15 Essential SaaS Metrics Every Indie Founder Must Track in 2025 (With Benchmarks)

Here's the problem with most indie founders: They obsess over vanity metrics like Twitter followers and Product Hunt upvotes while ignoring the numbers that actually predict whether their SaaS will survive the next 12 months.

You don't need a data science degree or enterprise analytics tools. You need 15 core SaaS metrics that tell you everything about your business health, and you need to track them consistently.

This guide breaks down exactly which SaaS KPIs matter for bootstrapped founders, how to calculate them, and what benchmarks separate struggling products from sustainable businesses.

Why SaaS Metrics Matter More Than You Think

Building in public is powerful. Sharing your journey attracts early users and builds trust. But transparency without data is just storytelling.

When you track and share real metrics, something changes. Investors take you seriously. Customers trust your stability. Other founders learn from your experience. Most importantly, you spot problems before they kill your business.

The best indie makers don't just share vague "growth" updates. They document specific metrics that show real progress: MRR growth, churn reduction, improving customer acquisition costs. These numbers tell a story that generic updates never can.

The Core Revenue Metrics

1. Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)

What it is: The predictable revenue your SaaS generates each month from subscriptions.

How to calculate: Sum of all active subscription revenue normalized to monthly amounts.

If you have 50 customers at $20/month and 10 at $100/month, your MRR is $2,000.

Bootstrapped benchmark:

• Early stage: $1K-5K MRR (product-market fit hunt)

• Growing: $5K-20K MRR (repeatable acquisition)

• Established: $20K+ MRR (sustainable business)

Why it matters: MRR is your heartbeat. Growing MRR means your business is alive and healthy. Flat or declining MRR is an emergency.

2. Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

What it is: Your MRR multiplied by 12, representing yearly subscription revenue.

How to calculate: MRR × 12

Bootstrapped benchmark:

• $100K ARR: Proof of concept

• $500K ARR: Real business

• $1M ARR: Life-changing milestone for indie founders

Why it matters: ARR helps you think long-term and makes year-over-year comparisons meaningful.

3. Revenue Growth Rate

What it is: How fast your revenue is growing month over month.

How to calculate: ((This Month's MRR - Last Month's MRR) / Last Month's MRR) × 100

If you grew from $5,000 to $5,750 MRR, your growth rate is 15%.

Bootstrapped benchmark:

• 5-10% monthly: Healthy organic growth

• 10-20% monthly: Strong product-market fit

• 20%+ monthly: Exceptional (rarely sustainable long-term)

Why it matters: This metric reveals momentum. Consistent 10% monthly growth doubles your revenue in 7 months.

Customer Acquisition Metrics

4. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

What it is: How much you spend to acquire one paying customer.

How to calculate: (Total Sales & Marketing Costs) / Number of New Customers

Spent $500 on ads and got 10 customers? Your CAC is $50.

Bootstrapped benchmark:

• Under $50: Excellent for low-price products

• $50-200: Acceptable for mid-tier SaaS

• $200+: Only works with high LTV products

Why it matters: If CAC is higher than what a customer pays you in their first 3 months, your business model is broken.

5. Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)

What it is: The total revenue you expect from a customer before they churn.

How to calculate: (Average Revenue Per User) / Churn Rate

If customers pay $30/month on average and your monthly churn is 5%, LTV is $600.

Bootstrapped benchmark:

• LTV should be at least 3x your CAC

• 5x or higher indicates healthy unit economics

Why it matters: This tells you how much you can afford to spend acquiring customers while staying profitable.

6. LTV:CAC Ratio

What it is: The relationship between customer lifetime value and acquisition cost.

How to calculate: LTV / CAC

Bootstrapped benchmark:

• Under 1: Losing money on every customer

• 1-3: Risky, little room for error

• 3-5: Healthy sustainable business

• 5+: Excellent economics

Why it matters: This single ratio tells you if your business model actually works.

Retention and Engagement Metrics

7. Churn Rate

What it is: The percentage of customers who cancel each month.

How to calculate: (Customers Lost This Month / Customers at Start of Month) × 100

Started with 100 customers, lost 5? Your monthly churn is 5%.

Bootstrapped benchmark:

• Under 3% monthly: Excellent retention

• 3-5% monthly: Acceptable

• 5-7% monthly: Warning zone

• 7%+ monthly: Critical problem

Why it matters: High churn is a leaky bucket. You can't grow if you're losing customers as fast as you acquire them.

8. Revenue Churn

What it is: The percentage of revenue lost from cancellations and downgrades.

How to calculate: (Revenue Lost from Churn / Total Revenue at Start of Period) × 100

Bootstrapped benchmark:

• Under 5% monthly: Healthy

• 5-10% monthly: Needs attention

• 10%+ monthly: Emergency

Why it matters: You can have low customer churn but high revenue churn if your biggest customers are leaving.

9. Net Revenue Retention (NRR)

What it is: Revenue retention including expansions and upgrades.

How to calculate: ((Starting MRR + Expansion - Churn) / Starting MRR) × 100

Bootstrapped benchmark:

• 90-100%: Decent retention

• 100-110%: Good with some expansion

• 110%+: Exceptional (revenue grows from existing customers)

Why it matters: NRR above 100% means your existing customers are spending more over time. That's the holy grail.

