Median is the median of what the funds published. Top quartile is filled only where a fund labelled a figure top quartile or best in class. Mo is the month it attaches in the 24 months from seed close to cash out.
| Metric | Median | Top quartile | Mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traction | |||
| Annual recurring revenue | $3.0M | $4.0M | 12 |
| ARR growth year on year | 75% | 125% | 12 |
| Retention | |||
| Net revenue retention | 110% | 120% | 12 |
| Gross revenue retention | 80% | 90% | 12 |
| Logo retention | 90% | 95% | 12 |
| Month the retention curve flattens | M3 | M3 | 3 |
| Funnel | |||
| Visitor to signup | 5% | 6% | 6 |
| Free to paid on freemium | 5% | 10% | 6 |
| Activation | 20% | 40% | 1 |
| Daily over monthly users | 30% | 40% | 6 |
| Organic share of pipeline | 30% | — | 9 |
| Efficiency | |||
| CAC payback | 14 mo | 6 mo | 9 |
| CAC ceiling | 12 months of revenue | — | 9 |
| Burn multiple | 1.2x | 1.0x | 12 |
| Magic number | 1.0x | 4.0x | 9 |
| LTV over CAC | 6x | 8x | 12 |
| Gross margin | 65% | 80% | 12 |
| Metric | Mo | Low | Median | Top quartile | Funds | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARR at Series A | 12 | $1.2M | $3.0M | $4.0M | Bessemer, Emergence, Point Nine | 3 |
| ARR growth, YoY | 12 | 50% | 75% | 125% to 515% | Bessemer, Emergence, ICONIQ, Lightspeed, OpenView, Scale VP | 6 |
| Gross new ARR composition | 12 | · | · | · | ICONIQ. No threshold published | 1 |
| New logo velocity | 12 | · | · | · | ICONIQ. No threshold published | 1 |
| Net revenue retention | 12 | 100% | 110% | 120% | Bessemer, ICONIQ, Lightspeed | 3 |
| Gross revenue retention | 12 | 70% | 80% | 90% | Bessemer, ICONIQ | 2 |
| Logo retention | 12 | 85% | 90% | 95% | Bessemer | 1 |
| Quick ratio | 12 | · | · | 4:1 | ICONIQ tracks it. 4:1 from Pillar VC, outside this set | 1 |
| Month the retention curve must flatten | 3 | M3 | M3 | M3 | a16z, OpenView | 2 |
| Monthly revenue churn | 12 | 3.5% | · | 1.5% | Matrix | 1 |
| Visitor to signup | 6 | 4.5% | 5% | 6% | OpenView | 1 |
| Free to paid, freemium | 6 | 4% | 5% | 10% | OpenView | 1 |
| Free to paid, free trial | 6 | 14% | 14% | · | OpenView | 1 |
| Activation | 1 | 20% | 20% | 40% | OpenView | 1 |
| Self serve share of conversions | 6 | 55% | 55% | · | OpenView | 1 |
| Organic share of pipeline | 9 | 30% | 30% | · | Accel | 1 |
| Daily over monthly users | 6 | 14% | 30% | 40% | Accel | 1 |
| Win rate, overall and head to head | 12 | · | · | · | None | 0 |
| Pipeline coverage | 9 | 3:1 | 3.5:1 | 4:1 | Lightspeed | 1 |
| CAC payback | 9 | 21.6 mo | 14 mo | 6 mo | Bessemer, ICONIQ, Lightspeed, Matrix | 4 |
| CAC, absolute ceiling | 9 | · | 12 months of revenue | · | Matrix | 1 |
| LTV over CAC | 12 | 3x | 6x | 8x | ICONIQ, Matrix | 2 |
| Burn multiple | 12 | 1.5x | 1.2x | 1.0x | Bessemer, Craft, Emergence, Scale VP | 4 |
| Magic number | 9 | 1.0x | 1.0x | 4.0x | ICONIQ | 1 |
| Gross margin | 12 | 60% | 65% | 80% | Bessemer | 1 |
| ARR per employee | 12 | $164K | $164K | · | Bessemer | 1 |
| Sales and marketing as a share of revenue | 12 | 56% | 48% | 33% | Lightspeed | 1 |
| Research and development as a share of revenue | 12 | 28% | 27% | 20% | Lightspeed | 1 |
| General and administrative as a share of revenue | 12 | 20% | 17% | 11% | Lightspeed | 1 |
| OpEx per FTE | 12 | · | · | · | ICONIQ. No threshold published | 1 |
| Free cash flow margin | 24 | · | · | · | ICONIQ. Above $25M of ARR only | 1 |
| Rule of 40 | 24 | · | 40% | · | ICONIQ. Above $25M of ARR only | 1 |
| Lag from spend decision to observed growth | 9 | 12 mo | 10.5 mo | 9 mo | Matrix | 1 |
| Runway at the raise | 12 | 12 mo | 18 mo | 24 mo | Bessemer | 1 |
| Measured | Value | Fund |
|---|---|---|
| Burn multiple observed at $0M to $1M of ARR | 3.4x | Scale VP |
| Burn multiple observed at $2.5M to $5M of ARR, top quartile growth | 1.8x | Scale VP |
| Burn multiple observed across the full dataset | 1.6x | Scale VP |
| Share of companies growing 75%+ YoY in 2023 | One in five, down from 49% in 2021 | OpenView |
| Channel partnership share of revenue at high growth companies | 27% to 31% | ICONIQ |
| Expansion share of growth at $100M of ARR | 67% | Emergence |
| Metric | Mo | Bessemer | Emergence | ICONIQ | Lightspeed | OpenView | Point Nine | Scale VP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARR at Series A | 12 | $3M year one, Shooting Star | $0 to $3M or $4M in year one of monetizing | · | · | · | $120K to $1.2M over 24 months | · |
