Churn — Customer Churn Rate
Definition: The percentage of customers who cancel or stop paying in a given period. Churn is the silent killer of SaaS — a 5% monthly churn means losing nearly half your customer base every year.
Example
5% monthly churn isn't a pricing problem — it's usually an onboarding or product-fit problem hiding behind it.
When you'll hear it
Churn shows up most often in board meetings, quarterly business reviews, and strategy off-sites. When someone uses it, they're usually referring to customer churn rate — and they expect the room to already know what that means.
FAQs
What does Churn stand for?
Churn stands for Customer Churn Rate.
What does Churn mean in business and finance?
The percentage of customers who cancel or stop paying in a given period. Churn is the silent killer of SaaS — a 5% monthly churn means losing nearly half your customer base every year.
Where will I hear Churn used at work?
Churn comes up most often in board meetings, quarterly business reviews, and strategy off-sites. It's used as shorthand for customer churn rate, so people assume you already know the term.