PostHog Metric
Product Analytics
Churn Rate = (Users Lost During Period / Users at Start of Period) x 100
Churn rate measures the percentage of users who stop using your product within a defined period, based on PostHog event data. It quantifies user attrition by identifying users whose activity drops below a defined threshold, providing a behavioural measure of retention failure.
Full guide: definition, formula, and benchmarksChurn Rate
Churn rate measures the percentage of users who stop using your product within a defined period, based on PostHog event data. It quantifies user attrition by identifying users whose activity drops below a defined threshold, providing a behavioural measure of retention failure.
How to calculate churn rate
Why churn rate matters for PostHog users
Churn is the metric that compounds against you. A 5% monthly churn rate means you lose over 45% of your user base annually, requiring constant acquisition just to maintain your current size. Understanding what drives churn is essential for sustainable growth.
Mapping churn rate into your metric tree connects it to the upstream engagement and feature usage patterns that predict it. Statistical correlations reveal which behaviours and product experiences are leading indicators of churn, enabling proactive intervention before users leave.
Understand and act on churn rate with KPI Tree
KPI Tree connects usage event data from your warehouse and calculates churn based on activity thresholds. Position churn alongside engagement and feature adoption metrics in your retention tree.
Assign RACI ownership to your product lead or retention team. Set alerts when churn rate increases and track interventions - feature changes, re-engagement campaigns, onboarding improvements - against their churn impact.
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Related PostHog metrics
User Retention Rate
Product AnalyticsMetric Definition
Retention Rate = (Users Active in Period / Users Active in Previous Period) x 100
User retention rate measures the percentage of users who return to your product within a defined period after their first use, based on PostHog event data. It is the inverse of churn and the primary indicator of whether your product delivers sustained value over time.
Daily Active Users
Product AnalyticsMetric Definition
Daily active users counts the unique users who trigger at least one qualifying event in PostHog within a calendar day. It serves as the foundational measure of product engagement, indicating how many users find enough value in your product to return and use it daily.
Feature Stickiness
Product AnalyticsMetric Definition
Feature Stickiness = (Feature DAU / Feature MAU) x 100
Feature stickiness measures the ratio of daily active users to monthly active users for a specific feature, expressed as a percentage. A higher ratio indicates that users who discover a feature return to use it regularly, suggesting it provides ongoing value rather than one-time utility.
Session Frequency
Product AnalyticsMetric Definition
Average Session Frequency = Total Sessions / Unique Users (per period)
Session frequency measures how often individual users return to your product within a defined period, based on PostHog session data. It distinguishes between users who visit daily, weekly, or sporadically, revealing the cadence of habitual product usage.
Cohort Retention Analysis
Product AnalyticsMetric Definition
Cohort retention analysis groups PostHog users by their signup or first-use date and tracks what percentage remain active over subsequent days, weeks, and months. It reveals retention curves per cohort, showing whether product changes improve or degrade long-term user retention.
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All PostHog metrics
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