Public SaaS Valuation Multiples, 2026
EV/Revenue multiples for publicly traded SaaS companies, reconciled across the three primary indices: SaaS Capital, BVP Nasdaq Cloud, and Aventis Advisors.
The Three Public SaaS Indices Compared
Three primary indices report “median public SaaS EV/Revenue,” and they give materially different numbers. The divergence is methodology, not contradiction, each index measures a different constituent universe with a different weighting.
| Index | Median Q1 2026 | Constituents | Weighting | Update |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SaaS Capital Index | 6.4x | ~100 pure-play public SaaS | Equal-weighted median | Monthly |
| BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index | 8.0x | 60-80 cloud + SaaS | Market-cap weighted | Daily (FRED: NASDAQEMCLOUD) |
| Aventis Advisors | 3.4x | Narrower; excludes growth-stage outliers | Methodology-specific | Quarterly |
The SaaS Capital Index is the most widely cited reference for “the” public SaaS multiple because it uses an equal-weighted median across the broadest pure-play universe. The BVP index runs higher because growth-tilted constituents and market-cap weighting both pull the average up. The Aventis number is lower because their constituent universe excludes some of the highest-multiple outliers. None is wrong; they answer different questions.
How the Three Indices Have Moved, 2018 to 2026
The three indices track the same underlying market but pick different constituents. Over an eight-year window, their movements are highly correlated, but the spread between them widens at extremes. The chart below plots quarterly median EV/Revenue for each index since Q4 2018. Note the synchronised peak in Q4 2021 (SaaS Capital 18.6x, BVP 28x, Aventis 15x) and the divergent reset since 2024, with Aventis pulling significantly below the other two as AI disruption concerns concentrate in their narrower sample.
Full quarterly history table (17 quarters since 2018)▼
| Quarter | SaaS Capital | BVP Cloud | Aventis | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-Q4 | 8.2x | 11.4x | 7.5x | |
| 2019-Q2 | 9.1x | 12.0x | 8.2x | |
| 2019-Q4 | 10.0x | 13.5x | 9.0x | |
| 2020-Q2 | 11.5x | 16.0x | 10.0x | COVID-era rally beginning |
| 2020-Q4 | 14.0x | 21.0x | 11.5x | |
| 2021-Q2 | 16.4x | 24.0x | 13.0x | |
| 2021-Q4 | 18.6x | 28.0x | 15.0x | All-time peak across all three indices |
| 2022-Q2 | 8.0x | 11.0x | 7.5x | Rate-driven repricing, multiples cut in half within six months |
| 2022-Q4 | 5.5x | 7.5x | 5.8x | |
| 2023-Q2 | 6.0x | 8.0x | 5.5x | |
| 2023-Q4 | 6.5x | 8.5x | 5.8x | |
| 2024-Q2 | 6.2x | 7.8x | 4.8x | |
| 2024-Q4 | 6.8x | 8.5x | 4.5x | |
| 2025-Q1 | 7.3x | 9.0x | 5.0x | Brief AI-optimism spike |
| 2025-Q2 | 6.1x | 8.0x | 4.2x | |
| 2025-Q4 | 6.6x | 8.2x | 4.0x | |
| 2026-Q1 | 6.4x | 8.0x | 3.4x | Aventis flags AI disruption as primary downward driver in early 2026 |
Public SaaS Multiples by Growth Rate Cohort
| YoY Growth Band | Median EV/Revenue | P25 Multiple | P75 Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60%+ (high growth) | 11-18x | 8x | 22x |
| 40-60% | 8-11x | 6x | 14x |
| 20-40% | 5-8x | 3.5x | 10x |
| 10-20% | 3-5x | 2x | 6x |
| Under 10% | 1-3x | 1x | 4x |
Public SaaS Multiples by ARR Size
Larger public companies do not always command higher multiples. The law of large numbers typically means that at $1B+ ARR, growth rates naturally decelerate, compressing multiples. The premium tier belongs to mid-sized companies ($200M-$1B ARR) that are still growing rapidly while showing improving margins.
| ARR Range | Typical EV/Revenue | Key Dynamics |
|---|---|---|
| Under $500M ARR | 5-12x | High growth if still scaling; wide range |
| $500M-$2B ARR | 6-15x | Prime growth stage, best multiples |
| $2B+ ARR | 4-9x | Growth deceleration begins; margin focus |
Notable Public SaaS Companies: Approximate Q1 2026 Multiples
Multiples shown are approximate and change daily. See company investor relations pages for exact current figures. EV/Revenue based on trailing 12-month revenue.
| Company | Approx. EV/Revenue | Growth Profile |
|---|---|---|
| Snowflake | ~15x | High growth, usage-based, data cloud |
| Datadog | ~16x | Observability, strong NRR |
| Monday.com | ~8x | Work management, growth + profitable |
| HubSpot | ~6x | CRM, moderate growth, improving margins |
| Salesforce | ~5x | Mature, high revenue, profitability focus |
| Braze | ~6x | Customer engagement, growing |
| Asana | ~4x | Lower growth, path to profitability |
| Veeva Systems | ~9x | Vertical SaaS (pharma), high NRR |
| Paycom | ~6x | HR SaaS, profitable, moderate growth |
| Zendesk (private) | ~5x | Taken private 2022 at ~7x; comparable |
Notable 2024 to 2025 SaaS M&A Transactions
Public-market multiples reset when companies actually transact. Eight notable SaaS deals from this cycle, with multiples computed against disclosed ARR or LTM revenue at the time of announcement. Every row links to the closing press release or SEC filing.
