Business Value Estimator · For Business Owners
What is your business worth?
Six questions, about two minutes. See an estimated value range based on published market data, adjusted for the three things buyers weigh first.
Confidential and free. Your numbers stay in your browser. Greymont is paid by buyers, never by owners.
How the estimate works
We start from published, dated multiples for private companies of your size, apply an industry adjustment only where a cited public source supports one, then adjust for recurring revenue, customer concentration and owner dependence. Those three adjustments are Greymont's judgment of how buyers price these risks, not published data, and the total adjustment is capped. The range is shown as low, typical and high because real offers for similar companies vary widely.
1. Market multiples by company size
Published multiples for private company sales, by size. Larger companies usually sell for higher multiples because they carry less risk for a buyer.
| EBITDA | Low | Typical | High | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1M of EBITDA | 3.5x | 4.0x | 5.5x | Business Valuation Resources, DealStats Value Index (Q4 2025); IBBA and M&A Source, Market Pulse (Q2 2026); GF Data (H1 2025)Low: DealStats median for private company sales (Q4 2025). Typical: Market Pulse, $2M to $5M deals (Q2 2026). High: GF Data, private equity deals of $1M to $5M (H1 2025). |
| $1M to $2.5M of EBITDA | 4.5x | 5.8x | 6.7x | IBBA and M&A Source, Market Pulse (Q1 2026); Mercer Capital, citing GF Data (Q1 2026); IBBA and M&A Source, Market Pulse (Q2 2026); GF Data (H1 2025)Low: Market Pulse, $5M to $50M deals (Q1 2026). Typical: GF Data, $1M to $25M deals (Q1 2026), matched by Market Pulse (Q2 2026). High: GF Data, $10M to $25M deals (H1 2025, top of range). |
| $2.5M to $5M of EBITDA | 5.8x | 6.8x | 7.0x | IBBA and M&A Source, Market Pulse (Q2 2026); Mercer Capital, citing GF Data (Q2 2026); Mercer Capital, citing GF Data (Q1 2026)Low: Market Pulse, $5M to $50M deals (Q2 2026). Typical: GF Data, $10M to $50M deals (Q2 2026). High: GF Data, $10M to $50M deals (Q1 2026). |
| $5M to $10M of EBITDA | 6.6x | 7.6x | 8.7x | GF Data (Q1 to Q3 2025); Mercer Capital, citing GF Data (Q2 2026)Low: GF Data, $25M to $50M deals (first nine months of 2025). Typical: GF Data, $50M to $250M deals (Q2 2026). High: GF Data, $50M to $100M platform deals (first nine months of 2025). |
| $10M to $25M of EBITDA | 7.6x | 8.6x | 10.0x | Mercer Capital, citing GF Data (Q2 2026); GF Data, via ACG Middle Market Growth (H1 2025 and long-run average); GF Data (Q1 to Q3 2025)Low: GF Data, $50M to $250M deals (Q2 2026). Typical: GF Data long-run average for $100M to $250M deals. High: GF Data, $100M to $250M deals (2025). |
| Owner earnings | Low | Typical | High | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $200K of owner earnings | 1.6x | 2.0x | 2.4x | IBBA and M&A Source, Market Pulse (Q2 2026); IBBA and M&A Source, Market Pulse (Q1 2026)Market Pulse, deals under $500K (Q2 2026; also 2.0x in Q1 2026). The survey gives one central figure, so low and high are 20% either side of it, Greymont's convention for how much small-business sales vary. |
| $200K to $350K of owner earnings | 2.2x | 2.8x | 3.4x | IBBA and M&A Source, Market Pulse (Q2 2026); IBBA and M&A Source, Market Pulse (Q1 2026)Market Pulse, deals of $500K to $1M (Q2 2026; also 2.8x in Q1 2026). Low and high are 20% either side of the central figure. |
| $350K to $1M of owner earnings | 2.5x | 3.1x | 3.7x | IBBA and M&A Source, Market Pulse (Q2 2026); IBBA and M&A Source, Market Pulse (Q1 2026)Market Pulse, deals of $1M to $2M (Q2 2026; 3.3x in Q1 2026). Low and high are 20% either side of the central figure. Above about $650K of owner earnings, buyers increasingly price on EBITDA. |
2. Industry adjustment
Applied only where a cited public source shows an industry selling for more or less than businesses of similar size. Otherwise the size-based range is used as is.
