Small business valuation multiples by industry

By Josh Elberg, founder of Palavir · Published · Updated

Palavir is a Michigan data and automation consultancy.

Short answer

A valuation multiple is the asking price in years of profit. The middle US business for sale with a clear price and profit asks 2.87 years of profit (1,809 listings). It rises with size, from 1.97 under $100,000 to 5.23 at $5 million and up. These are asking prices, not sale prices.

Asking price in years of profit, by price band

  • under $100,0001.97x
  • $100,000 to $250,0002.40x
  • $250,000 to $500,0002.66x
  • $500,000 to $1 million2.97x
  • $1 million to $2 million3.35x
  • $2 million to $5 million4.10x
  • $5 million and up5.23x
Middle asking price in years of yearly profit, US listings with a clear price and profit, October 2026. 277 US listings state no asking price, so they sit in no band.

  • under $100,000

    Listings
    249
    Multiple (years of profit)
    1.97x
    Middle ask
    $55,000
    Middle yearly profit
    $24,720

  • $100,000 to $250,000

    Listings
    303
    Multiple (years of profit)
    2.40x
    Middle ask
    $174,000
    Middle yearly profit
    $70,080

  • $250,000 to $500,000

    Listings
    375
    Multiple (years of profit)
    2.66x
    Middle ask
    $350,000
    Middle yearly profit
    $134,504

  • $500,000 to $1 million

    Listings
    343
    Multiple (years of profit)
    2.97x
    Middle ask
    $697,356
    Middle yearly profit
    $232,055

  • $1 million to $2 million

    Listings
    231
    Multiple (years of profit)
    3.35x
    Middle ask
    $1,375,000
    Middle yearly profit
    $398,070

  • $2 million to $5 million

    Listings
    208
    Multiple (years of profit)
    4.10x
    Middle ask
    $2,900,000
    Middle yearly profit
    $700,000

  • $5 million and up

    Listings
    100
    Multiple (years of profit)
    5.23x
    Middle ask
    $8,500,000
    Middle yearly profit
    $1,706,648
Listings counts those with a clear price and profit.

A common view is that buyers pay more per dollar of profit that does not depend on one person. A business that makes $24,720 a year may be little more than a job for its owner. One that makes $1,706,648 can pay a manager and still earn a return. We did not test this. The SDE vs EBITDA article explains the profit measures behind these numbers.

Asking price in years of profit, by type of business

Highest first. Types with fewer than 20 clean listings are left out of the ranking: other online (15) and consulting / training (18). They are too few to read.

  • Insurance agency

    Listings
    27
    Multiple (years of profit)
    3.58x
    Middle ask
    $750,000
    Middle yearly profit
    $183,170

  • IT / software services

    Listings
    37
    Multiple (years of profit)
    3.41x
    Middle ask
    $1,400,000
    Middle yearly profit
    $340,000

  • SaaS / software

    Listings
    58
    Multiple (years of profit)
    3.16x
    Middle ask
    $394,000
    Middle yearly profit
    $114,720

  • Marketing / web agency (local)

    Listings
    38
    Multiple (years of profit)
    3.08x
    Middle ask
    $575,000
    Middle yearly profit
    $202,312

  • Other local businesses

    Listings
    713
    Multiple (years of profit)
    3.03x
    Middle ask
    $625,000
    Middle yearly profit
    $201,501

  • Mobile app

    Listings
    31
    Multiple (years of profit)
    3.03x
    Middle ask
    $199,000
    Middle yearly profit
    $76,680
Show all 15 rows

  • Food / hospitality

    Listings
    70
    Multiple (years of profit)
    3.00x
    Middle ask
    $492,000
    Middle yearly profit
    $146,334

  • Trades / field service

    Listings
    173
    Multiple (years of profit)
    2.96x
    Middle ask
    $1,100,000
    Middle yearly profit
    $311,424

  • Property services

    Listings
    49
    Multiple (years of profit)
    2.80x
    Middle ask
    $529,999
    Middle yearly profit
    $174,000

  • Accounting / finance services

    Listings
    35
    Multiple (years of profit)
    2.76x
    Middle ask
    $450,000
    Middle yearly profit
    $173,469

  • Amazon seller

    Listings
    106
    Multiple (years of profit)
    2.63x
    Middle ask
    $206,092
    Middle yearly profit
    $76,134

  • Online agency / service

    Listings
    28
    Multiple (years of profit)
    2.63x
    Middle ask
    $261,050
    Middle yearly profit
    $91,050

  • Staffing / recruiting

    Listings
    31
    Multiple (years of profit)
    2.48x
    Middle ask
    $600,000
    Middle yearly profit
    $270,851

  • Ecommerce (DTC)

    Listings
    266
    Multiple (years of profit)
    2.40x
    Middle ask
    $199,500
    Middle yearly profit
    $79,020

  • Content / media

    Listings
    110
    Multiple (years of profit)
    2.05x
    Middle ask
    $112,500
    Middle yearly profit
    $50,868
Listings counts those with a clear price and profit. Business types were assigned by an AI model reading each listing, so a few listings sit in the wrong group.

