SaaS Valuation Multiples 2026
The current reading for public and private SaaS revenue multiples, drawn from the three tracked indices and the SaaS Capital per-company growth data. The public median sits at 4.2x ARR, up from June's 3.1x decade-low.
The 2026 Snapshot: Three Public SaaS Indices
There is no single “SaaS multiple” because the three widely cited references measure different populations with different statistics. Two equal-weighted median series (SaaS Capital and Aventis) track each other closely after the Q1 2026 re-rating (both read 4.6x for August); the BVP figure 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.
| Index | Statistic | 2026 Reading | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| SaaS Capital Index | Median ARR multiple | 4.2x (30 September 2026) | Equal-weighted, 62 pure-play public SaaS with a multiple |
| Aventis Advisors | Median EV/Revenue | 4.6x (August 2026) | 54 listed NASDAQ/NYSE pure-play SaaS, $1B+ cap |
| BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index | Average revenue multiple | 8.5x (9 October 2026) | Equal-weighted, 65 growth-screened cloud names |
2026 Public SaaS Multiple by Trailing Growth Band
The 4.2x median masks a wide spread. Joining the SaaS Capital Index per-company multiple and growth-rate data for 30 June 2026 shows the multiple scaling sharply with trailing revenue growth:
| Trailing Growth Band | Median Multiple | 25th-75th Pctile | Companies |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20-30% | 5.5x | 3.8x – 6.9x | 11 |
| 10-20% | 3.1x | 2.8x – 4.8x | 23 |
| Under 10% | 1.9x | 1.1x – 3x | 18 |
Public vs Private SaaS Multiples in 2026
Private SaaS multiples sit below public ones. SaaS Capital's January 2025 research put bootstrapped private SaaS at 4.8x and equity-backed at 5.3x ARR, derived when its public index stood at 7.0x. That is 24% to 31% below the public median at the time (5.3 / 7.0 and 4.8 / 7.0).
With the public median now at 4.2x, expect private valuations to compress as 2026 deals print; the historical pattern is a discount to public peers, not a premium. A private SaaS founder benchmarking an exit should anchor to the equal-weighted median rather than the BVP average, because your company is far more likely to resemble the median constituent than a market-cap-dominating cloud leader. See the private multiples breakdown for deal-size context.