Feature ROI Calculator
The return on building a feature — the engineering cost against the revenue it protects through retention, the revenue it adds through expansion and new sales, and the support cost it removes — with annual value, ROI and payback.
A feature is worth what it changes: the customers it keeps who would have churned, the accounts that upgrade or buy because of it, and the tickets it prevents.
How the feature roi calculator works
A feature is worth what it changes: the customers it keeps who would have churned, the accounts that upgrade or buy because of it, and the tickets it prevents. Each is a percentage-point guess times the revenue or cost it acts on; together they are the annual value. Against the cost of building it — people, weeks, loaded cost — that gives ROI and the months to pay back. The honest version puts small numbers in the uplift fields and still wins.
Formula: annual value = retained revenue + expansion + new revenue + support saved; ROI = (value − cost) / cost; payback = cost / (value / 12)
Worked examples
| Inputs | First-year ROI | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Three people, eight weeks | -15.2% | pays back in about a year |
| Retention only | -80.2% | what churn alone justifies |
| A big bet | -87.3% | a long payback |
FAQFrequently asked questions
How do I value a feature?
By what it changes: churn it prevents, upgrades it drives, deals it wins, tickets it removes. Each is a small percentage of a large base, which is why retention usually dominates.
How do I estimate the churn reduction?
From the share of churned customers who cited the gap, from a beta cohort's retention against a control, or from a conservative guess. Half a point to two points is a realistic range for a single feature.
Why include maintenance?
Because every feature costs something to keep working — bugs, support questions, compatibility. Ten to twenty per cent of the build cost a year is a fair allowance.
What ROI should a feature clear?
Anything positive in the first year is good; most product work is chosen by ranking, so what matters is how this ROI compares with the alternatives on the roadmap.
What about features that do not make money?
Compliance, security, accessibility and platform work are done because not doing them costs more later. Put the avoided loss in the retained-revenue field.
Where these figures come from
- Reichheld (2003), Harvard Business Review — The One Number You Need to Grow — the paper that introduced Net Promoter Score
- US Securities and Exchange Commission — the US securities regulator
Last checked: September 2026. These are the industry-standard definitions; where companies commonly disagree, the page says so.