Clients & Retention

Client Churn Rate

Agency glossary · Updated July 2026

Definition

Client churn rate is the percentage of clients, or of recurring revenue, that an agency loses over a period, usually measured monthly or annually. It sets the leak rate on the revenue base, so every new client first has to backfill a lost one before the agency grows.

FormulaClients lost in period / clients at start of period x 100

Why it matters

Cutting churn a few points compounds into longer client lifespans and far more retained revenue than the same effort spent on new sales.

Benchmark

Retainer agencies average roughly 15 to 20% annual logo churn, with top performers at 8 to 10% and project-based shops far higher.

Common mistake: tracking only logo churn and ignoring revenue churn, so losing one large anchor client looks the same as losing three small ones.

See it in AgencyKit

Frequently asked questions

What is a good client churn rate for an agency?

Retainer agencies average roughly 15 to 20% annual client (logo) churn, with top performers holding it to 8 to 10%. Project-based shops churn far higher. A common healthy target is keeping 85 to 90% of clients per year.

Track this the easy way

AgencyKit runs your proposals, contracts, invoicing, time tracking, and retainers in one place, so numbers like this stay live instead of buried in spreadsheets.

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