Retention Cohorts show when subscribers leave and how long they stay. Each row is an acquisition month, the month a subscriber's first subscription started, and each column shows how many subscribers from that group are still active, month by month. Month 0 is the acquisition month, Month 1 is the first month after it.
Where to Find It
You find Retention Cohorts in the ChurnIQ section of your Cleeng Dashboard.
Metrics Overview
The Select Metric toggle above the grid switches between three views of the same cohort data.
Retention Rate
The share of a cohort still subscribed at a given number of months after acquisition.
| Retention Rate | = |
| × 100 |
Initial Cohort Size is the number of subscribers acquired that month, shown in the last column of the grid.
Cohort Churn Rate
The share of a cohort no longer subscribed at a given number of months after acquisition, the mirror of Retention Rate.
| Cohort Churn Rate | = | 100 | − | Retention Rate |
Retained Subscribers
The raw count of subscribers from a cohort still active at a given number of months after acquisition, before it's turned into a percentage.
| Retained Subscribers | = | Subscribers from that acquisition month still subscribed at Month N |
Worked Example
500 subscribers were acquired in January. By Month 6, 350 are still subscribed.
| Metric | Calculation | Result |
| Retained Subscribers | Count of the January cohort still subscribed at Month 6 | 350 |
| Retention Rate | 350 ÷ 500 × 100 | 70% |
| Cohort Churn Rate | 100 − 70 | 30% |
How the Metrics Differ
- Retention Rate: a percentage, best for reading trends and comparing cohorts of different sizes at a glance.
- Cohort Churn Rate: the same data inverted, useful when the conversation is framed around loss rather than retention.
- Retained Subscribers: a raw count, best for sizing the actual number of people involved, not just the rate.
All three read off the same underlying grid. Only the toggle changes, so there's no need to rebuild the view to answer a different question.
Filters
Acquisition Month sets which signup months appear as rows. By default it's set to the last 12 complete months, so every cohort shown has had a full observation window and a two-month-old cohort is never displayed next to a two-year-old one. You can widen or narrow that window from the picker.
Subscriber Channel filters the Retention Cohorts view down to the acquisition channel a subscriber originally signed up through, for example web or app. Select one or more channels to see retention trends only for those subscribers. Subscribers with no recorded channel appear as Unknown.
How to Use These Metrics in Your Subscription Business
- Track whether newer subscribers stick better or worse. Compare a recent, fully observed cohort's curve against one from six or twelve months earlier to see if your offers, pricing, or content strategy are working.
- Catch an early warning sign. A cohort curve that drops faster than the ones around it is one of the earliest signals of a problem, often visible months before it shows up in your topline subscriber count.
- Size the impact, not just the rate. Switch to Retained Subscribers when you need a headcount for a business case, not a percentage.
- Talk about loss instead of retention. Switch to Cohort Churn Rate when a conversation with a stakeholder is framed around churn.
FAQs
What counts as a subscriber's acquisition month?
The month their first subscription started, free or paid, not their account registration date and not the month of any later resubscription. Someone who registers an account in January but doesn't start their first subscription until March sits in the March row.
Why is Month 0 always 100%?
Month 0 is the acquisition month itself, so every subscriber in the cohort is active by definition. Drop-off starts from Month 1 onward.
Can a subscriber be free at acquisition and still show up here?
Yes. A subscriber can be free or paid at the moment they're acquired. The cohort view doesn't require a paid start.
Does this include one-time purchases or passes?
No. This view covers subscriptions only. Non-recurring offers, such as passes, are excluded.
Why are some cells blank?
That cohort hasn't reached that many months since acquisition yet. A cohort acquired three months ago has no Month 6 figure.
Why do I only see the last 12 complete months by default?
So every cohort shown has a full observation window. A cohort from last month hasn't had time to churn yet, and showing it next to a two-year-old cohort would be misleading.
How fresh is this data?
The line at the bottom of the dashboard tells you how recent the data is. Select Why? next to it for an explanation of the refresh schedule.
Can I see churn instead of retention?
Yes. Use the Select Metric toggle above the grid to switch between Retention Rate, Cohort Churn Rate, and Retained Subscribers, all on the same grid.