What is MRR? Definition, formula and examples (monthly recurring revenue)
MRR (monthly recurring revenue) is the normalized monthly value of active subscription revenue. It is used to compare SaaS businesses when the source, period and verification status are documented.
What is MRR?
Monthly recurring revenue sums recurring charges normalized to one month. It is the standard operating metric for subscription software, but the exact definition depends on whether you include annual plans, discounts, refunds and non-recurring fees.
MarketBase stores MRR with source, verification status and collected-at date. A public catalog value from a filing is not the same as a Stripe-verified MRR import.
MRR formula and components
A simple model: MRR = Σ (active subscriptions × monthly price). For annual contracts, divide the contract value by 12 when normalizing to monthly.
Net MRR adjusts for churn, contraction and expansion in the period. Gross MRR before churn is easier to compute but overstates stability.
What to include and exclude
Include recurring subscription charges that renew automatically. Exclude one-time setup fees, professional services unless contracted as subscription, and usage overages unless your policy treats them as recurring.
Trials with zero revenue contribute zero MRR until conversion. Document whether paused subscriptions are counted as active.
Common mistakes
Treating annual bookings as MRR without dividing by twelve. Mixing cash collected with recognized subscription revenue. Comparing MRR across companies without checking verification status.
Use the MRR calculator on MarketBase to sanity-check customer count × ARPU, then benchmark against public peers.
Is MRR the same as revenue?
No. MRR is a recurring subscription snapshot; total revenue may include services, hardware and one-time charges. Compare ARR or TTM revenue when the question is company scale, not subscription run-rate.
How does MarketBase label MRR?
Each value shows source (for example Stripe, public_disclosure), verification status and collection date. Demo values are never shown as verified.
Methodology
Source: MarketBase · Status: Public