What small SaaS actually sells for
The multiple ranges by size band, and what moves a business between them.
Sellers price against the loudest number they've seen — usually a headline exit that shares nothing structural with their own business.
Multiples cluster by size, and the clustering is not arbitrary: it tracks how much of the business survives the founder leaving.
At the smallest end, a product with a few thousand in monthly revenue and one person running everything trades low, because the buyer is largely buying a job plus some code. In the middle band, documented processes, some support load handled by someone other than the founder, and a year or more of stable revenue move the number up substantially. Above that, the differentiator is usually contract structure — annual terms, low concentration, predictable renewal.
Two things move a business between bands faster than growth does. Reducing owner dependence, and reducing customer concentration. Both are unglamorous, both take months, and both are worth more per hour invested than another push on acquisition.
These ranges shift with interest rates and with how much capital is chasing small acquisitions in a given year, which is why this page carries a review date.
Sources
- Small business valuation multiples overview — U.S. Small Business Administration · retrieved 2026-07-28
Part of the guide: How to sell a startup.