AARRR vs. RARRA: Which Growth Model Will Work Best for Your Product?

The AARRR framework, coined by Dave McClure in the late 2000s, has been a popular growth model for SaaS businesses. It focuses on five stages of growth: Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, and Revenue. However, some companies have found that AARRR metrics are becoming less effective in the Product-Led Growth (PLG) world. The RARRA model is a newer framework that prioritizes retention over everything else. It focuses on building a customer-centric platform with great UX/UI, enabling users to get their job done and discover new features, and encouraging referrals through satisfied customers. This model works well with the North Star Metric framework common among B2B SaaS brands and combines product-led growth with community-led growth. The choice between AARRR and RARRA depends on a company's business model, niche, and KPIs that matter for their product. Some companies prefer the retention-first approach of RARRA, while others find success with the acquisition-focused AARRR framework. Ultimately, both models aim to drive growth through different strategies.