Churn
The rate at which users or customers stop using a product or cancel over a given period — the inverse of retention.
Churn is the percentage of users or revenue lost in a period — the leak in the bucket. It comes in flavors: user churn (people leaving), revenue churn (dollars lost), and voluntary versus involuntary (failed payments). Each points to a different fix, so measuring the right one matters.
High churn quietly caps growth: if new users pour out as fast as they come in, acquisition spend is wasted. Because churn is the mirror image of retention, the levers are the same — better onboarding, faster activation, and delivering value people don't want to give up.
Related terms
RetentionThe measure of how many users keep coming back to a product over time — the clearest signal of whether it delivers lasting value.ActivationThe point at which a new user first experiences the core value of a product — the 'aha moment' that predicts whether they'll stick around.OnboardingThe designed experience that guides a new user from first launch to their first real success with a product.North Star MetricThe single metric that best captures the core value a product delivers, used to align a whole team's decisions around one number.