| Target | Acquirer | Price | ARR / Rev | Multiple | Type | Closed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Splunk(SPLK) | Cisco Systems | $28.0B | ~$4.0B ARR at close | 7.0x | Strategic | 2024-03-18 | view ↗ |
| HashiCorp(HCP) | IBM | $6.4B | ~$646M LTM revenue (FY25 expected) | 9.9x | Strategic | 2025-02-27 | view ↗ |
| Smartsheet(SMAR) | Blackstone + Vista Equity Partners + ADIA | $8.4B | $1.1B ARR (Q2 FY25) | 7.7x | PE Take-Private | 2025-01-22 | view ↗ |
| Informatica(INFA) | Salesforce | $8.0B | ~$1.0B ARR (cloud subscription) | 8.0x | Strategic | 2025-11-18 | view ↗ |
| Squarespace(SQSP) | Permira | $6.9B | ~$1.0B LTM revenue | 5.0x | PE Take-Private | 2024-10-15 | view ↗ |
| Recorded Future | Mastercard | $2.65B | ~$300M ARR (private; estimated) | 8.8x | Strategic | 2024-12-18 | view ↗ |
| Altair Engineering(ALTR) | Siemens | $10.6B | ~$650M LTM revenue (HPC + simulation SaaS) | 16.3x | Strategic | 2025-03-31 | view ↗ |
| ServiceTitan(TTAN) | IPO (Nasdaq listing) | $6.3B (IPO market cap day-1 close) | $685M LTM revenue (Q3 FY25) | 9.2x | Strategic | 2024-12-12 | view ↗ |
Per-deal context and methodology notes▼
Largest software acquisition in Cisco history. $157/share cash. 31% premium over unaffected share price. Splunk continued AR/ARR growth post-close drove the headline multiple.
Cisco IR press release, 18 March 2024 ↗$35/share cash. Among the higher 2024-25 strategic multiples; reflects strategic value of Terraform + Vault for IBM hybrid cloud positioning.
IBM press release, 27 February 2025 ↗$56.50/share cash. Standard PE take-private multiple at 7.7x given 17% YoY growth and approaching profitability. Used as a comp for many private SaaS deals in the $1B+ ARR range.
Blackstone announcement, 24 September 2024 ↗$25/share cash. Multiple computed against ~$1B cloud ARR; total Informatica revenue larger, but cloud ARR is the strategically relevant slice for Data Cloud / Agentforce integration.
Salesforce IR press release, 18 November 2025 ↗$46.50/share cash, with founder Anthony Casalena rolling significant equity. Lower multiple reflects mid-teens growth and competitive SaaS website builder category.
Permira closing announcement, 15 October 2024 ↗Threat intelligence vertical SaaS. ARR figure is a Bloomberg/Reuters-reported estimate (Recorded Future was private); multiple is approximate.
Mastercard press release, 18 December 2024 ↗High multiple reflects unique simulation IP + AI workflow positioning. Vertical industrial SaaS commands premium for technical moats. Useful as upper-bound vertical SaaS comp.
Siemens press release, 31 March 2025 ↗Vertical SaaS IPO. Day-1 close at ~$104/share gave ~$8.8B EV. Multiple range 9.2-12x depending on net cash adjustments. Included as IPO comp; not M&A but represents a public-market exit multiple for the same fundamental analysis.
ServiceTitan IR, IPO pricing 11 December 2024 ↗Why EV/EBITDA Is Gaining Relevance for Mature SaaS
As a cohort of public SaaS companies has matured and reached profitability, institutional investors are increasingly applying EV/EBITDA alongside EV/Revenue. A company with $1B ARR and 20% EBITDA margin has a different risk profile than a company with $200M ARR burning cash at 30% margin. EV/EBITDA captures that difference; EV/Revenue does not.
As of Q1 2026, the median EV/EBITDA for the broad public SaaS index is approximately 26.6x. This compares to the S&P 500 at roughly 22x EV/EBITDA, suggesting that even profitable SaaS still commands a modest premium for software economics (high margins, predictable recurring revenue). See the historical trends page for how this evolved.
Key Terms on This Page
- EV/Revenue
- Enterprise Value divided by trailing-twelve-month revenue. The standard public SaaS valuation multiple, applicable to companies that report GAAP revenue under US public-company disclosure rules.
- EV/EBITDA
- Enterprise Value divided by trailing-twelve-month EBITDA. Used alongside EV/Revenue for profitable mature SaaS where margin matters as much as growth. Median public SaaS EV/EBITDA is 26.6x as of Q1 2026.
- SaaS Capital Index
- Equal-weighted median EV/Revenue multiple across approximately 100 publicly traded pure-play SaaS companies, published monthly by SaaS Capital since 2013. The most widely cited primary reference for public SaaS multiples.
- BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index
- Market-cap-weighted index of 60-80 cloud and SaaS companies, maintained by Bessemer Venture Partners and Nasdaq. Available as daily FRED time series NASDAQEMCLOUD. Skews higher than SaaS Capital due to growth-tilted constituents.
- Top quartile / bottom quartile
- P75 and P25 of the multiple distribution within an index. Top quartile public SaaS reaches 13.8x EV/Revenue in Q1 2026; bottom quartile sits at 1.8x. The wide range reflects growth-rate dispersion across the constituent set.