{
  "source": "RevenueLab",
  "source_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary",
  "dataset": "revenue_metric_glossary",
  "updated": "2026-09-01",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0 with attribution to RevenueLab.fyi",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Revenue metric glossary (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/glossary.json)",
  "notes": "Definitions, formulas, and worked examples for creator, SaaS, ecommerce, ads, freelance, and tax metrics. Formulas are the standard industry definitions used across RevenueLab calculators.",
  "count": 32,
  "terms": [
    {
      "slug": "rpm",
      "term": "RPM (Revenue Per Mille)",
      "category": "Creator",
      "short_definition": "Revenue earned per 1,000 ad-eligible views, after the platform's cut.",
      "definition": "RPM is the creator's effective revenue for every 1,000 monetized views. Unlike CPM, RPM is what hits your account after the platform (e.g. YouTube takes 45%) and after non-monetized views are excluded.",
      "formula": "RPM = (Estimated revenue / Total views) × 1,000",
      "example": "If you earned $400 from 200,000 views, your RPM is $2.00.",
      "related_terms": [
        "cpm",
        "ad-revenue"
      ],
      "calculators": [
        {
          "label": "YouTube RPM Calculator",
          "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/youtube-rpm-calculator"
        },
        {
          "label": "YouTube Revenue Calculator",
          "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/youtube-revenue-calculator"
        }
      ],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/rpm"
    },
    {
      "slug": "cpm",
      "term": "CPM (Cost Per Mille)",
      "category": "Creator",
      "short_definition": "What advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions, before the platform takes its cut.",
      "definition": "CPM is the advertiser-side rate. Creators see roughly 55% of the gross CPM on YouTube. CPM varies wildly by niche, country, season, and audience demographics.",
      "formula": "CPM = (Total ad spend / Impressions) × 1,000",
      "example": "A $30 CPM in finance will net the creator ~$16.50 RPM after YouTube's split.",
      "related_terms": [
        "rpm"
      ],
      "calculators": [
        {
          "label": "YouTube CPM Calculator",
          "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/youtube-cpm-calculator"
        }
      ],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/cpm"
    },
    {
      "slug": "ltv",
      "term": "LTV (Lifetime Value)",
      "category": "SaaS",
      "short_definition": "Total revenue you'll earn from one customer across their entire relationship with you.",
      "definition": "Customer Lifetime Value combines average revenue per user, gross margin, and expected lifespan. It's the ceiling for what you can spend to acquire a customer (CAC) profitably.",
      "formula": "LTV = ARPU × Gross Margin × (1 / Churn Rate)",
      "example": "$50 ARPU × 80% margin × 1/5% monthly churn = $800 LTV.",
      "related_terms": [
        "cac",
        "churn",
        "arpu"
      ],
      "calculators": [
        {
          "label": "LTV:CAC Calculator",
          "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/ltv-cac-calculator"
        }
      ],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/ltv"
    },
    {
      "slug": "cac",
      "term": "CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)",
      "category": "SaaS",
      "short_definition": "Total sales + marketing spend divided by new customers acquired.",
      "definition": "CAC measures how efficiently you're converting marketing dollars into customers. Healthy SaaS LTV:CAC is 3:1 or better; payback under 12 months.",
      "formula": "CAC = (Sales spend + Marketing spend) / New customers",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "ltv",
        "payback-period"
      ],
      "calculators": [
        {
          "label": "LTV:CAC Calculator",
          "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/ltv-cac-calculator"
        }
      ],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/cac"
    },
    {
      "slug": "mrr",
      "term": "MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue)",
      "category": "SaaS",
      "short_definition": "Predictable, normalized monthly subscription revenue.",
      "definition": "MRR strips out one-time fees and annualizes/divides longer plans to monthly. It's the headline SaaS health metric — track new, expansion, contraction, and churned MRR separately.",
      "formula": "MRR = Σ (Monthly normalized subscription value)",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "arr",
        "churn",
        "ltv"
      ],
      "calculators": [
        {
          "label": "SaaS MRR Calculator",
          "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/saas-mrr-calculator"
        }
      ],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/mrr"
    },
    {
      "slug": "arr",
      "term": "ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue)",
      "category": "SaaS",
      "short_definition": "MRR × 12. The yearly view of recurring revenue.",
