Growth Rate Calculator

What is growth rate?

Growth rate measures how much a metric — revenue, users, MRR, anything — changed between two points in time, expressed as a percentage of the starting value. It's the simplest way to answer “how fast are we growing?” for a single period, like month-over-month (MoM).

Worked example: your MRR was $10,000 last month and $11,500 this month. Growth rate = ((11500 − 10000) ÷ 10000) × 100 = 15% MoM.

Why use CAGR instead?

A single growth-rate number only compares two points in time. If you want to know your average annual growth pace across several years, adding up or averaging period-over-period rates gets misleading fast — compounding isn't linear. CAGR solves this by finding the single steady annual growth rate that would take you from your starting value to your ending value over the number of periods you specify, smoothing out any lumpy or uneven growth along the way.

FAQ

MoM vs YoY growth — which should I track?

Month-over-month (MoM) growth is more sensitive and useful for spotting recent momentum shifts, but it's noisy — seasonality and one-off spikes can swing it a lot. Year-over-year (YoY) growth smooths out seasonality and is better for judging overall trajectory. Early-stage teams often watch MoM closely for fast feedback; more mature companies lean on YoY for a steadier read.

What's a good growth rate?

This is highly context dependent, so treat any number as a rough guide rather than a target. Early-stage startups often aim for double-digit MoM growth to hit venture-scale outcomes. Mature companies typically look at YoY growth in the 10-30% range as healthy, though plenty of profitable businesses grow slower than that on purpose. Your target should track your stage, market, and capital position more than any generic benchmark.

What's the difference between growth rate and CAGR?

A simple growth rate compares two points in time directly — useful for a single period like one month or one year. CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) smooths growth across multiple periods into a single annualized rate, as if it had grown at a steady compounding pace the whole time. CAGR is better for comparing trajectories across companies or time spans of different lengths.