How to calculate Upsell Rate

Formula

Upsell rate = customers who upgraded in the period ÷ customers at the start of the period

SQL query

This example assumes: customers(id, created_at timestamptz, churned_at timestamptz), plan_changes(customer_id, changed_at timestamptz, old_mrr numeric, new_mrr numeric). It is written in PostgreSQL syntax; date functions differ slightly in MySQL, BigQuery and SQLite, and your column names will differ from these.

SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT p.customer_id)::numeric
       / NULLIF((SELECT COUNT(*)
                 FROM customers
                 WHERE created_at < TIMESTAMPTZ '2026-01-01'
                   AND (churned_at IS NULL OR churned_at >= TIMESTAMPTZ '2026-01-01')), 0) AS upsell_rate
FROM plan_changes p
WHERE p.new_mrr > p.old_mrr
  AND p.changed_at >= TIMESTAMPTZ '2026-01-01'
  AND p.changed_at <  TIMESTAMPTZ '2026-02-01';

Common mistakes that make Upsell Rate wrong

• Customers who joined during the period should not be in the denominator if they could not yet have upgraded.
• A customer who upgraded twice should count once; use a distinct count.
• Upsell (higher tier) and cross-sell (a different product) are different numbers; do not mix them.

Ask for Upsell Rate in plain English

Instead of writing the query yourself, you can type the question. SchemaChat turns it into SQL against your connected database or uploaded file, runs it, and shows the SQL and the figures it used so you can check the answer before you share it. It does not replace your judgement about the definition: check that the query matches the formula your business uses.

• What share of January's starting customers upgraded during the month?
• How many customers upgraded their plan last quarter?