      "definition": "ARR is the standard reporting unit for venture-stage SaaS. It excludes one-time and services revenue.",
      "formula": "ARR = MRR × 12",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "mrr"
      ],
      "calculators": [],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/arr"
    },
    {
      "slug": "arpu",
      "term": "ARPU (Average Revenue Per User)",
      "category": "SaaS",
      "short_definition": "Total revenue divided by active customer count.",
      "definition": "ARPU helps you spot pricing power and segment-level trends.",
      "formula": "ARPU = Total revenue / Active customers",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "ltv",
        "mrr"
      ],
      "calculators": [],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/arpu"
    },
    {
      "slug": "churn",
      "term": "Churn Rate",
      "category": "SaaS",
      "short_definition": "Percentage of customers (or revenue) lost per period.",
      "definition": "Logo churn counts customers; revenue churn counts dollars. Best-in-class SMB SaaS sits around 5%/month logo churn; enterprise under 1%/month.",
      "formula": "Churn = Customers lost in period / Customers at period start",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "ltv",
        "mrr",
        "retention"
      ],
      "calculators": [],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/churn"
    },
    {
      "slug": "roas",
      "term": "ROAS (Return On Ad Spend)",
      "category": "Ads",
      "short_definition": "Revenue generated for every dollar of ad spend.",
      "definition": "ROAS is a top-line efficiency metric. Profitable ROAS depends on your gross margin — a 3× ROAS is great at 80% margin and break-even at 33% margin.",
      "formula": "ROAS = Ad-attributed revenue / Ad spend",
      "example": "$10,000 revenue / $2,500 spend = 4× ROAS.",
      "related_terms": [
        "cpa",
        "cpm",
        "ctr"
      ],
      "calculators": [
        {
          "label": "Google Ads ROAS Calculator",
          "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/google-ads-roas-calculator"
        }
      ],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/roas"
    },
    {
      "slug": "cpa",
      "term": "CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)",
      "category": "Ads",
      "short_definition": "Ad spend divided by conversions.",
      "definition": "CPA is the inverse of conversion rate × CPC. Compare against your gross profit per customer.",
      "formula": "CPA = Ad spend / Conversions",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "roas",
        "cac"
      ],
      "calculators": [],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/cpa"
    },
    {
      "slug": "ctr",
      "term": "CTR (Click-Through Rate)",
      "category": "Ads",
      "short_definition": "Clicks divided by impressions.",
      "definition": "CTR signals ad relevance and creative quality. Search benchmarks: 3–5%; display: 0.5–1%.",
      "formula": "CTR = (Clicks / Impressions) × 100",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "cpm",
        "cpc"
      ],
      "calculators": [],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/ctr"
    },
    {
      "slug": "cpc",
      "term": "CPC (Cost Per Click)",
      "category": "Ads",
      "short_definition": "What you pay each time someone clicks your ad.",
      "definition": "CPC depends on auction competition, quality score, and bid strategy.",
      "formula": null,
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "cpm",
        "ctr",
        "roas"
      ],
      "calculators": [],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/cpc"
    },
    {
      "slug": "aov",
      "term": "AOV (Average Order Value)",
      "category": "Ecommerce",
      "short_definition": "Average revenue per order.",
      "definition": "AOV ties to merchandising, bundling, and free-shipping thresholds. Lifting AOV is usually cheaper than acquiring more buyers.",
      "formula": "AOV = Total revenue / Total orders",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "conversion-rate",
        "ltv"
      ],
      "calculators": [
        {
          "label": "Shopify Revenue Calculator",
          "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/shopify-store-revenue-calculator"
        }
      ],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/aov"
    },
    {
      "slug": "conversion-rate",
      "term": "Conversion Rate",
      "category": "Ecommerce",
      "short_definition": "Percentage of visitors who complete the goal action (usually a purchase).",
      "definition": "Median DTC conversion rate is around 1.5–2.5%; great stores hit 3–5%.",
      "formula": "CR = (Conversions / Visitors) × 100",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "aov",
        "ctr"
      ],
      "calculators": [],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/conversion-rate"
    },
    {
      "slug": "gross-margin",
      "term": "Gross Margin",
      "category": "General",
      "short_definition": "Revenue minus cost of goods sold, as a % of revenue.",
      "definition": "Gross margin is the budget you have to fund operating costs, marketing, and profit. SaaS targets 75–85%; physical-goods DTC often sits at 40–60%.",
