What is Net Dollar Retention by Cohort?
Revenue retained and expanded within a signup cohort.
How to calculate it
Calculate Net Dollar Retention by Cohort as: Cohort revenue now / Cohort revenue at start × 100. Pull the inputs from your connected data and track the trend over time in your dashboard.
Examples
Example 1
The Jan-2025 cohort started at $50k and is now $58k -> 116%; that vintage is expanding.
Example 2
The Jan-2025 cohort started at $50k and is now $58k -> 116%, while the Jan-2024 cohort sits at 104%, showing newer customers expand faster.
Why it matters
Net dollar retention by cohort tracks revenue retained and expanded within a sign-up cohort, revealing durable expansion versus churn by customer vintage. It exposes whether newer cohorts are healthier or weaker than older ones, which a blended figure hides. Aggregating cohorts conceals decay or improvement patterns over time.
Benchmark context
Above 100% indicates compounding revenue within the cohort; compare cohorts over time to see whether retention is improving or degrading.
Common pitfalls
Aggregating cohorts hides decay patterns.
Related KPI guides
Turn KPI definitions into governed dashboards
Metricwise helps teams define metrics once, reuse them across dashboards, and ask trusted business questions in plain English.
Get Started