B2B SaaS valuation multiples: 2021 to 2026
What software companies are actually selling for right now, from the public markets down to sub-$10M founder exits: sourced, dated, and refreshed quarterly. Read it before a buyer quotes you a number.
Multiples reset hard, and the public premium is nearly gone
Public SaaS fell from an 18x to 19x revenue peak to 3.4x. Private deals never flew that high, so they fell far less. The two now trade within 0.3x of each other.
Source: Aventis Advisors, median EV/Revenue of public SaaS companies (left); Aventis Advisors, median EV/Revenue of private SaaS M&A transactions (right). Both panels share one scale. 2022 is not published as a standalone figure in the verified vintage.
other publishers 3.2xSEG public SaaS index, median EV/TTM revenue (Q2 2026)3.6xClouded Judgement, median EV/NTM revenue, lowest in 10+ years (Feb 2026)4.0xSEG, median SaaS M&A transaction EV/TTM revenue (Q2 2026)
Below $10M, profit multiples set the price
Institutional revenue multiples fade below roughly $10M of enterprise value. There, deals price on profit (SDE), and preparation moves the number more than the market does.
Geography moves the multiple: 5.0x in the US, 2.6x in Germany
Median EV/Revenue of private software M&A by target country. The demand around your deal prices it; the local market is rarely where that demand peaks.
US public SaaS traded 20% to 40% above European peers through 2024 (GP Bullhound). By early 2026, for the first time since 2015, US SaaS no longer trades at a premium to global SaaS in public markets (Aventis).
European buyers took 58% of European-target software M&A by value in late 2025, up from 42% over the prior two years; North American buyers still account for 67% of European-target deal count (Silverpeak).
This is why our processes are global by default. The best buyer for a European software company is usually not a domestic one; 80% of Array Capital transactions close cross-border.
See where our deals closed →Source: Aventis Advisors, median EV/Revenue of private software M&A by target country, 2015-2025 dataset.
Retention and growth, not size, decide your premium
The spread between a discounted exit and a premium one is measured and public. Two datasets, two lenses, one conclusion: buyers pay for durable revenue.
Same dataset: Rule of 40 above 40% commands 12.4x; gross margin above 80% trades at 7.6x versus 5.5x below it.
These are public-market lenses; private buyers apply the same logic with a size discount. We position every mandate on these drivers before it goes to market.
What Europe's disclosed deals actually paid
Large disclosed European software transactions, 2025 to 2026. Premium assets still clear premium prices; multiples marked implied are computed from disclosed figures, not stated by the parties.
| Target | Business | Buyer | Price | Multiple | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FortnoxSweden | SME accounting SaaS | EQT + First Kraft | ≈$4.5B | ≈22x 2025E revenue | 2025 | ↗ |
| IFSSweden | Industrial ERP and field service | Hg + ADIA + CPP (minority) | €15B+ valuation | ≈15x ARR, implied | 2025 | ↗ |
| EskerFrance | AP/AR automation SaaS | Bridgepoint + General Atlantic | €1.62B | ≈9.1x 2023 revenue, implied | 2025 | ↗ |
| Sana LabsSweden | AI learning platform | Workday | $1.1B | not disclosed | 2025 | ↗ |
| Prior LabsGermany | Tabular AI foundation models | SAP | €1B+ commitment | not disclosed | 2026 | ↗ |
How this report is built
- One publisher series per chart. Index constructions differ (the 2021 public peak ranges from about 17x to 28x across publishers depending on weighting), so we never mix methodologies inside a figure.
- Every number carries its as-of date and appears exactly as published; multiples marked implied are arithmetic from disclosed price and revenue.
- Where publishers conflict, we cite the series we verified directly at the primary source and note the disagreement rather than averaging it away.
- Updated quarterly in place at this URL. Figures reflect data available as of July 2026.
- Nothing on this page is investment advice, and no multiple prices a specific company. Your company trades on its own facts; that is the whole point of positioning.
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