      "formula": "Gross Margin = (Revenue − COGS) / Revenue × 100",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "contribution-margin"
      ],
      "calculators": [],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/gross-margin"
    },
    {
      "slug": "contribution-margin",
      "term": "Contribution Margin",
      "category": "Ecommerce",
      "short_definition": "Revenue minus all variable costs (COGS + variable shipping/payments/fulfillment).",
      "definition": "Contribution margin tells you how much each sale contributes toward fixed costs and profit.",
      "formula": null,
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "gross-margin"
      ],
      "calculators": [],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/contribution-margin"
    },
    {
      "slug": "payback-period",
      "term": "CAC Payback Period",
      "category": "SaaS",
      "short_definition": "Months to recover the cost of acquiring a customer.",
      "definition": "Best-in-class SMB SaaS pays back CAC in <12 months; enterprise <18.",
      "formula": "Payback = CAC / (ARPU × Gross Margin)",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "cac",
        "ltv"
      ],
      "calculators": [],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/payback-period"
    },
    {
      "slug": "blended-rate",
      "term": "Blended Hourly Rate",
      "category": "Freelance",
      "short_definition": "What you actually earn per hour after non-billable time.",
      "definition": "Freelancers usually only bill 50–70% of working hours. Your blended rate divides total income by ALL working hours, not just billable ones.",
      "formula": "Blended = Annual income / (Working hours × Utilization)",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [],
      "calculators": [
        {
          "label": "Freelance Rate Calculator",
          "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/freelance-rate-calculator"
        }
      ],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/blended-rate"
    },
    {
      "slug": "utilization-rate",
      "term": "Utilization Rate",
      "category": "Freelance",
      "short_definition": "Billable hours divided by total available hours.",
      "definition": "Solo consultants typically run 50–70%; agencies target 70–80% for billable staff.",
      "formula": "Utilization = Billable hours / Available hours",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "blended-rate"
      ],
      "calculators": [],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/utilization-rate"
    },
    {
      "slug": "effective-tax-rate",
      "term": "Effective Tax Rate",
      "category": "Tax",
      "short_definition": "Total tax owed divided by total income — your real, blended tax %.",
      "definition": "Different from marginal rate (the rate on your next dollar). Use effective rate for take-home planning.",
      "formula": "Effective Rate = Total tax / Total taxable income",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "marginal-rate"
      ],
      "calculators": [
        {
          "label": "Federal Income Tax Calculator",
          "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/federal-income-tax-calculator"
        }
      ],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/effective-tax-rate"
    },
    {
      "slug": "self-employment-tax",
      "term": "Self-Employment Tax",
      "category": "Tax",
      "short_definition": "15.3% combined Social Security + Medicare paid by US freelancers.",
      "definition": "Covers both employer and employee halves of FICA on net self-employment income up to the SS wage base. Half is deductible above the line.",
      "formula": "SE Tax = Net SE income × 92.35% × 15.3%",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [],
      "calculators": [
        {
          "label": "Freelancer Tax Calculator",
          "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/freelancer-tax-calculator"
        }
      ],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/self-employment-tax"
    },
    {
      "slug": "nexus",
      "term": "Sales Tax Nexus",
      "category": "Tax",
      "short_definition": "The connection that obligates a business to collect sales tax in a state.",
      "definition": "Post-Wayfair, most US states impose economic nexus once you cross ~$100K in sales or 200 transactions in-state in a year.",
      "formula": null,
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [],
      "calculators": [
        {
          "label": "SaaS Sales Tax Nexus",
          "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/saas-sales-tax-nexus-calculator"
        }
      ],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/nexus"
    },
    {
      "slug": "fba-fee",
      "term": "FBA Fee",
      "category": "Ecommerce",
      "short_definition": "Amazon's fulfillment fee per unit, based on size and weight.",
      "definition": "Combined with referral fees (8–15%) and storage, FBA fees often eat 30–40% of gross revenue.",
      "formula": null,
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [],
      "calculators": [
        {
          "label": "Amazon FBA Profit Calculator",
