Benchmarks 101: Reading benchmarks
Master Recurly's benchmark dashboards to track your trend line against industry peers. Learn how to interpret quartile charts, apply data filters, and configure industry settings.
Scale • Benchmarks 101
Reading your benchmarks
Before diving into individual KPIs, here's how to navigate to each dashboard, interpret what you're seeing, and filter results to match your business.
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Reading benchmarks
Benchmarks overview
Benchmarks overview walkthrough
~3 minHow to get to your benchmark dashboards
There are four benchmark dashboards inside Recurly Analytics. Each maps to a specific area of your subscription lifecycle. Here's exactly where to find them.
Subscriber benchmarks
Analytics → Subscriber Management → Subscriber Benchmarks
Covers Acquisition Rate and Sign-Up Decline Rate.
Subscriber churn benchmarks
Analytics → Churn Management → Subscriber Churn Benchmarks
Covers Churn Rate, Involuntary Churn Rate, and Voluntary Churn Rate.
Renewal benchmarks
Analytics → Churn Management → Renewal Benchmarks
Covers Renewal Invoice Paid Rate and Decline Rate at Renewal.
Dunning benchmarks
Analytics → Dunning Campaigns → Dunning Benchmarks
Covers Dunning Recovery Rate.
Reading the benchmark chart
Every benchmark dashboard uses the same chart format. Four lines represent where merchants in your industry fall — your trend line shows where you sit among them.
| Marker | What it represents |
| Bottom quartile | The lowest-performing merchants in your industry for this metric. |
| Median | The midpoint — half of merchants in your industry perform above this, half below. |
| Top quartile | The highest-performing merchants in your industry for this metric. |
| Your trend line | Your metric over time. Compare this against the quartile markers to see where you stand. |
Filters that matter
Two filters at the top of every benchmark dashboard affect every comparison you make. Set these correctly before drawing any conclusions.
Industry
Determines your peer group. If your industry is set incorrectly, every benchmark comparison is misleading. Confirm or update it under Configuration → Analytics Settings → Benchmarking. Changes take up to 24 hours to reflect.
Date range
Controls the time window displayed. Use a rolling 6- or 12-month view for trend analysis. Use a shorter window to investigate a specific change — a new gateway, a pricing update, or a dunning adjustment.
Subscriber type
Available on some dashboards. Trial users can skew certain metrics significantly — particularly Sign-Up Decline Rate. Filter to paid subscribers only for the clearest baseline when comparing against benchmarks.
An incorrect industry classification is the most common reason benchmark comparisons feel off. A software company benchmarked against consumer retail will see misleading results across every dashboard. Verify under Configuration → Analytics Settings → Benchmarking before using any benchmark to make decisions.