🦄 Calculator

Startup valuation calculator

Estimate your startup's value using proven valuation methods.

Your startup

📊 Revenue (if any)
$
Enter 0 if pre-revenue
🏆 Berkus Factors (pre-revenue)
💰 Investment round
$
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Enter your startup details and click Calculate.
⚠️ These are rough estimates for educational purposes. Actual valuations depend on market conditions, negotiation, and many other factors.

Why startup valuation is hard

Public companies have years of revenue, earnings, and cash flow data — valuation is largely arithmetic. Startups have little or none of that. Valuation becomes a mix of comparable analysis, growth projections, and informed negotiation. "What is a startup worth?" really means "what is someone willing to pay, given limited information?"

Different methods exist for different stages. A pre-revenue idea uses fundamentally different methods than a Series B startup with $5M ARR. This calculator estimates a range using multiple methods so you can triangulate.

The five main methods

1. Revenue multiple (most common for SaaS)

Apply a multiple to your annual recurring revenue (ARR) or trailing twelve-month revenue. Typical multiples in 2025–2026:

Stage / typeRevenue multiple
Early SaaS (high growth, <$1M ARR)8–15×
Mid-stage SaaS ($1–10M ARR, 80%+ growth)10–20×
Mature SaaS ($10M+ ARR, 30–50% growth)5–10×
Marketplace / e-commerce2–5× (revenue) or 1–2× (GMV)
Hardware / consumer products1–3×

2. Discounted cash flow (DCF)

Project future free cash flows for 5–10 years, plus a terminal value, and discount back to present using a discount rate (typically 20–40% for startups, reflecting risk). DCF is rigorous but only as good as your assumptions. For early-stage startups, the assumption error often exceeds the result, making DCF less useful than it appears.

3. Comparable companies ("comps")

Find similar companies that have raised funding or been acquired. Apply their valuation multiples to your metrics. Sources: Crunchbase, PitchBook, AngelList, public M&A announcements. The challenge: truly comparable companies are rare, and adjustments for size, growth, and quality are subjective.

4. Berkus method (pre-revenue)

Add up to $500k for each of five elements: sound idea, prototype, quality of management, strategic relationships, product launch / sales. Cap at $2.5M pre-money for very early stage. Crude but useful as a sanity check for pre-revenue startups.

5. VC method

Work backwards from a hypothetical exit. If you can sell the company for $50M in 5 years and the VC requires a 10× return on their $2M investment, they need $20M of value at exit (40% of $50M). Therefore, post-money valuation today is $5M ($2M ÷ 40%) — pre-money is $3M.

A worked example

SaaS startup: $1.2M ARR, growing 100% YoY, 75% gross margin, raising Series A.
Revenue multiple method (12× ARR): $14.4M pre-money
Comps method (3 similar Series A deals at 10–15×): $12–18M
VC method (target $100M exit in 5 yrs, 10× return on $4M raise): ~$10M pre-money
Likely negotiation range: $11–15M pre-money.

What actually moves the multiple

What this calculator can't account for

Frequently asked questions

What's a typical revenue multiple for a SaaS startup in 2026?
For a high-growth SaaS startup ($1–10M ARR, growing 80%+ year-over-year), 10–20× ARR is typical for Series A/B rounds in 2026. Slower growth or smaller scale brings that down to 5–10×. The multiple compression that happened in 2022–2023 has stabilised, but is still well below the 2021 peak of 30–50× for top-tier SaaS.
How is pre-money valuation different from post-money?
Pre-money is the company's value before the new investment. Post-money is pre-money plus the investment amount. If a VC invests $2M into a company at $8M pre-money, post-money valuation is $10M, and the VC owns 20% (2/10). Founders typically reference pre-money; investors reference post-money. Always clarify which is meant.
Which method should I use for an early-stage startup with no revenue?
For pre-revenue, the Berkus method or scorecard method give a structured way to estimate value (typical range $1–3M pre-money). The VC method also works if you have credible exit projections. Avoid DCF for pre-revenue — assumption error makes the output unreliable.
How much should founders dilute in each round?
Typical ranges: pre-seed/seed 15–25%, Series A 20–25%, Series B 15–20%, Series C onward 10–15%. Cumulatively, founders often own 20–40% by IPO or acquisition, depending on rounds raised. Less dilution per round = higher valuations, which require strong metrics.
Why do similar startups get different valuations?
Growth rate, retention, market size, team quality, and competitive dynamics all matter — but the biggest factor is often timing and competition for the deal. A startup with multiple competing term sheets can negotiate 30–50% above a similar company with one offer. Macro conditions (rates, IPO market) also swing valuations significantly.
Is a higher valuation always better for founders?
No. Over-valuing a round creates a 'down round' risk if you can't grow into it for the next raise. Down rounds are dilutive and signal-negative. A reasonable valuation that you can comfortably 2–3× by your next round is healthier than a stretched valuation that puts pressure on metrics. Many seasoned founders take slightly lower valuations from better partners.
📖 Deep dive: All five valuation methods explained — with example calculations and when to use each.
Read the guide →