of the subscriptions active on the 1st, how many were still active at the month's end.

| Card | What it is |
| - | - |
| Subscription Retention | Share of subscriptions active on the 1st still active at the end |
| MRR Retention | The same for their MRR |
| Subscription Churn, MRR Churn | What was lost: 100% minus retention |

Cards average the months in your range. Charts show retention and churn month by month, the **Monthly Breakdown** table gives each month's figures, and **Expected Lifetime** turns your average churn into how long a subscription lasts and what it's worth over that time.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Only complete months count. Pick a range that includes at least one full month.

## Subscription cohorts

![Subscription Cohort Retention: subscriptions grouped by start month and how many stayed active in each later month](https://mintcdn.com/saletides/3XTFrAAYfSpBbQ4q/images/subscription-cohorts.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=3XTFrAAYfSpBbQ4q\&q=85\&s=b65b589a9ee308bc4e70c59ce606dbe6)

**Cohorts → Subscriptions Cohorts** groups subscriptions by the month they started and follows how many stay active. Read it like a [customer cohort](/advanced/cohort-analysis/what-is-cohort-analysis): rows are starting months, columns are time since.

* **Rows**: a cohort, the subscriptions that started in that month (or week, or year).
* **Month 1**: what the cohort started with. Every later column is compared with it.
* **Month 2, 3…**: how many are still active one, two… periods after the cohort began. A subscription drops out once it has ended or been cancelled, so values only go down along a row.
* **Subscriptions / MRR**: count subscriptions, or add up the monthly recurring revenue of those still active.
* **# / %**: the numbers themselves, or the share of the cohort's starting point still active.
* **Average**: each column averaged over the cohorts old enough to reach it. In **%** mode it's the total still active divided by the total started, across those same cohorts.
* **—**: the cohort hasn't reached that period yet.

Hover any cell or column heading for an explanation. The **How to read this chart** link above the table opens the same guide in the app.

> **Worked example**
>
> 20 subscriptions started in March. By the start of May (two months later), 3 had been cancelled.
>
> | | Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 |
> | - | - | - | - |
> | Mar (#) | 20 | 19 | 17 |
> | Mar (%) | 100% | 95% | 85% |
>
> Month 3 at 85% means 17 of March's 20 subscriptions were still active two months after March began.

> [!TIP]
>
> **MRR % above Subscriptions %** means the subscribers who stay are on bigger plans than those who leave. Below it, you're losing your most valuable subscribers first.

**What to look for**

* **The drop from Month 1 to Month 2.** A sharp one usually means trial or first-payment churn: look at onboarding and the first renewal.
* **Where a row levels off.** After that point subscribers tend to stay, so getting customers past it matters most.
* **A column read top to bottom.** If newer cohorts keep a higher share at the same age, retention is improving.

Healthy subscription businesses often keep 80% or more at month 3.


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