What businesses actually sell for: current SDE and EBITDA multiple ranges across 26 industries, drawn from sold-transaction data, with the drivers that put a specific business at the top or bottom of its range.
Before industry, size sets the baseline. Larger earnings command higher multiples because more buyers can finance and professionally operate the business. This is the all-industry SDE curve from closed-deal data:
| SDE band | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $500,000 SDE | 2.00x | 2.57x | 3.30x |
| $500,000 - $1,000,000 SDE | 2.57x | 2.80x | 3.30x |
| $1,000,000 - $2,000,000 SDE | 2.80x | 3.00x | 3.30x |
Above roughly $2,000,000 of earnings, buyers price on EBITDA rather than SDE, and multiples step up again (about 4.0x-5.8x on deal size per the Market Pulse). Source: IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse Q1 and Q2 2026.
Commercial general contractors, design-build, civil and large specialty contractors trade on their own curve: thin margins, project revenue and bonding hold small deals under the all-industry median, while $100,000,000-plus contractors close in a strategic and private equity market. Deal size is estimated as EBITDA times four.
| Estimated deal size | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000,000 - $5,000,000 | 3.0x EBITDA | 3.6x EBITDA | 4.2x EBITDA |
| $5,000,000 - $25,000,000 | 3.5x EBITDA | 4.5x EBITDA | 5.5x EBITDA |
| $25,000,000 - $100,000,000 | 4.5x EBITDA | 5.5x EBITDA | 7.0x EBITDA |
| Over $100,000,000 | 5.5x EBITDA | 6.5x EBITDA | 8.0x EBITDA |
Sources: IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse Q1 2026 ($2,000,000-$50,000,000 deals), GF Data YTD 2025 (TEV/EBITDA by deal size, $10,000,000-$250,000,000), Capstone Partners construction services M&A update February 2026 (strategic 7.5x and private equity 10.6x averages 2018-2025; named closings at 6.6x and 9.7x). The high end of each band is specialty and infrastructure work in a competitive process; commodity general contracting prices at typical or below.
| Industry | Typical Multiple | Earnings Basis | What Pushes the Multiple Up | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SaaS / Software | 2.4x - 4.0x | SDE | Net revenue retention, growth rate, low churn | Guide |
| E-commerce / DTC | 2.6x - 4.0x | SDE | Repeat purchase rate, owned audience, margin | Guide |
| Amazon FBA | 2.0x - 2.6x | SDE | Brand registry, review moat, supplier terms, TACoS | Guide |
| Content Sites & Media | 2.1x - 2.9x | SDE | Traffic diversification, email list, evergreen content | Guide |
| Dental Practices | 1.6x - 3.4x | SDE | Payer mix, associate-driven production, room capacity | Guide |
| Home Health | 2.2x - 3.6x | SDE | Medicare certification, star ratings, clinician retention | Guide |
| Home Care (non-medical) | 2.5x - 3.1x | SDE | Private-pay mix, caregiver retention, W-2 workforce | Guide |
| DME (medical equipment) | 2.8x - 3.3x | SDE | Medicare accreditation, payer mix, rental revenue share | Guide |
| HVAC | 2.0x - 3.3x | SDE | Maintenance agreements, technician bench, service mix | Guide |
| Plumbing | 1.7x - 3.1x | SDE | Service vs new-construction mix, master-license coverage | Guide |
| Electrical | 1.8x - 3.3x | SDE | License transferability, recurring commercial accounts | Guide |
| Construction / Contracting | 1.8x - 3.1x | SDE | Backlog that conveys, low customer concentration, PM depth | Guide |
| Commercial Construction | 2.0x - 3.2x | SDE, then own EBITDA bands | Signed backlog, PM and estimating bench, transferable bonding | Guide |
| Auto Repair | 1.7x - 3.3x | SDE | Repeat customer base, fleet accounts, technician retention | Guide |
| Cleaning / Janitorial | 1.5x - 2.6x | SDE | Recurring commercial contracts, low owner involvement | Guide |
| Lawn Care & Landscaping | 1.7x - 3.0x | SDE | Recurring commercial contracts, route density, crew leads | Guide |
| Pet Grooming | 1.4x - 2.5x | SDE | Staff groomers, standing appointments, repeat clients | Guide |
| Dog Daycare & Boarding | 2.0x - 3.7x | SDE | Manager-run facility, repeat boarding clients, owned real estate | Guide |
| Manufacturing | 2.0x - 3.6x | SDE + equipment | Contract backlog, proprietary products, certifications | Guide |
