Release Frequency Calculator

Calculate how often a repository publishes tagged releases over a given period.

About Release Frequency Calculator

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

Worked example

With the default values below, Release Frequency Calculator returns Releases per Month of 1.50. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Total Releasesaccepts 0–1,000,000 releases: 18 releases
Period Lengthaccepts 0.1–1,200 months: 12 months

Results

Releases per Month: 1.50 /mo
Cadence Classification: Monthly
Avg. Days Between Releases: 20.3 days

Step by step

1Releases per month= 1.50/mo
2Avg days between releases= 20.3 days

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 2 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or fees or charges into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

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.