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ProfitWell MetricsGrowth rate is one of the most important metrics for subscription businesses. Learn how to calculate and use it to make better decisions.
Momentum—the driving force of every SaaS company’s success. Growth stems from momentum, which can be measured. And we’ve covered articles about specific momentum metrics, such as monthly recurring revenue (MRR) and annual recurring revenue (ARR), extensively.
Analyzing your monthly revenue is important to understand your company’s momentum and adapt your growth strategy accordingly. Another way to study growth in addition to MRR is by calculating growth rates. Calculating and monitoring growth in various ways will provide even more specificity, leading you to better decision-making.
After reading this article, you’ll have a deeper understanding of what growth rates are, the many metrics associated with growth rates, and how to calculate them.
Check out this video created by the Paddle Studios team and download the 2023 OpenView Benchmark report here.
What are growth rates?
Growth rates measure the percentage change of a given metric over a given period of time. There are various growth rates—from industry growth rates and company growth rates to the economic growth of countries like the United States, often measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rates. This variety is important because different companies and economists define growth based on different factors like:
- Revenue growth rates (usually including sales, earnings, and cash flow)
- User acquisition growth rates
- Daily active user (DAU) growth rates
- Monthly active user (MAU) growth rates
- Average annual growth rates (AAGR)
- Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) (often used for calculating the value of an investment)
For example, a consumer company like Instagram likely measures growth through DAU and an enterprise SaaS company would be more concerned with account and revenue growth.
Looking to supercharge your growth? Watch our webinar on revenue metrics in 2023
No matter the type of growth you’re examining, growth rate is an important metric to help allocate resources for the future.
Formula to calculate growth rate
To calculate the growth rate, take the current value and subtract that from the previous value. Next, divide this difference by the previous value and multiply by 100 to get a percentage representation of the rate of growth.
How to calculate growth rate in 4 simple steps
1. Pick a metric
We just went through different metrics you can track—revenue, market share, and user growth rate. It’s important to pick which metric you’d like to calculate. Don’t get me wrong, you can calculate all three, but not for the multiple number of periods at the same time or within the same equation.
2. Find a starting value over a given time period
After you decide which metric you want to focus on, you need to determine your starting value. This number will represent the performance of your business for that period of time.
3. Find an end value over a second time period
You’ll also need to determine your end value. This number will represent the performance of your business over THAT period of time. It can also be the present value.
4. Apply the growth rate formula
Below are two other equations you can use to calculate growth rate. They are each different ways to tell the story:
(End value/starting value) x 100% = growth rate
Or
Starting value - end value/starting value = growth rate
As mentioned above, your end and starting values are contingent upon the metric you choose to calculate. For example, when calculating market share growth, you would use the current market size and the original market size as your starting and end values.
Different ways to measure a business’s growth rate
Measuring growth rate depends on which variable you are looking to assess. I’ll break down the process for measuring revenue growth, market share growth, and user growth rate.
Revenue growth
Revenue is the most common metric used to measure the growth rate of a business. Basically, it’s the king of all SaaS metrics in terms of growth. Revenue growth is the increase or decrease of a company’s sales between two periods, whether it's over a number of years or just a few quarters. It’s shown as a percentage and demonstrates the degree to which your company’s revenue has grown or shrunk over time.
This equation can be calculated annually (annual growth rate), quarterly, and/or monthly. Measuring revenue growth in this way calculates both positive and negative changes in revenue growth—giving you a more realistic outlook on your company’s financial health.
Market share growth
Another way to track your company’s growth is by measuring market share growth. In order to calculate market share growth rate, you must first have a grasp on how to calculate market share. Market share is the portion of a market controlled by a particular company or product.
Now, to measure market growth rate, you need to know the total market size in terms of revenue—which includes total sales of the entire market with you and all competitors combined. Once you determine your starting value, you can start calculating market growth rate.
Market growth can indicate your business’ long-term sustainability. If your company is experiencing low sales compared to other companies in your market, it will prove that you need to investigate why your product or your company’s brand isn’t having positive growth.
User growth rate
User growth rate is the percentage of new paying customers you gain every month.
Tracking user growth rate is important because if the trend is positive, then your company is acquiring more customers in an upward trend. It means people like your product; your marketing and sales efforts are going well. However, if your calculations indicate a decline in users at any point, it’s time to strategize to meet your goals.
Growth rate is only part of the picture
Growth rate calculation is one piece of the puzzle. Calculating growth rate reveals how your company is trending. However, once you know whether growth is declining or increasing, you need to act upon that information. If you calculate growth and find that it’s decreasing, you need to strategize how your company can get growth on the right track.
That’s where Paddle comes in. Our tool, ProfitWell Retain, helps grow revenue and sales with your existing customers. Retain combines subscription expertise with algorithms that leverage millions of data to win back your customers. Using Retain lets our team do the heavy lifting to reduce churn so that you can spend more time with your customers and product.
Take the headache out of growing your software business
We handle your payments, tax, subscription management and more, so you can focus on growing your software and subscription business.
Calculate growth rate FAQs
How to calculate growth rate percentage?
To calculate the percentage growth rate, use the basic growth rate formula: subtract the original from the new value and divide the results by the original value. To turn that into a percent increase, multiply the results by 100.
How to calculate the average growth rate?
To calculate the average growth rate of your company, you first need to divide the present by the past value, then multiply that number by 1/N (where N is the number of years). Finally, subtract the result by 1, and you’ll get the average growth rate.
How to calculate the internal growth rate?
Calculate the company’s internal growth rate by dividing net income by average total assets. After that, calculate the retention ratio by dividing retained earnings by net income.
How to calculate revenue growth rate?
To calculate the revenue growth rate, first subtract the revenue from the previous period from the current period. Next, divide that number by the revenue from the previous period.
