SaaS Rule of 30 Cohort Calculator (Growth + Retention)
Enter your YoY growth rate, Net Revenue Retention (NRR), and profit margin to calculate your Rule of 30 score. Get an instant health verdict — healthy, at-risk, or failing — with benchmarks from top SaaS companies.
What Is the SaaS Rule of 30?
The Rule of 30 is an extended SaaS health benchmark that combines three key metrics: YoY growth rate + Net Revenue Retention (NRR) + operating profit margin. A sum of 30 or more indicates a fundamentally healthy business. Unlike the Rule of 40 (which ignores retention), the Rule of 30 explicitly rewards companies that grow revenue from existing customers through upsells, cross-sells, and usage expansion. Source: Bessemer Venture Partners State of the Cloud 2024 report. Last updated: May 2026.
Rule of 30 vs Rule of 40 — Benchmarks Compared
| Company Type | Growth Rate | NRR | Margin | Rule of 30 | Rule of 40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elite (Snowflake-tier) | 60% | 150% | -20% | 190 | 40 |
| Strong growth SaaS | 40% | 115% | -5% | 150 | 35 |
| Healthy, profitable | 20% | 105% | 15% | 140 | 35 |
| At-risk (slow + churning) | 15% | 85% | -10% | 90 | 5 |
| Failing benchmark | 5% | 80% | -20% | 65 | -15 |
How to Improve Your Rule of 30 Score
The three levers map directly to the formula: (1) Growth — improve top-of-funnel (SEO, partnerships, PLG) and shorten sales cycles; (2) NRR — launch upsell tiers, usage-based pricing, or annual billing incentives, and reduce churn through onboarding and success programs; (3) Margin — optimize COGS through infrastructure efficiency (move from EC2 to spot instances, renegotiate SaaS vendor contracts) or reduce G&A overhead. Companies at 20-25 should prioritize NRR improvements first: each point of NRR improvement compounds across the entire customer base and requires no additional sales headcount.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the SaaS Rule of 30?
The Rule of 30 states that Growth Rate (YoY) + Net Revenue Retention (NRR) + Profit Margin ≥ 30 indicates a healthy SaaS company. It extends Rule of 40 by incorporating NRR explicitly. Source: Bessemer Venture Partners State of the Cloud report.
How is Rule of 30 different from Rule of 40?
Rule of 40 = Growth + Profit Margin ≥ 40. Rule of 30 = Growth + NRR + Profit Margin ≥ 30. Rule of 30 explicitly rewards companies with high NRR (110%+ indicates expansion revenue exceeds churn). Rule of 40 ignores NRR entirely.
What is Net Revenue Retention (NRR) in SaaS?
NRR measures revenue retained from existing customers after expansion (upsells), contraction (downgrades), and churn. NRR > 100% means expansion revenue exceeds churn. Top companies like Snowflake maintain NRR of 120-160%.
What is a good Rule of 30 score?
A score ≥ 30 is healthy. Scores of 40-60 indicate strong momentum. Above 60 is elite performance. Below 20 suggests urgent need to improve growth, NRR, or profitability.
Can a company with negative NRR still pass Rule of 30?
Yes, if growth and profit margin compensate. But NRR below 100% means losing more from existing customers than you gain from expansion, requiring constant new customer acquisition just to maintain revenue.