Do trades such as HVAC or restaurants look different?

These groups match words in the listing title only, so they are approximate and can overlap the types above. Only groups with at least 20 clean listings are shown; cleaning, vending/atm, child care, bookkeeping/accounting/tax, home health/senior care, auto repair, property management are too few to read.

  • Insurance agency

    Listings
    23
    Multiple (years of profit)
    3.99x
    Middle ask
    $799,000

  • SaaS/software

    Listings
    49
    Multiple (years of profit)
    3.56x
    Middle ask
    $579,000

  • Landscaping

    Listings
    20
    Multiple (years of profit)
    3.25x
    Middle ask
    $850,000

  • Plumbing

    Listings
    38
    Multiple (years of profit)
    2.96x
    Middle ask
    $700,000

  • Restaurant

    Listings
    38
    Multiple (years of profit)
    2.85x
    Middle ask
    $482,000

  • HVAC

    Listings
    20
    Multiple (years of profit)
    2.73x
    Middle ask
    $899,500

  • Amazon FBA

    Listings
    133
    Multiple (years of profit)
    2.58x
    Middle ask
    $200,000

  • Content/affiliate site

    Listings
    20
    Multiple (years of profit)
    2.37x
    Middle ask
    $112,500
Listings counts those with a clear price and profit. The insurance agency row and the insurance agency type above use different matching, so they differ.

Why is an asking multiple not a sale multiple?

Sellers set the ask. Some listings sit unsold for months, and some close lower after the buyer checks the books (due diligence). In our wider study of all 6,104 listings (US, UK and other countries), comparable Empire Flippers businesses sold since 2024 (a separate set, at their listed price, not the sale price) had a lower middle multiple than the for-sale middle in five of six online groups (mobile apps: 22 sold at 2.7, against 2.8 for comparable listings for sale across the scan; the US-only figure above is 3.03). Sold figures are compared with listings of the same kind for sale across the whole scan (template copies and repeats left out), not with the US-only chart above.

Use this page to see how sellers price and to spot an ask far above its peers. For what is left after loan payments at each size, see the cost to buy a business article.

What this data cannot tell you

  • These are asking prices, not the prices businesses sold for.
  • Profit is the seller's own figure. It often includes the owner's pay, so someone still has to do that work.
  • It is a snapshot of listings from October 2026, not a survey of all businesses.
  • A multiple is only comparable to another multiple on the same profit measure (SDE or EBITDA).
  • Business types come from an AI model, and keyword groups match listing titles only. Groups under 20 clean listings are not shown as findings.
  • Do not use these as a valuation of your own business.

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Questions people ask

What is a normal valuation multiple for a small business?

In our October 2026 scan of US listings, the middle asking multiple is 2.87 years of yearly profit (1,809 listings with a clear price and profit). It runs from 1.97 under $100,000 to 5.23 at $5 million and up. These are asking prices, not what buyers paid.

What multiple do small businesses sell for?

We cannot say, because our data is asking prices. A listing that sells can close below its ask. Ask any broker for sold comparables in the same trade and size.

What are SDE multiples by industry?

A multiple here is the asking price divided by the seller's stated yearly profit. For small businesses that profit is often SDE (profit before paying the owner). Among business types with at least 20 clean listings, the middle runs from 2.05x for content / media to 3.58x for insurance agency. See the SDE vs EBITDA article for the difference.

Is an SDE multiple the same as an EBITDA multiple?

No. SDE includes the owner's pay and EBITDA (profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) does not. The same business has a larger SDE than EBITDA, so the same price is a lower multiple of SDE. Compare multiples only when both use the same profit measure.

Why do bigger businesses have higher multiples?

In our listings the middle asking multiple rises at every price band. A common view is that buyers pay more per dollar of profit that does not depend on one person. We did not measure that cause. We only see the pattern in asking prices.

Can I use these multiples to value my own business?

Use them as a rough check, not a valuation. Asking multiples depend on the profit figure the seller used, the trade, the owner's role and the terms. Confirm with a lender, broker or SBA attorney for a specific deal.

Sources and method

Palavir Deal Scout: businesses-for-sale listings collected in October 2026 from nine marketplaces and brokers. 3,928 US listings, cut by business type and asking-price band on October 28, 2026. 1,809 have a clear price and profit; repeats, ranges, sold listings and near-identical template listings from broker networks are removed. Profit is the seller-stated figure. Seller financing is the share of all listings in a group, priced or not, whose text mentions it. The Empire Flippers comparison is from our study of all 6,104 listings.

General information, not financial, legal or lending advice.