| ARR growth, YoY | 12 | 75%+ good. 100%+ better. 125%+ best | 100% AI native median. 23% SaaS median | 515% top quartile at $1M to $10M ARR | 39% to 84% top quartile | 75% is the fast growing threshold, cut from 100% | · | 50% at $1M ARR is venture death |
| Time to $1M of ARR | 12 | 12 months to $3M, Shooting Star | · | · | · | · | 24 months to $1.2M | · |
| Metric | Mo | a16z | Bessemer | ICONIQ | Lightspeed | Matrix | OpenView | Point Nine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net revenue retention | 12 | M12 over M3 above the level that yields NDR over 100% | 100% good. 110% better. 120%+ best | 110% to 120% | 115% to 120% top quartile. 106% to 116% median | · | · | · |
| Gross revenue retention | 12 | · | 70% to 80% acceptable for SMB cloud | Above 90% top quartile, churn below 10% | · | · | · | · |
| Logo retention | 12 | · | Above 85% good. Above 90% better. 95%+ best | · | · | · | · | · |
| Monthly revenue churn | 12 | · | · | · | · | 1.5% | · | · |
| When the curve must flatten | 3 | By M3. Rebase all retention from M0 to M3 | · | · | · | · | 54% of conversions land inside 3 months | · |
| Cohorts that must be closed | 6 | M3, then M12 over M3 | · | · | · | · | · | M1, M3 and M6 revenue plus usage cohorts |
| Metric | Mo | Accel | OpenView |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visitor to signup | 6 | · | 5% median. 6% freemium, 4.5% free trial |
| Free to paid | 6 | · | 4% median. 5% freemium, 14% free trial |
| Activation | 1 | · | 20% median. 20% to 40% at the best PLG companies |
| Self serve share of conversions | 6 | · | 55% |
| Organic share of pipeline | 9 | Above 30% is excellent | · |
| Daily over monthly users | 6 | Above 40% elite. 14% SaaS average. 30% at the 90th percentile | · |
| Metric | Mo | Bessemer | Craft | Emergence | ICONIQ | Lightspeed | Matrix | Scale VP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAC payback | 9 | 12 to 18 months good. 6 to 12 better. 0 to 6 best | · | · | Below 20 months top quartile | 11.1 to 16.9 months top quartile. 13.5 to 21.6 median | 5 to 7 months at the best businesses | · |
| LTV over CAC | 12 | · | · | · | Above 6x top quartile | · | Above 3x. 7x to 8x at the best businesses | · |
| Burn multiple | 12 | 1.2x at 100% growth | Under 1x amazing. 1x to 1.5x great. 1.5x to 2x good. Over 3x bad | Under 1x at the median | · | · | · | 1.6 average across the dataset. 3.4 at $0M to $1M ARR |
| Magic number | 9 | · | · | · | Above 1.0x top quartile. 2.0x to 4.0x for product led | · | · | · |
| Gross margin | 12 | 65% to 70% at any maturity. 60% AI native Shooting Star. 25% Supernova | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| ARR per employee | 12 | $164K Shooting Star. $1.13M Supernova | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| Sales and marketing as a share of revenue | 12 | · | · | · | · | 33% to 49% top quartile. 41% to 56% median | · | · |
| Metric | Mo | Bessemer | Matrix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lag from spend to observed growth | 9 | · | 9 to 12 months |
| Runway at the raise | 12 | 12 months good. 18 better. 24+ best | · |
| Time to value | No fund in this set publishes a threshold |
| PQL to paid conversion | No fund in this set publishes a threshold |
| Rule of 40 | ICONIQ publishes it and states it applies only above $25M of ARR |
| Index Ventures | Publishes playbooks on hiring and compensation. No Series A metric thresholds found |
| a16z | Retention Is All You Need. Rodriguez and Immerman. 10 Sep 2025. Hundreds of AI companies, benchmarks from dozens above $1M ARR. |
| Accel | Control Your Growth, Control Your Future. Miles Clements. |
| Bessemer | State of the Cloud 2023. State of AI 2025, twenty AI companies, Aug 2025. Scaling to $100 Million. |
| Craft | The Burn Multiple. David Sacks. 23 Apr 2020. |
| Emergence | Beyond Benchmarks 2025. The New Language of Startup Performance. |
| ICONIQ | The ICONIQ Enterprise Five, 2025 scorecard. Enterprise Five 2023. Scaling SaaS. |
| Lightspeed | The Official SMB Software Benchmarking Guide. 13 Jul 2023. US listed SMB SaaS, ACV under $12K. |
| Matrix | SaaS Metrics 2.0. David Skok. forEntrepreneurs. |
| OpenView | Product Benchmarks 2020, 2022 and 2023. 450+ then 660 then 1,000 participants. Coined product led growth. |
| Point Nine | Nine Key Milestones from Seed to Series A. From Launch to Series A: Get Your Finance Plan Right. |
| Scale VP | Benchmarking Startup Growth and Burn. Scale Studio, several hundred private and public SaaS companies. |