Valuation Multiples by Industry
Why It Matters
A multiple only means something against its trade: 3x is cheap for a recurring-revenue business and rich for a commodity one. This is the band each industry guide cites, gathered in one place so you can size an asking price before you read the whole guide. What moves a business inside its band is in the table; the earnings the multiple applies to come from the Business Valuation Calculator.
Multiples by Industry
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| What Moves It | Source | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accounting & Tax Practices | 1.0x to 1.2x revenue / 2.5x to 3.3x SDE | Mixed | 2025 marketplace averages ran near 1.1x revenue and 2.3x reported earnings; advisory-heavy firms price at the top of the band and heavy owner dependence discounts it. Bookkeeping books price more reliably on earnings. | CPA practice valuation guides (2025 to 2026) |
| Auto Body & Collision | 2x to 2.6x SDE single shop, 3x to 5x EBITDA multi-location | Mixed | Insurer standing and revenue mix are the levers: DRP scorecards, OEM certifications, and in-house ADAS calibration move a shop up, while owner-dependent single locations without direct-repair relationships sit at the bottom. | Auxo Capital Advisors, auto repair and collision EBITDA multiples (2026) |
| Auto Repair | 2.0x to 2.75x SDE | SDE | Owner-dependent shops trade below the band; documented, manager-run shops with a repeat customer base are reported at 3x and above. Technician retention is the capacity question behind every multiple. | Peak Business Valuation, automotive repair multiples |
| Car Washes | 2.4x to 4.2x SDE | SDE | EBITDA-based roundups report 4x to 7x for quality operations, self-serve at the low end, and express tunnels with roughly 40%-plus membership penetration at 8x and above; real estate is commonly part of the transaction. | Peak Business Valuation, car wash multiples |
| Childcare Centers | 2.4x to 3.4x SDE | SDE | Reported EBITDA bands run near 3.0x to 4.4x with single-location independents framed at 2x to 4x; sustained enrollment around 80% of licensed capacity is the health benchmark, and licensed capacity itself (space and ratio rules) caps the upside. | Peak Business Valuation, daycare multiples |
| Commercial Cleaning | 2.5x to 3.0x SDE | SDE | Reported EBITDA bands run near 3.4x to 4.1x; multi-year commercial contracts with escalators price toward the top, and top-five customer concentration above roughly 40% of revenue compresses the multiple or forces retention earnouts. | Peak Business Valuation, cleaning company multiples |
| Convenience Stores & Gas Stations | 2.21x to 3.30x SDE (roundup average) | SDE | EBITDA bands run 3.67x to 4.38x and sites with real estate trade higher (into 7x to 9x); the inside-sales-to-fuel profit mix, foodservice development, fuel supply contract, and the environmental status of the underground tanks decide where a store lands. | Convenience store valuation multiples (Peak Business Valuation) |
| Dental Practices | 60% to 80% of collections (doctor-to-doctor) | Mixed | Consolidator deals price on adjusted EBITDA instead, with sub-$1M-EBITDA practices reported around 5x to 7x; provider concentration is the leading deal-killer, and in most states only a licensed dentist can own the practice. | Dental practice valuation reports (2025 to 2026) |
| Dog Grooming | 2x to 3x SDE | SDE | Rebooking rate and a stable groomer team are the levers: staff-run shops with a full, rebooked schedule trade toward the top, while owner-groomer shops whose book leaves with the owner sit at the bottom. | Peak Business Valuation, pet grooming and boarding multiples |
| E-Commerce Brands | 2.5x to 4.5x SDE by channel | SDE | FBA-dependent businesses run 2.5x to 4x and Shopify-led DTC brands 3x to 4.5x, with repeat-purchase niches at the top; channel concentration is priced explicitly, and buyers underwrite 30% to 40% below peak-aggregator-era multiples. | E-commerce valuation guidance (2026) |
| Electrical Contracting | ~3x to 4x EBITDA (broad market) | EBITDA | Small owner-operated shops trade below the broad-market band and $5M-plus-revenue companies above it; 40%-plus recurring service, testing, and compliance work reportedly adds one to two turns. | ClearlyAcquired, trades contractor multiples (2025) |
| Fence Contractors | 2.14x to 3.23x SDE (roundup average) | SDE | EBITDA bands run 3.27x to 4.36x and revenue 0.38x to 0.81x; the residential-versus-commercial mix, multi-year contract backlog, service and warranty share, and how bids handle material cost swings decide where a company lands. | Fence construction valuation multiples (Peak Business Valuation) |
