Free tool
Client retention rate calculator for coaches
How many of your clients stay, and for how long? Count four numbers in your client list and see your retention rate, churn per month, average client lifetime and what a client is worth over that time.
Work out your retention rate
Pick a period, like last month or last quarter, and count your clients. The numbers below are an example. Replace them with your own.
- Retention rate
- 80%
- 32 of 40 starting clients stayed.
- Churn
- 20%
- Over the 3 months, or about 7.2% a month.
- Client lifetime
- 14 months
- On average, if your monthly churn stays the same.
- Lifetime value
- $2,093
- Monthly price × lifetime, per client.
Average client lifetime assumes your monthly churn stays the same. Lifetime value is revenue, before payment fees and other costs.
How to calculate client retention
The formula: retention rate = (clients at the end − new clients) ÷ clients at the start × 100.
- 1
Pick a period and a rule
A month or a quarter works well. Decide what counts as a client, for example anyone with an active plan, and use the same rule every time.
- 2
Count your clients at the start
Everyone who counts as a client on the first day of the period.
- 3
Count your new clients
Everyone who started with you during the period.
- 4
Count your clients at the end
Everyone who counts as a client on the last day, new clients included.
- 5
Do the sum
Subtract the new clients from the end count. What’s left is the starting clients who stayed. Divide by the start count and multiply by 100.
A worked example
Maya is an online coach (a made-up example). On January 1 she has 40 clients. During January, February and March, 10 new clients join. On March 31 she has 42.
Her retention rate for the quarter is (42 − 10) ÷ 40 × 100 = 80%. Of her 40 starting clients, 32 stayed and 8 left, so her churn for the quarter is 20%.
Per month, she keeps about 92.8% of her clients, because 0.928 × 0.928 × 0.928 ≈ 0.80. So her monthly churn is about 7.2%. Dividing the quarter’s 20% by three gives a close guess, but the calculator uses the exact rate.
Her average client lifetime is 1 ÷ monthly churn: 1 ÷ 7.2% ≈ 14 months. At $150 a month, a client is worth about $2,093 over that time.
How to use your retention rate
A single retention rate tells you little on its own. Compare it with your own last quarter, counted the same way. That shows whether the changes you made are working.
Be careful with retention figures from other businesses. They count clients, services and periods differently, so they rarely compare with yours.
If your retention is dropping, look at how clients leave. They rarely cancel out of the blue. They usually go quiet first: fewer workouts logged, late check-ins, shorter answers. Spot that early, and you can adjust the plan before they cancel.
In Coachplan, every client in your client list has a status: Active, Stable, Attention or At risk. It’s based on things like how long since their last login and last message, and whether they have a program. Your dashboard also lists clients with an active plan who have been quiet for 7 days or more, so you know who to contact first.
Read next
Spot clients who are going quiet
The early signs a client is drifting, what each one often means, and what to do about it.
Read the guide →Client check-ins for online coaches
A weekly system: daily tracking, a short form, a three-part reply and a way to spot quiet clients.
Read the guide →Client management in Coachplan
Every client’s status in one list, and everyone who has gone quiet on your dashboard.
See client management →Questions about client retention
Retention rate = (clients at the end of the period − new clients during the period) ÷ clients at the start × 100. It’s the share of the clients you started with who are still with you at the end.
Retention is the share of starting clients who stayed, churn the share who left. Together they make 100%.
Dividing by three gives a quick estimate. The exact way is to find the monthly rate that, repeated each month, gives the quarter’s retention: monthly retention = quarterly retention ^ (1 ÷ 3), and monthly churn = 100% − monthly retention. The calculator does this for any number of months.
Average client lifetime = 1 ÷ monthly churn. With 5% monthly churn, the average client stays about 20 months. It assumes churn stays the same, so treat it as an estimate and recalculate it each quarter.
Average monthly price per client × average client lifetime in months. It’s revenue, not profit: payment fees, software and your time aren’t taken off.
There isn’t a reliable number to aim for. Published figures count clients and periods in different ways, so they rarely compare with yours. The useful comparison is your own retention last quarter, measured the same way.
Pick one rule and use it every time. For example, count only clients with an active plan on that day. A consistent rule matters more than which rule you pick.
Spot quiet clients before they cancel.
See every client’s status in one list, and who has gone quiet on your dashboard. Try Coachplan free for 30 days with every feature.
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