SaaS and Startup Valuation Calculator

How the calculator works

Most SaaS companies are priced as a multiple of ARR: valuation = ARR x multiple. The calculator picks the multiple from a published source, then gives a range around it instead of a single number. For the reasoning behind the method, what moves a multiple and how to value a pre-revenue company, read the SaaS valuation guide.

• Private company (default). SaaS Capital publishes a formula for private SaaS: multiple = -3.2 + 0.32 x the SaaS Capital Index + 8.26 x ARR growth + 2.62 x NRR, with growth and NRR as decimals. The index is the median public SaaS company's market value over its run-rate revenue, 4.2x on September 30, 2026. The formula dates from SaaS Capital's 2022 framework; plugging in its March 2024 inputs (6.8x index, 30% growth, 101% NRR) returns its published 4.1x median exactly.
• Public comps by Rule of 40. Aventis Advisors reports a 4.6x median EV/revenue for public SaaS in August 2026 at a median Rule of 40 score of 26, and says each 10-point increase corresponds to about 1.02x. The calculator applies that slope to your score.
• Public comps by growth. Clouded Judgement's October 16, 2026 medians for public software: 3.7x next-twelve-months revenue under 15% expected growth, 7.3x at 15% to 22%, and 18.7x above 22% (about ten companies). Those buckets use expected growth; the calculator places you by the ARR growth you enter, so if you expect growth to slow, enter the lower forward rate.

The low and high ends come from how widely real multiples spread. For private companies, Aventis's 543 SaaS deals from 2015 to 2026 had a 25th percentile of 2.4x, a median of 4.5x and a 75th percentile of 8.1x, so low is 0.53 times your middle multiple and high is 1.8 times. For public comps the calculator uses the same spread among the 65 companies in the Bessemer Cloud Index. The strip under the result shows the value at your multiple minus and plus 1x and 2x.

Only relationships a source states change the multiple. SaaS Capital's formula uses growth and NRR; Aventis's uses the Rule of 40. No source we checked puts a number on gross margin, so the calculator compares it with the Benchmarkit 2026 median (76%) and leaves the estimate unchanged.

Worked example (the default inputs)

An illustrative company has $5M ARR, grows 30% a year, keeps 105% of last year's revenue from existing customers, runs a 76% gross margin and a -5% EBITDA margin. Its Rule of 40 score is 30 + (-5) = 25.

The SaaS Capital formula gives -3.2 + 0.32 x 4.2 + 8.26 x 0.30 + 2.62 x 1.05 = -3.2 + 1.344 + 2.478 + 2.751 = 3.373x. Middle estimate: $5M x 3.373 = $16.9M. Low: 3.373 x 2.4 / 4.5 = 1.80x, or $9.0M. High: 3.373 x 8.1 / 4.5 = 6.07x, or $30.4M. Each 1x on the multiple moves the value by $5M, so the strip runs from $6.9M at 1.37x to $26.9M at 5.37x.

On public comps the same company would sit at 4.6 + 1.02 x (25 - 26) / 10 = 4.50x by Rule of 40, or $22.5M, and in the over-22% growth bucket at 18.7x, or $93.5M. That last figure is why public comps need care: the high-growth bucket is a handful of large listed companies, and private companies usually trade at a discount to public ones.

Now the raise. At $16.9M pre-money, a $4M round makes the post-money $20.9M and the investor owns 4 / 20.9 = 19.2%. If the founders want to sell exactly 20%, the post-money must be $4M / 0.20 = $20M, a pre-money of $16M, or 3.2x ARR, inside the range. Use the dilution calculator to carry that stake through later rounds.

What the estimate leaves out

Comps value the operating business, so pre-money equity also adds cash and subtracts debt. The calculator does not price customer concentration, market size, churn quality, team, deal terms or how many buyers want the company. It is a comps-based estimate, not a 409A valuation, a fairness opinion or an appraisal. Multiples move every month; each one here shows the date it was read.

Sources, read October 21, 2026: SaaS Capital Index (data as of September 30, 2026); SaaS Capital valuation framework (August 11, 2022); Aventis Advisors SaaS valuation multiples (August 31, 2026); Clouded Judgement 10.16.26; BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index (data to October 20, 2026); Benchmarkit 2026 SaaS Performance Metrics.

The multiple follows the metrics in your model. To see how growth, retention and burn move your value before a raise, read the SaaS fundraising guide and model the company in Adlega.