10. Activation Rate

What it is: Percentage of new users who complete key actions that predict retention.

How to calculate: (Users Who Reached Activation Milestone / Total New Users) × 100

Bootstrapped benchmark:

• 25%+: Good onboarding experience

• 40%+: Excellent product-led growth

• Under 20%: Your onboarding is broken

Why it matters: Users who activate are 10x more likely to become paying customers and stick around.

Efficiency Metrics

11. Burn Rate

What it is: How much money you're losing each month (if not profitable yet).

How to calculate: Monthly Expenses - Monthly Revenue

Bootstrapped benchmark:

• Aim for profitability as fast as possible

• If burning cash, ensure you have 12+ months runway

Why it matters: Running out of money kills more startups than bad products. Know your runway.

12. Months of Runway

What it is: How long you can operate before running out of money.

How to calculate: Cash in Bank / Monthly Burn Rate

Bootstrapped benchmark:

• Under 6 months: Dangerous

• 6-12 months: Adequate

• 12+ months: Comfortable

Why it matters: This number determines how much time you have to find product-market fit.

13. Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)

What it is: How much revenue each customer generates monthly on average.

How to calculate: Total MRR / Number of Customers

Bootstrapped benchmark:

• $10-30: Low-touch, high-volume needed

• $30-100: Mid-market sweet spot for indie founders

• $100+: Allows for higher-touch support

Why it matters: Higher ARPU means you need fewer customers to hit revenue goals, but usually requires better support.

Growth Health Metrics

14. Lead Velocity Rate (LVR)

What it is: The growth rate of qualified leads month over month.

How to calculate: ((Qualified Leads This Month - Last Month) / Last Month) × 100

Bootstrapped benchmark:

• 10%+ monthly: Healthy pipeline growth

• Negative LVR: Future revenue problem

Why it matters: LVR predicts future revenue growth. Declining leads today means declining revenue in 2-3 months.

15. Viral Coefficient

What it is: How many new users each existing user brings through referrals.

How to calculate: (Number of Invitations Sent × Conversion Rate) per User

Bootstrapped benchmark:

• Under 1: Not viral, need other growth channels

• Exactly 1: Self-sustaining growth

• Above 1: True viral growth

Why it matters: Viral growth is the cheapest customer acquisition possible. Even a small viral coefficient reduces CAC significantly.

How to Track These Metrics Without Losing Your Mind

You don't need expensive analytics tools when starting out. Here's the realistic approach:

Months 1-3: Track manually in a spreadsheet. Calculate your core 5 metrics weekly: MRR, customer count, churn, CAC, and ARPU.

Months 4-12: Add basic analytics. Use your payment processor (Stripe, Paddle) for revenue metrics. Google Analytics for traffic and activation.

Year 2+: Consider dedicated tools like Baremetrics or ChartMogul as your metrics get complex.

The key is consistency. Track the same way every time so you can trust your trends.

Building in Public With Metrics That Matter

Here's where most founders miss an opportunity. They build in public with generic updates: "Great progress this week!" or "Excited about new features!"

Compare that to: "Hit $5K MRR this month, up from $3.2K. Churn dropped to 3.8% after fixing onboarding. CAC is still high at $180 but LTV is $650, so unit economics work."

The second update is memorable. It's shareable. It teaches other founders. It builds credibility.

Platforms like PeerPush were built for this exact purpose. When you share product updates, your metrics are automatically tracked and preserved. Your growth story becomes visible to potential customers, investors, and fellow builders.

Each milestone gets timestamped. Your journey from $0 to $10K MRR becomes a documented case study. That transparency builds trust faster than any marketing copy.

Red Flags: When Metrics Scream "Fix This Now"

Watch for these warning signals:

Churn rate climbing: If churn increases 2 months in a row, stop everything and figure out why customers are leaving.

CAC growing faster than LTV: Your customer acquisition is getting more expensive while customers aren't staying longer. Death spiral territory.

Declining activation rate: Your product changes or new competition is making it harder for users to see value.

Negative revenue growth: Even one month of declining MRR deserves serious investigation.

LTV:CAC ratio under 2: You're barely breaking even on customer acquisition. Not sustainable.

Start Tracking Today

Pick 5 metrics to start with:

1. MRR (your north star)

2. Customer count (your growth indicator)

3. Churn rate (your retention health)

4. CAC (your efficiency check)

5. Activation rate (your product-market fit signal)

Set up a simple spreadsheet. Track them weekly. Share them in your product updates.

After 4 weeks, you'll have enough data to spot trends. After 12 weeks, you'll understand your business better than 90% of founders.

The metrics don't lie. They tell you exactly what's working and what's broken. Pay attention to them, and you'll build a sustainable SaaS business instead of another failed side project.

Ready to track your metrics in public? Join PeerPush where you can share product updates that automatically preserve your growth metrics over time. Document your journey from $0 to $10K MRR with timestamped proof, build credibility through transparency, and inspire other founders with your real progress.

Submit your product and start building your growth story today.

Metrics aren't just numbers in a spreadsheet. They're the story of your SaaS journey, the proof of your progress, and the early warning system that keeps you from building the wrong thing. Track them obsessively, share them transparently, and let the data guide your decisions.