Glossary term
Burn Rate
The rate at which a company consumes cash each month; paired with runway, it is the survival math for unprofitable SaaS.
Burn Rate is the rate at which a company consumes cash each month, typically quoted as net burn (cash out minus cash in). Combined with the cash balance it yields runway — the number of months until the company must raise or reach profitability. Burn rate is the central survival metric for early-stage and unprofitable SaaS, especially in a tighter funding environment. See Runway and SaaSpocalypse 101.