Month-over-Month Growth (MoM)

MoM

Month-over-month (MoM) growth is the percentage change in a metric — typically MRR, revenue, or customer count — between the current month and the immediately preceding month. It is the highest-frequency growth signal in SaaS and the primary operational cadence for early-stage companies where months represent meaningful changes in trajectory.

formula.sh

MoM Growth Rate = ((This Month − Last Month) ÷ Last Month) × 100

> This Month: value of the metric in the current calendar month
> Last Month: value in the immediately preceding calendar month
> Result is a percentage — positive means growth, negative means decline

example

example.sh

MRR was $28,000 in February and $31,500 in March.

(($31,500 − $28,000) ÷ $28,000) × 100

→ 12.5% MoM MRR growth

why it matters

MoM growth is the operational heartbeat for early-stage SaaS. At the stage where ARR is below $1M, month-to-month changes are large enough to be meaningful signals. A single strong or weak month at this stage can represent a significant shift in trajectory.

MoM growth is also the metric Y Combinator and other accelerators use to track startups during batch programs. Founders report weekly growth rates (a more granular version of MoM) to their partners. The discipline of tracking growth at this frequency forces founders to understand the inputs driving the number week over week.

common mistakes

✗Over-indexing on a single month — one good month does not confirm a trend; look at 3-month moving averages

✗Not adjusting for billing cycle timing — customers billed on the 1st vs. the 31st can shift revenue between months

✗Comparing MoM rate to YoY benchmarks without converting — a 5% MoM rate is roughly 80% YoY, which is exceptional

pro tips

✓Track MoM growth on net new MRR separately from total MRR — the former shows whether the growth engine is accelerating

✓Calculate a 3-month rolling average MoM rate to distinguish signal from noise

✓Plot MoM growth rate on a trendline, not just the monthly values — a declining growth rate is more alarming than a single bad month

the mrrsucks take

Your MoM growth is technically positive, which means you are growing, which means you are doing better than a company that is shrinking. That is the floor. We are standing on the floor.

faq

How do I convert MoM growth rate to annual growth rate?+

Compound it: Annual Rate = (1 + Monthly Rate)^12 − 1. A 10% MoM rate compounded gives 214% annual growth — not 120%.

What MoM MRR growth is considered venture-scale?+

Y Combinator's benchmark is 5–7% week-over-week for "ramen profitable" startups. For MoM, 15–20% is strong early-stage; 5–10% is solid at scale.

The $0 MRR milestone›

related metrics

./install-the-daemon

$9. 365 roasts. one public endpoint of pure shame.