          "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/amazon-fba-profit-calculator"
        }
      ],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/fba-fee"
    },
    {
      "slug": "sponsorship-rate",
      "term": "Sponsorship Rate",
      "category": "Creator",
      "short_definition": "Flat fee paid by a brand for a creator integration.",
      "definition": "Typical floor: $20–30 CPM on integrated reads; premium niches (finance, B2B) command $50–100+ CPM.",
      "formula": null,
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [],
      "calculators": [
        {
          "label": "YouTube Sponsorship Rate",
          "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/youtube-sponsorship-rate-calculator"
        }
      ],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/sponsorship-rate"
    },
    {
      "slug": "newsletter-rpm",
      "term": "Newsletter RPM",
      "category": "Creator",
      "short_definition": "Revenue per 1,000 newsletter sends (sponsor + paid combined).",
      "definition": "Niche B2B newsletters earn $40–80 RPM; broad consumer lists $5–15 RPM.",
      "formula": null,
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [],
      "calculators": [
        {
          "label": "Substack Revenue Calculator",
          "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/substack-newsletter-revenue-calculator"
        }
      ],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/newsletter-rpm"
    },
    {
      "slug": "ad-revenue",
      "term": "Ad Revenue",
      "category": "Ads",
      "short_definition": "Income from ads served against your content (display, video, programmatic).",
      "definition": "Function of CPM, fill rate, viewability, and traffic source. Direct sponsors usually beat programmatic 5–10×.",
      "formula": null,
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "cpm",
        "rpm"
      ],
      "calculators": [
        {
          "label": "Website Ad Revenue",
          "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/website-ad-revenue-calculator"
        }
      ],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/ad-revenue"
    },
    {
      "slug": "retention",
      "term": "Retention Rate",
      "category": "SaaS",
      "short_definition": "Percentage of customers who stay over a defined period.",
      "definition": "The mirror image of churn. 1 − churn = retention.",
      "formula": "Retention = 1 − Churn",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "churn"
      ],
      "calculators": [],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/retention"
    },
    {
      "slug": "marginal-rate",
      "term": "Marginal Tax Rate",
      "category": "Tax",
      "short_definition": "The tax rate applied to your next dollar of income.",
      "definition": "Used for incremental decisions (overtime, bonus, side hustle). Always higher than your effective rate in a progressive system.",
      "formula": null,
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "effective-tax-rate"
      ],
      "calculators": [],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/marginal-rate"
    },
    {
      "slug": "fill-rate",
      "term": "Ad Fill Rate",
      "category": "Ads",
      "short_definition": "Percentage of ad requests that actually return a paid ad.",
      "definition": "Low fill rate is the silent killer of programmatic revenue. Premium publishers run 95%+; long-tail sites 60–80%.",
      "formula": null,
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "ad-revenue",
        "cpm"
      ],
      "calculators": [],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/fill-rate"
    },
    {
      "slug": "engagement-rate",
      "term": "Engagement Rate",
      "category": "Creator",
      "short_definition": "Likes + comments + shares divided by reach (or followers).",
      "definition": "Brands use ER to validate audience quality. Micro-creators (10–100K) typically beat macro creators on ER.",
      "formula": "ER = (Engagements / Reach) × 100",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [],
      "calculators": [],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/engagement-rate"
    },
    {
      "slug": "saas-magic-number",
      "term": "SaaS Magic Number",
      "category": "SaaS",
      "short_definition": "Net new ARR divided by sales & marketing spend.",
      "definition": "Above 1.0 = invest more in S&M. Below 0.5 = fix efficiency before scaling.",
      "formula": "Magic Number = (New ARR × 4) / Prior quarter S&M spend",
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "cac",
        "ltv"
      ],
      "calculators": [],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/saas-magic-number"
    },
    {
      "slug": "rule-of-40",
      "term": "Rule of 40",
      "category": "SaaS",
      "short_definition": "SaaS growth rate + profit margin should sum to 40+.",
      "definition": "Public-market benchmark for SaaS health. Lets unprofitable hyper-growth and slow-growth profitable companies be compared.",
      "formula": null,
      "example": null,
      "related_terms": [
        "mrr",
        "arr"
      ],
      "calculators": [],
      "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/glossary/rule-of-40"
    }
  ]
}