The SaaS Capital Index: Median Public SaaS Multiple
The equal-weighted median ARR multiple across publicly traded pure-play SaaS companies, published monthly by SaaS Capital. Currently 4.2x, up from June's 3.1x decade-low (the lowest reading since 2011).
What the SaaS Capital Index Measures
The SaaS Capital Index is maintained by SaaS Capital, a provider of debt financing to B2B SaaS companies. It has published the index monthly since 2008, making it one of the longest-running public-SaaS valuation series, and it ships as a free downloadable data file rather than a paywalled product.
The headline figure is the median revenue (ARR) multiple across the index's publicly traded pure-play SaaS constituents. Two design choices matter. First, the index is equal-weighted: a $1B company and a $50B company count the same in the median, so the reading tracks the typical public SaaS business rather than the largest few. Second, it reports a median, not an average, so a handful of premium-multiple outliers cannot pull the headline upward.
That is why the SaaS Capital median (4.2x) sits well below the BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index average (9.0x). The two are measuring different populations with different statistics. For a private SaaS founder benchmarking an exit, the equal-weighted median is the more honest anchor, because your company is far more likely to resemble the median constituent than a market-cap-dominating cloud leader.
The Multiple Depends on Growth
The 4.2x median masks a wide spread. Joining the index's per-company multiple and growth-rate data for 30 September 2026 shows multiples scaling sharply with trailing revenue growth:
| Trailing Growth Band | Median Multiple | 25th-75th Pctile | Companies |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20-30% | 5.5x | 3.8x – 8.4x | 11 |
| 10-20% | 4.4x | 3.4x – 6x | 24 |
| Under 10% | 2.3x | 1.4x – 3.7x | 18 |
SaaS Capital Index Terms
- Median ARR multiple
- The middle value of EV/ARR across the index's constituents. Currently 4.2x (30 September 2026). A median, not an average, so outliers do not distort the headline.
- Equal-weighted
- Each constituent contributes equally to the statistic regardless of market capitalisation. The BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index is also equal-weighted; the difference between the two is the basket and the statistic (average vs median), not the weighting.
- Pure-play SaaS
- Publicly traded companies whose revenue is predominantly recurring software subscriptions. Excludes diversified tech, hardware, and payments-led businesses that some broader cloud indices include.
- Percentile spread
- The dispersion around the median. As of 30 September 2026, the 25th percentile is 2.3x and the 75th is 7.2x, a reminder that growth and profitability move individual companies far from the median.
- Publisher
- SaaS Capital, a debt provider to B2B SaaS companies, has published the index monthly since 2008 as a free downloadable data file. Not a paywalled research product.
SaaS Capital vs the Other Two Indices
| Index | Statistic | Current | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| SaaS Capital Index | Median ARR multiple | 4.2x (30 September 2026) | Equal-weighted, 62 pure-play SaaS with a multiple |
| Aventis Advisors | Median EV/Revenue | 4.6x (August 2026) | 54 listed (70 since 2015), NASDAQ/NYSE, $1B+ cap |
| BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index | Average revenue multiple | 9.0x (27 October 2026) | Equal-weighted, 65 cloud names |
After the Q1 2026 AI re-rating the two median-based references track each other closely: SaaS Capital (4.2x, September 2026) and Aventis (4.6x, August 2026, its latest published reading). The BVP headline (9.0x) sits roughly twice as high because it is an average rather than a median, so a few premium-multiple names pull it up, across a basket that admits new names only after two straight years of 15%+ revenue growth. We walk through the full reconciliation, and which figure applies to your decision, on the three indices page.