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Calcrivo

Release Frequency Calculator

Calculate how many releases ship per month and classify your release cadence against common industry patterns.

Inputs

releases

Number of tagged releases/versions shipped in the period.

months

Length of the analyzed window in months.

Releases per Month

1.50/mo

Cadence Classification

Monthly

Avg. Days Between Releases

20.3days

Step by step

  1. Releases per month

    18 / 12

    = 1.50/mo

  2. Avg days between releases

    12 × 30.44 / 18

    = 20.3 days

How it works

Release frequency is a top-level DORA metric proxy. Formula: releases_per_month = total_releases / months. Elite-performing teams per DORA research deploy multiple times per day; this calculator buckets your cadence into recognizable tiers from continuous deployment down to infrequent quarterly-or-slower releases.

Formula

releases_per_month = total_releases / months

total_releases
Number of tagged releases shipped
months
Length of the analyzed window in months

Frequently Asked Questions

How does this relate to DORA's deployment frequency metric?

DORA's deployment frequency measures deploys to production, which can be more frequent than tagged releases if you deploy continuously but version less often. Use whichever unit (deploy or release) matches what you're trying to improve.

Is more frequent always better?

Generally yes for reducing batch size and risk per change, but it must be paired with automated testing and rollback — frequent releases without safety nets just ship more risk faster.

How do I count releases from Git?

Use `git tag --sort=creatordate` combined with tag creation dates, or pull release history from your GitHub/GitLab API if tags aren't a reliable proxy for releases.

What's a realistic target for a small team?

Weekly releases (4-5/month) is an achievable, low-risk cadence for most teams with CI/CD in place; moving to daily or continuous deployment usually requires stronger automated test coverage and feature flagging.

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