Resource Library · Benchmarks

2026 operator benchmarks. By quartile. Cited per row.

The 2026 reference for 29 core metrics across SaaS, sales forecasting, DTC, and financial planning — what best-in-class looks like vs. average vs. red-flag. Sourced from 11 primary industry studies.

See your metrics vs benchmarks Methodology
Metric Pillar Best-in-class Good Average Red flag Source
Rule of 40 SaaS Metrics ≥ 50 40–50 30–40 < 30 BVP25, KBSS25
Net Revenue Retention SaaS Metrics ≥ 120% 110–120% 100–110% < 100% BVP25, OV25
Gross Retention (GRR) SaaS Metrics ≥ 95% 90–95% 85–90% < 85% BVP25, KBSS25
Burn Multiple SaaS Metrics < 1.0 1.0–1.5 1.5–2.0 > 2.0 BVP25, ICONIQ25
CAC Payback Period SaaS Metrics < 12 mo 12–18 mo 18–24 mo > 24 mo KBSS25, OV25
LTV : CAC Ratio SaaS Metrics ≥ 5× 3–5× 2–3× < 2× BVP25, KBSS25
Magic Number SaaS Metrics ≥ 1.5 1.0–1.5 0.5–1.0 < 0.5 BVP25, ICONIQ25
Net Magic Number SaaS Metrics ≥ 1.0 0.7–1.0 0.4–0.7 < 0.4 BVP25
Bessemer Eff. Score SaaS Metrics ≥ 0.8 0.5–0.8 0.3–0.5 < 0.3 BVP25
SaaS Quick Ratio SaaS Metrics > 4 2–4 1–2 < 1 OV25
ARR per Employee SaaS Metrics ≥ $250K $200–250K $150–200K < $150K BVP25, KBSS25
Pipeline Coverage Sales Forecasting 4×+ 3–4× 2–3× < 2× PAV25
Forecast Accuracy Sales Forecasting ±5% ±5–10% ±10–20% > ±20% PAV25, Gartner24
Win Rate (B2B SaaS) Sales Forecasting ≥ 35% 25–35% 15–25% < 15% PAV25
Sales Cycle (Median) Sales Forecasting < 60 days 60–90 days 90–180 days > 180 days PAV25
Deal Slippage Rate Sales Forecasting < 10% 10–20% 20–35% > 35% PAV25
Quota Attainment Sales Forecasting ≥ 75% 60–75% 50–60% < 50% PAV25
MQL → SQL Rate Sales Forecasting ≥ 25% 13–25% 5–13% < 5% PAV25
DTC Contribution Margin D2C Metrics ≥ 35% 25–35% 20–25% < 20% CTC25
DTC 60-Day Repeat Rate D2C Metrics ≥ 30% 20–30% 10–20% < 10% CTC25, SP25
DTC MER (Blended) D2C Metrics ≥ 5× 3–5× 2–3× < 2× NB25, CTC25
DTC True ROAS D2C Metrics ≥ 3× 2–3× 1.5–2× < 1.5× NB25
DTC Return Rate (Apparel) D2C Metrics < 15% 15–25% 25–35% > 35% SP25, CTC25
AOV Growth YoY D2C Metrics ≥ 15% 5–15% 0–5% < 0% SP25
Email Open Rate (DTC) D2C Metrics ≥ 50% 35–50% 25–35% < 25% KLAV25
Email Click Rate (DTC) D2C Metrics ≥ 3% 1.5–3% 0.5–1.5% < 0.5% KLAV25
Cash Runway Financial Planning > 24 mo 18–24 mo 12–18 mo < 12 mo BVP25
Days Sales Outstanding (B2B) Financial Planning 30–45 45–60 60–75 > 75 AFP25
Gross Margin (SaaS) Financial Planning ≥ 80% 70–80% 60–70% < 60% BVP25, KBSS25

Quartile thresholds based on the cited primary sources, normalized for ARR/GMV band and motion. Your industry-specific cohort may shift these by ±15–25%. Book a demo to see how your numbers compare on Fairview.

§ 02 · Methodology

How these benchmarks are constructed

Source selection: We use 11 primary industry studies. Each is publisher-validated and methodology-documented. No Medium-post citations. No unsourced "industry rules of thumb".

Quartile assignment: "Best-in-class" maps to ~top quartile (P75–P90) in the source data. "Good" maps to P50–P75. "Average" maps to P25–P50. "Red flag" maps to bottom quartile (P0–P25). Where sources publish absolute thresholds (e.g., Bessemer's "good is >120% NRR"), we use the published threshold directly.

Aggregation: Where multiple sources cover the same metric, we report the consensus range. Where sources disagree materially (rare — usually within 5%), we triangulate and cite all contributing sources in the Source column.

Currency: All dollar-denominated benchmarks are USD as of Q1 2026. We don't adjust for exchange rates — read your local benchmark on its native scale.

Refresh cadence: Annually each May, aligned with the publication cycles of the underlying source studies. Last refreshed: May 2026. Next refresh: May 2027.

Editorial standards

Primary sources

  1. BVP25 State of the Cloud 2025 — Bessemer Venture Partners, 2025. View source. Foundational SaaS efficiency benchmarks (Rule of 40, Burn Multiple, NRR, Magic Number).
  2. KBSS25 SaaS Survey 2025 — KeyBanc Capital Markets, 2025. View source. Largest annual private-SaaS benchmark study (>1,500 companies surveyed).
  3. OV25 2025 SaaS Benchmarks — OpenView Partners, 2025. View source. PLG and product-led benchmarks; CAC payback, expansion revenue cuts.
  4. ICONIQ25 Topline Growth Index — ICONIQ Capital, 2025. View source. Growth-stage and late-stage SaaS efficiency benchmarks.
  5. PAV25 State of Sales 2025 — Pavilion, 2025. View source. B2B sales forecasting, win rate, quota attainment, sales cycle benchmarks.
  6. Gartner24 Sales Forecasting Maturity Model — Gartner, 2024. View source. Forecast accuracy benchmarks by sales process maturity.
  7. CTC25 DTC State of the Industry 2025 — Common Thread Collective, 2025. View source. DTC contribution margin, repeat rate, channel mix benchmarks.
  8. SP25 Shopify Plus DTC Benchmarks 2025 — Shopify, 2025. View source. AOV, return rate, channel performance benchmarks across Shopify Plus catalog.
  9. KLAV25 Ecommerce Benchmarks 2025 — Klaviyo, 2025. View source. Email + SMS engagement benchmarks by vertical and revenue band.
  10. NB25 DTC Marketing Report 2025 — Northbeam, 2025. View source. DTC attribution, blended ROAS, MER, true-ROAS benchmarks.
  11. AFP25 Treasury Benchmarks 2025 — Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), 2025. View source. DSO, working capital, cash conversion cycle benchmarks across mid-market.

Fairview cites primary sources only — publisher-validated benchmark studies, industry reports from named research firms, and authoritative trade-association data. See our editorial standards.