| Staffing & Recruiting | 2.0x - 3.2x | SDE | Contract vs perm mix, client tenure, niche depth | Guide |
| IT Services / MSP | 2.2x - 3.9x | SDE | Managed-services contracts, MRR, engineer retention | Guide |
| Restaurants & Food Service | 1.3x - 2.5x | SDE | Manager-run operations, lease security, margin durability | Guide |
| Insurance Agencies | 1.9x - 3.4x | SDE | Renewal commission share, agency-owned book of business | Guide |
| Accounting & Tax Practices | 1.6x - 2.7x | SDE | Recurring monthly vs tax-season work, transferable client relationships | Guide |
| Property Management | 2.0x - 3.0x | SDE | Evergreen management contracts, door retention, staffed operations | Guide |
| Professional Services | 1.8x - 3.1x | SDE | Recurring engagements, transferable relationships, documented process | Guide |
Ranges are the sold-comp low/high bands for owner-operated businesses under $1,000,000 of SDE, rendered live from the BridgeBook valuation dataset (v2026.09.1, refreshed 2026-09-30). Individual businesses trade outside these ranges when value drivers are exceptional or impaired. When citing this data, please attribute it to BridgeBook (bridgebook.io).
Every range on this page derives from published sold-transaction data, never asking prices. Asking prices reflect what sellers hope for; sold data reflects what buyers actually paid. The primary sources:
Accessed September 2026. The multiple applies to SDE (seller's discretionary earnings) for owner-operated businesses and EBITDA for businesses with a management layer; getting the earnings number right matters as much as the multiple, so see SDE vs. EBITDA. Methodology approved by Legend Atty, BridgeBook founder and M&A advisor.
Where a business lands inside its range is not random. Buyers pay the top for growth, recurring revenue, a diversified customer base, documented processes, and an owner who works ten hours a week. They pay the bottom, or walk, for declining revenue, one dominant customer, and a business that cannot run a payroll cycle without its owner. The full playbook: How to Sell a Business. For how these numbers square with the valuation folklore in online forums, see what Reddit says about business valuation.
A valuation multiple is the number a buyer multiplies your annual earnings by to arrive at a price. Small businesses are usually valued on SDE (seller's discretionary earnings: net profit plus owner salary and personal add-backs); larger businesses on EBITDA. A business earning $500,000 in SDE at a 3.0x multiple is worth roughly $1,500,000.
Per IBBA Market Pulse closed-deal data, US small businesses under $500,000 of SDE sell at roughly 2.0x to 3.3x SDE, with 2.57x as the midpoint. The multiple rises with size: about 2.8x between $500,000 and $1,000,000 of SDE, and higher above that. Businesses with recurring revenue, low owner involvement, and clean financials command the top of their range; owner-dependent businesses with concentrated customers sell at the bottom, or not at all.
The ranges are built from published sold-transaction data, not asking prices: the IBBA and M&A Source Market Pulse (closed deals and the size curve), BizBuySell sold-comp valuation benchmarks (per-industry SDE ranges), and the Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Report (EBITDA size bands). Where a primary source has no coverage, a flagged secondary sold aggregate is used. Asking-price data is never used.
Predictability. Recurring subscription revenue with low churn is worth more per dollar of profit than project-based revenue that must be re-sold every month. The same logic applies within any industry: HVAC companies with service agreements out-multiple identical companies doing one-off installs.
Start with your industry range, then adjust for the value drivers buyers price: revenue trend, customer concentration, owner hours, recurring revenue share, and the quality of your books. The free BridgeBook business valuation calculator applies your industry and size band to sold-transaction data and returns a low, mid, and high range.
Get a market-based valuation range from comparable sold transactions with the free business valuation calculator. Confidential, about 2 minutes.