How is an ARR multiple calculated?

Divide the sale price by annual recurring revenue at the time of sale. In this dataset, ARR is calculated as monthly recurring revenue multiplied by 12.

Is the median multiple the same as an average?

No. The median is the middle observed value after sorting the available multiples. It is less affected by a small number of unusually large exits.

Does every exit have a valuation multiple?

No. A multiple is only calculated when both a sale price and recurring revenue at sale are available. Missing inputs are excluded rather than estimated.

Valuation guide

AI SaaS valuation multiples from real exits

A practical benchmark for understanding what buyers have paid for small AI software businesses — based on sourced transactions, not asking prices.

Median ARR multiple: 2.89×
Exits tracked: 136
Largest tracked exit: $80M

What is a typical AI SaaS valuation multiple?

Across the exits currently tracked by WrapperExits, the median available ARR multiple is 2.89×. This is an observed transaction benchmark, not a universal valuation rule. It only includes deals where both sale price and recurring revenue were available.

Small software acquisitions are rarely priced on revenue alone. Buyers also look at revenue stability, customer concentration, churn, growth rate, operating effort, intellectual property, distribution and how dependent the product is on a third-party model or platform.

How to calculate an ARR multiple

The basic formula is sale price ÷ annual recurring revenue. If a product sold for $120,000 while generating $5,000 in MRR, its annualised recurring revenue is $60,000 and the observed multiple is 2.0× ARR.

$120,000 ÷ ($5,000 × 12) = 2.0× ARR

This calculation should not be used when revenue is mostly one-off, highly seasonal or rapidly declining.

Highest observed category medians

Category medians can help frame a comparison, but small samples can move quickly as new transactions are added. The full category view is available in the AI SaaS category benchmarks .

Category	Deals	Median ARR ×
GEO / AEO	1	14.17×
Text gen	14	9.32×
Other	37	6.25×
Dev tools	13	3.83×
SEO / content	5	2.89×

What can increase or reduce the multiple?

Signals buyers may reward

Predictable recurring revenue and low churn
Organic or diversified acquisition channels
Low founder involvement and documented operations
Defensible workflows, data or distribution

Signals that create a discount

Revenue concentrated in a few customers
Heavy dependency on paid acquisition
Platform, API or model-provider risk
Unclear financials or unverifiable claims

Methodology and limitations

WrapperExits aggregates public marketplace records, founder announcements, interviews and other cited sources. Missing figures are left undisclosed. Medians exclude transactions without the required inputs, and the dataset should be treated as a directional benchmark rather than a complete census of the private acquisition market.

Frequently asked questions

How is an ARR multiple calculated?: Divide the sale price by annual recurring revenue at the time of sale. In this dataset, ARR is calculated as monthly recurring revenue multiplied by 12.
Is the median multiple the same as an average?: No. The median is the middle observed value after sorting the available multiples. It is less affected by a small number of unusually large exits.
Does every exit have a valuation multiple?: No. A multiple is only calculated when both a sale price and recurring revenue at sale are available. Missing inputs are excluded rather than estimated.