| Franchise Resales (Main Street) | 2.0x to 3.1x SDE by deal size | SDE | Resales price inside the general Main Street bands: the IBBA's Q4 2025 medians run 2.0x SDE under $500K, 3.0x from $500K to $1M, and 3.1x from $1M to $2M. Margins after royalties, remaining agreement term, and territory quality set position; the brand shows up in buyer depth and financeability more than in the multiple. | IBBA / M&A Source Market Pulse, Q4 2025 highlights |
| Funeral Homes | 2.0x to 3.2x SDE (roundup average) | SDE | Broker guides quote 3x to 5x SDE for higher-volume single locations and consolidators price above either band; the call-volume trend, local cremation mix, preneed trust funding status, and owned real estate decide where a home lands. | Funeral home valuation multiples (Peak Business Valuation) |
| Gyms & Fitness Studios | 2.5x to 2.9x SDE | SDE | Tiered guidance runs 1.5x to 3x SDE for independent gyms and 2x to 4x for boutique studios, with franchise units above; monthly churn under roughly 4% is premium territory and over 8% is a red flag, and deferred-revenue liabilities belong in the price. | Peak Business Valuation, gym and fitness multiples |
| Home Care (Non-Medical) | ~2x to 3.6x SDE | SDE | Averages near 2.9x, with single-market agencies reported around 3x to 5x EBITDA; private-pay-heavy books with durable hours price at the top, Medicaid-heavy books lower, and caregiver retention below 50% turnover earns a premium. | Home care agency valuation multiples (2026 roundup) |
| HVAC | 2x to 4x SDE | SDE | Service-agreement share is the big lever: 40%-plus recurring revenue reportedly adds 0.5x to 1.0x over install-dependent peers. Sub-$1M-SDE companies cluster near the high 2s. | First Page Sage, HVAC valuation multiples report (2025) |
| Insurance Agencies | 1.5x to 3.0x revenue by line | Revenue | Personal-lines books run 1.5x to 2.0x revenue and commercial books 2.0x to 3.0x, with employee benefits above both; client retention is the dominant variable, and carrier appointments transfer only with carrier consent. | Insurance agency valuation guidance (2026) |
| Landscaping | 2.5x to 4.5x SDE | SDE | Commercial-contract maintenance operators sit at the top of the band, simple residential route work at the bottom; recurring contracts and route density drive the spread. | First Page Sage, landscaping multiples report (2025) |
| Laundromats | 3.2x to 4.2x SDE | SDE | Reported EBITDA bands run near 3.4x to 4.9x and revenue multiples around 1.2x to 1.8x; long leases (15-plus years), rent under about a quarter of gross income, and machines under five years old support the top of the range. | Peak Business Valuation, laundromat multiples |
| Liquor Stores | 2.9x to 3.7x SDE (before license and inventory) | SDE | Lender guidance commonly caps supportable pricing near 2.5x to 3x; the license adds 10% to 30% of deal value (more in quota and moratorium markets) and inventory is purchased separately at verified cost, so decompose every asking price. | Peak Business Valuation, liquor store multiples |
| Managed Service Providers | ~4x to 5x EBITDA | EBITDA | MSPs under $1M of EBITDA sit near 4x with sub-$5M transactions averaging around 5x; recurring-revenue mix is the largest lever at a given size, with managed-services MRR valued several times project revenue. | Aventis Advisors, MSP valuation multiples |
| Med Spas | 3x to 6x EBITDA (under ~$4M revenue) | EBITDA | Mid-sized groups run 5x to 8x and platforms above that; membership revenue over roughly 30% of total is a reported premium driver, and injector retention plus state ownership-structure compliance decide what actually transfers. | Med spa valuation and M&A trends (2025) |
| Moving Companies | 2.2x to 3.1x SDE | SDE | 2025 marketplace averages ran near the top of the band with revenue multiples around 0.7x; labor stability, claims history, and the referral-versus-purchased-leads mix separate otherwise similar movers. | Peak Business Valuation, moving company multiples |
| Optometry Practices | 1.96x to 2.67x SDE (roundup average) | SDE | The market is bimodal: single-OD practices trade on SDE (broker observations 2.5x to 4.5x sub-$500k) while multi-OD groups price on EBITDA at 6x to 8.5x; medical eye care share, optical capture, and payer mix decide the position, and some states restrict who can own. | Optometry clinic valuation multiples (Peak Business Valuation) |
Method & Source
Each band is the figure its industry guide carries, hedged to the source cited in the row and stated as a directional range rather than a comp. Multiples move with size, recurring revenue, owner dependence, and the deal market, so treat a band as the question to ask, not the answer. The full record is open JSON at /api/data/benchmarks.