5 Metrics Every SaaS Founder Should Track
As a SaaS founder, you're drowning in data. Page views, sign-ups, clicks, sessions—the list goes on. But which metrics actually matter?
After working with hundreds of early-stage SaaS companies, we've identified 5 core metrics that every founder should track from day one.
1. Activation Rate
What it is: The percentage of users who reach your "aha moment"—that critical point where they experience real value from your product.
Why it matters: A user who signs up but never activates will churn. Focus on getting users to that first win as quickly as possible.
How to track it: Define your activation milestone (e.g., "created first project" or "invited a team member") and measure what percentage of new users reach it within their first week.
2. Weekly Active Users (WAU)
What it is: The number of unique users who engage with your product each week.
Why it matters: Growth in WAU shows that users find ongoing value in your product. Stagnant WAU means you have a retention problem.
How to track it: Define what "active" means for your product (e.g., logged in and completed an action) and count unique users each week.
3. Customer Churn Rate
What it is: The percentage of customers who cancel their subscription each month.
Why it matters: High churn means users aren't finding lasting value. For SaaS, monthly churn above 5-7% is a red flag.
How to track it: (Customers at start of month - Customers at end of month) / Customers at start of month × 100
4. Time to Value
What it is: How long it takes a new user to reach their first success with your product.
Why it matters: The faster users see value, the more likely they are to stick around and become paying customers.
How to track it: Measure the time between signup and your activation milestone. Look for ways to reduce this time.
5. Feature Adoption Rate
What it is: The percentage of users actively using specific features.
Why it matters: Low adoption of key features might mean they're hard to discover or don't solve real problems. High adoption validates your roadmap.
How to track it: For each major feature, calculate: (Users who used feature in last 30 days) / (Total active users) × 100
Focus on What Matters
The key isn't tracking every possible metric—it's tracking the right metrics and actually acting on what they tell you.
Start with these five. Set up weekly check-ins to review them. When something changes, dig in to understand why.
That's how you build a data-informed (not data-overwhelmed) SaaS business.
Ready to start tracking these metrics? Try Superuser free for 14 days and get insights that actually help you grow.