| Industry | Adjustment | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Fire protection and life safety | None | Public evidence points to a premium for inspection-led fire and life safety companies: APi paid about 2.8 to 3.0 times revenue for CertaSite and Onyx-Fire in 2026. No source compares this with businesses in general or covers owner-sized companies, so no adjustment is applied. APi Group (2026); APi Group (2026) |
| HVAC, plumbing and electrical | None | Public buyers of commercial mechanical and electrical contractors paid about 5.8 to 6.6 times EBITDA for companies with $4M to $10M of EBITDA (Limbach, 2024 and 2025), in line with size-based multiples. No public data covers residential HVAC, plumbing or electrical sales, so no adjustment is applied. Limbach Holdings (2025) |
| Pest control | None | Public evidence points to a premium driven by recurring route revenue: Rentokil paid about 1.8 to 1.9 times revenue for small pest control bolt-ons in 2025, and Rollins about 3.3 times revenue for Saela. No source sizes the gap against businesses in general, so no adjustment is applied. Rentokil Initial (2025); Rollins (2025) |
| Commercial door, gate and access control | None | No industry-specific public data strong enough to adjust for; uses the size-based range. |
| Property management and HOA management | None | No industry-specific public data strong enough to adjust for; uses the size-based range. |
| Restoration and remediation | None | No industry-specific public data strong enough to adjust for; uses the size-based range. |
| Septic and wastewater | None | No industry-specific public data strong enough to adjust for; uses the size-based range. |
| Window and door | None | No industry-specific public data strong enough to adjust for; uses the size-based range. |
| Collision repair | None | No industry-specific public data strong enough to adjust for; uses the size-based range. |
| Water well and pump | None | No industry-specific public data strong enough to adjust for; uses the size-based range. |
| Commercial cleaning and facility services | None | No industry-specific public data strong enough to adjust for; uses the size-based range. |
| Roofing | None | No industry-specific public data strong enough to adjust for; uses the size-based range. |
| Landscaping | None | No industry-specific public data strong enough to adjust for; uses the size-based range. |
| IT services and MSP | None | No industry-specific public data strong enough to adjust for; uses the size-based range. |
| Engineering and architecture | None | A trade survey of typical small engineering and architecture firms put the median value at about 4.3 times EBITDA (2025), while large deals priced near 13.5 times (2026). For owner-sized firms nothing shows a clear premium, so no adjustment is applied. Zweig Group (2025); Bowman Consulting (2026) |
| Waste hauling and recycling | None | Public consolidators paid about 2 to 3 times annualized revenue for hauling and recycling tuck-ins in 2025, well above most service businesses. No source sizes the premium for owner-sized companies, so no adjustment is applied. Casella Waste Systems (2025); Waste Connections (2025) |
| Auto repair and car wash | None | No industry-specific public data strong enough to adjust for; uses the size-based range. |
3. Your answers
These adjustments are Greymont’s judgment of how buyers price each risk, based on how deals are negotiated, not published data. The combined effect is limited to between -30% and +15%.
| Question | Answer | Effect on the multiple |
|---|---|---|
| Recurring revenue | Under 10% | −6% |
| 10% to 30% | −2% | |
| 30% to 60% | +3% | |
| Over 60% | +8% | |
| Customer concentration | Under 10% | +2% |
| 10% to 20% | No change | |
| 20% to 35% | −8% | |
| Over 35% | −15% | |
| Owner dependence | Smoothly. A manager and team run it day to day. | +5% |
| Mostly fine. I handle key customers or big decisions. | −3% | |
| It would slow down. I am in most sales, estimates or operations. | −10% | |
| It would struggle. Most things depend on me. | −18% |
An estimated range based on published market data and your answers. It is not an appraisal or a valuation opinion, and actual offers depend on diligence, deal terms and market conditions. Data as of October 29, 2026.
Questions owners ask
- Is this an appraisal?
- No. It is an estimated range built from published market data and your answers. A buyer's offer depends on diligence, the quality of your financials, deal terms and market conditions, and a formal appraisal or valuation opinion is a different, much deeper exercise.
- Should I use EBITDA or owner earnings?
- Use owner earnings (profit plus one owner's salary and perks) if your business earns under about $1M a year and you are the main operator. Use EBITDA (profit after paying a market salary for your role) if you have a management team or earn more than that. Buyers of larger companies price on EBITDA.
- Why do recurring revenue, customer concentration and owner dependence matter so much?
- They are the three questions every buyer asks first: will the revenue still be there next year, what happens if the biggest customer leaves, and what happens when you step back. Strong answers widen the pool of buyers and the price they can justify; weak ones lead to lower offers or more of the price tied to earnouts.
- What happens to my numbers?
- They stay in your browser. Nothing is sent to Greymont unless you ask for the detailed report, and then only the answers on this page and your name and email. Greymont is paid by buyers, never by owners, and never shares your details.