Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Steady-state MRR at this funnel
$416,000
New paid customers per month
320
Steady-state paid customer count
10,667
New MRR added per month
$12,480
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How to use this
- 1Enter monthly free signups.
- 2Enter free-to-paid conversion rate (%).
- 3Enter average revenue per paid user ($/mo).
- 4Enter monthly paid churn rate (%).
- 5Read your steady-state mrr at this funnel on the right — it updates as you type.
- 6Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Product-led growth companies live or die on the free-to-paid conversion funnel, since acquisition cost per free user is usually near zero but the whole business model depends on a small percentage upgrading. Typical freemium conversion rates run 2-5% for broad consumer-adjacent tools, and 10-25%+ for narrower B2B tools with a genuinely painful free-tier limitation (seat caps, usage caps, feature gates) that pushes serious users toward upgrading quickly. This calculator works backward from a monthly recurring revenue target to the number of free signups you need, and forward from your current funnel to a revenue forecast, so you can see whether your growth plan is realistic given your actual conversion rate rather than an aspirational one pulled from a benchmark deck. Small changes in conversion rate compound dramatically at scale — moving from 3% to 4% conversion is a 33% increase in paid customers from the exact same top-of-funnel spend, which is usually cheaper to achieve than acquiring 33% more free signups.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Monthly free signups: 8000
- Free-to-paid conversion rate: 4 %
- Average revenue per paid user: 39 $/mo
- Monthly paid churn rate: 3 %
Results
- Steady-state MRR at this funnel: $416,000
- New paid customers per month: 320
- Steady-state paid customer count: 10,667
- New MRR added per month: $12,480
What each field means
Inputs
- Monthly free signups
- The monthly free signups used in the calculation. Starts at 8000 so you have a working example on load.
- Free-to-paid conversion rate (%)
- The free-to-paid conversion rate used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 4 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0.1–100 %.
- Average revenue per paid user ($/mo)
- The average revenue per paid user used in the calculation, measured in $/mo. Starts at 39 $/mo so you have a working example on load.
- Monthly paid churn rate (%)
- The monthly paid churn rate used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 3 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–100 %.
Results
- Steady-state MRR at this funnel
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- New paid customers per month
- Returned as a whole number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Steady-state paid customer count
- Returned as a whole number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- New MRR added per month
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
What's a realistic free-to-paid conversion rate?
Broad consumer or prosumer freemium tools typically convert 2-5%. Narrow B2B tools with a hard usage or seat cap and clear pain point convert 10-25%. Trial-based (time-limited, full-featured) models often convert higher, 15-30%, because urgency replaces the freemium 'stay free forever' option.
Why does the calculator show a 'steady state' MRR?
New paying customers are constantly balanced against churned ones; steady state is the customer count where new paid adds equal churned losses, i.e. new-paid-per-month divided by monthly churn rate. It shows where your MRR plateaus if signups and conversion rate stay flat — useful for spotting when you need funnel improvements, not just more top-of-funnel volume.
Does raising the conversion rate or lowering churn matter more?
Both move steady-state MRR, but churn has outsized leverage because it's in the denominator of a compounding calculation — cutting monthly churn in half doubles steady-state customer count for the same acquisition funnel, whereas doubling conversion rate only doubles new adds, not the compounding base.
How do I actually raise free-to-paid conversion?
The reliable levers are tightening the free tier's real limitation (a cap users hit while actively using the product, not an arbitrary time limit), in-app prompts triggered by usage moments rather than generic banners, and a paid tier priced low enough that the decision doesn't require approval. Sales-assisted PLG (reaching out to high-usage free accounts) usually beats passive upgrade prompts.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Trial Length Conversion Impact Calculator
See how changing your trial length affects conversion rate and revenue timing.
Seat Expansion Revenue Calculator
Project how much additional ARR comes from customers adding seats over time.
Usage-Based Revenue Forecast Calculator
Forecast consumption revenue from usage volume, growth rate, and unit pricing.
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). PLG Free-to-Paid Conversion Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/plg-free-to-paid-conversion
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/plg-free-to-paid-conversion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PLG Free-to-Paid Conversion Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [PLG Free-to-Paid Conversion Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/plg-free-to-paid-conversion) (2026).