As you’re about to see, there are a lot of early-stage startup metrics to choose from.
This guide will walk you through all of them, and show you how to calculate each, and how to decide which ones you should be tracking.
Top Early-Stage Startup Metrics to Track
| Subgroup | Metric | Formula | How to Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance | Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) | Sum of all monthly subscription revenue | Use subscription management software or CRM with revenue tracking |
| Finance | Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) | Total Sales and Marketing Expenses / Number of New Customers Acquired | Track marketing expenses and new customer data in CRM or spreadsheets |
| Finance | Customer Lifetime Value (CLV or LTV) | (Average Revenue Per Account) X (1 / Logo Churn Rate) X (Gross Margin %) | Analyze customer purchase history and churn rate in CRM |
| Finance | CAC:LTV Ratio | CAC / LTV | Calculate using CAC and LTV figures |
| Finance | Churn Rate | (Customers Lost in Period / Customers at Start of Period) × 100 | Monitor customer accounts in CRM or subscription management software |
| Finance | Retention Rate | 100% – Churn Rate | Derived from churn rate calculation |
| Finance | Burn Rate | (Starting Cash – Ending Cash) / Number of Months | Track through financial management software or cash flow statements |
| Finance | Runway | Current Cash Balance / Monthly Burn Rate | Calculate using cash balance and burn rate figures |
| Finance | Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) | Total Revenue / Total Number of Users | Calculate using revenue data and user counts |
| Finance | Gross Margin | ((Revenue – Cost of Goods Sold) / Revenue) × 100 | Calculate using financial statements |
| Finance | Net Profit Margin | (Net Income / Revenue) × 100 | Derive from income statements |
| Finance | Cash Flow | Cash Inflows – Cash Outflows | Track through accounting software or cash flow statements |
| Marketing | Cost Per Lead (CPL) | Total Marketing Spend / Number of Leads Generated | Use marketing analytics tools and CRM data |
| Marketing | Lead-to-Customer Rate | (Number of New Customers / Number of Leads) × 100 | Track in CRM or sales management software |
| Marketing | Sales Cycle Length | Average time from first touch to closed deal | Monitor in CRM or sales management software |
| Marketing | Website Traffic | Total number of website visits | Use web analytics tools like Google Analytics |
| Marketing | Bounce Rate | (Single-page Sessions / Total Sessions) × 100 | Track through web analytics tools |
| Marketing | Time on Site | Total Session Duration / Number of Sessions | Measure using web analytics tools |
| Marketing | Organic Search Traffic | Number of visitors from organic search results | Track through web analytics and SEO tools |
| Marketing | Social Media Engagement | Varies by platform (e.g., likes, shares, comments, clicks) | Use social media analytics tools or native platform insights |
| Marketing | Email Open and Click-Through Rates | Open Rate: (Emails Opened / Emails Delivered) × 100; CTR: (Clicks / Emails Delivered) × 100 | Use email marketing software like Mailchimp or Sendgrid |
| Marketing | Conversion Rate | (Number of Conversions / Total Number of Visitors) × 100 | Use web analytics tools like Google Analytics |
| Product | Monthly Active Users (MAU) | Count of unique users who engaged with product in last 30 days | Use product analytics tools like Mixpanel or Amplitude |
| Product | Daily Active Users (DAU) | Count of unique users who engaged with product in a day | Use product analytics tools for daily user tracking |
| Product | User Growth Rate | ((Current Period Users – Previous Period Users) / Previous Period Users) × 100 | Calculate using user data from analytics tools |
| Product | Activation Rate | (Number of Users Who Completed Key Action / Total New Users) × 100 | Track through product analytics or user onboarding tools |
| Product | Feature Adoption Rate | (Number of Users Using Feature / Total Number of Users) × 100 | Monitor through product analytics tools |
| Product | Product Usage Metrics | Varies (e.g., features used, time in app, actions completed) | Track through product analytics tools |
| Others | Net Promoter Score (NPS) | % Promoters – % Detractors | Conduct surveys using tools like Delighted or SurveyMonkey |
| Others | Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) | (Number of Satisfied Customers / Number of Survey Responses) × 100 | Use customer feedback tools or surveys |
| Others | Revenue Growth Rate | ((Current Period Revenue – Previous Period Revenue) / Previous Period Revenue) × 100 | Calculate using financial data from accounting software |
| Others | Market Share | (Company’s Sales / Total Market Sales) × 100 | Requires market research and sales data analysis |
| Others | Employee Turnover Rate | (Number of Employees Who Left / Average Number of Employees) × 100 | Track through HR software or employee records |