When a customer cancels, it’s not always goodbye forever.
Sometimes they leave because the timing was off, they did not see value fast enough, they achieved their short-term goal, or simply forgot to update their payment details.
A reactivation happens when a churned customer comes back and starts a new subscription. It is not about resuming the old one; it is about bringing someone back and turning them into a paying customer again.
Reactivating customers can be one of the most profitable growth levers for your SaaS business, especially when you understand why they left, what brought them back, and how much revenue they generate once they return.
We’d be amiss not to mention that before you try to win customers back, it is worth putting just as much effort into keeping them from leaving in the first place.
The easiest way to stay ahead of churn is to spot it early. Baremetrics helps you see your churn rate in real time, understand why customers are leaving, and take action before it is too late.
Start your Baremetrics free trial and keep more of the customers you have worked hard to win.
Reactivation MRR is the monthly recurring revenue generated from customers who had previously canceled but started a new subscription during the month. Customers may reactivate their subscriptions because they suddenly find value in your service or because they believe you offer more value than the available alternatives.
Example:
A customer was paying $100/month, canceled in March, then came back in June with a new subscription at $120/month. That $120 counts toward June’s Reactivation MRR.
Tracking this metric helps you answer key questions:
Which winback efforts are actually working?
Are customers coming back at the same, higher, or lower price point?
How do reactivated customers perform compared to brand-new ones?
In Baremetrics, you can see reactivation revenue right alongside your other growth metrics, giving you a complete picture of how churn and winbacks affect your bottom line.
When a customer cancels and later signs up again, you want to know what changed. Baremetrics tracks the entire journey from their very first payment, through cancellation, to reactivation, so that you can see the whole picture.
You will know:
Why they left with real-time cancellation surveys and in-app forms
What brought them back by comparing feedback and usage patterns
Who you are losing to with competitor insights based on cancellation responses
All of this is built right into your dashboard. Customize the in-app widget to match your brand, collect reasons on the spot when someone cancels, and automatically follow up with targeted emails based on their feedback. Offer a discount, share a new feature, or open the door for a conversation.
With this loop in place, you are not just tracking churn; you are actively creating more reactivations.
Every billing platform has its own rules around how canceled subscriptions can, or can’t, be reactivated. Most tools won't let a fully canceled subscription simply “restart”; instead, a new subscription is required. Here’s how three popular platforms handle it:
If a subscription is canceled with cancel_at_period_end set to true if the current billing period has not yet ended, you can reverse the cancellation by setting that flag back to false.
→View Stripe’s documentation
Once a subscription is fully canceled or the billing period has passed, the only option is to create a new subscription.
→ See more on Stack Overflow
Reactivation can be done through the web dashboard, via their APIs, or through a self-serve portal.
→ See Chargebee’s documentation
You can reactivate within the current billing cycle to keep the original billing dates, or you can start a fresh cycle with a new invoice. Chargebee also lets you specify a past date using the reactivate_from parameter to preserve original timing.
→ Read their API guide
If you are interested in Chargebee, you should read our recent review.
Reactivation can be done through the UI or API. When you reactivate, you will see details such as the next billing date, any outstanding balances, and applied credits or coupons.
→ See their help article
If the subscription is reactivated within the same billing period, it may be possible to resume rather than fully restart the cycle, which preserves the original billing dates.
Ah, the part you've been waiting for - when customers who left decide to come back. Winback campaigns are one of the most cost-effective ways to make that happen, especially when you know exactly why someone canceled. With Baremetrics Cancellation Insights, you can capture the reason for cancellation, whether it is price, missing features, payment issues, or timing. Pair that with Baremetrics Recover, which helps prevent avoidable churn before it happens, and you have the tools to bring more customers back.
The numbers make the case for a winback strategy:
45% of subscribers who receive a winback campaign go on to read future communications
25% of winback subscribers open messages up to 300 days after the initial email
It costs five times more to attract a new customer than to retain an existing one
These campaigns work because you are speaking to people who already know your product and have experienced its value. The goal is to re-engage them with targeted, relevant offers.
For customers who never fully explored your product, a freemium-to-trial offer gives them a low-risk way to come back. This works especially well for users who started but did not complete key actions, such as onboarding or profile setup.
If someone canceled during or shortly after a trial, remind them of the progress or results they achieved. Use their own data, such as saved reports or unlocked features, to make the message personal and highlight what they are missing.
When you know the reason for cancellation, you can tailor your follow-up:
Price-sensitive customers might respond to a limited-time discount
Customers who left due to missing features might be ready to return once those features are live
Customers who churned due to failed payments can be sent a quick way to update their billing details
With Baremetrics, these campaigns can run automatically. Cancellation Insights collects the reason for leaving, Recover stops some payment-related churn before it happens, and automated emails reach the right customers with the right message at the right time.
Every customer who returns through these campaigns adds to your Reactivation MRR, and tracking that in Baremetrics shows you exactly how your winback strategy is paying off.
Your churned customers are one of your best growth opportunities. By understanding why they left, preventing avoidable churn, and running data-driven winback campaigns, you can turn lost revenue into renewed growth.
Start your Baremetrics free trial and begin tracking reactivations, cancellations, and winbacks in one place.