There is no best valuation software for small business owners in general — there's a best one for your shape of business. Owner-operated main-street businesses sell on SDE multiples and have a free, data-grounded tool (BizBuySell). Software and recurring-revenue businesses sell on revenue multiples and have EvalyMe. Formal situations have appraisers. Pick the row that matches you, not the brand you've heard of.
- Software / recurring revenue
- EvalyMe — MRR/churn-native model, free calculator, $14.99/mo Pro with playbooks.
- Main-street / owner-operated
- BizBuySell's calculator — free, real marketplace SDE multiples.
- Formal document needed
- Equitest (~35-page reports, plans ~$99/mo) or a certified appraiser ($2,500–$5,000+).
- You have an advisor
- BizEquity through them — institutional lineage, often bundled in the relationship.
The picks at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Price | The honest catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| EvalyMe | Recurring-revenue businesses; owners who want a plan, not just a number | $0 calculator · Pro $14.99/mo | Directional estimate only; no formal report |
| BizBuySell calculator | Traditional owner-operated businesses | Free | A number and comps; no guidance layer |
| BizEquity | Advisor-led planning | Advisor-dependent; reseller packages ~$1,497 listed | Not cleanly self-serve |
| Equitest | Polished self-serve reports | Free trial; plans listed ~$99/mo | Priciest software tier here; still not an appraisal |
| Certified appraiser | Lending, legal, tax, serious deals | Roughly $1,000–$5,000+ | Cost and weeks of turnaround |
Why business type decides everything
Valuation software argues about formulas, but the input that matters most is which market prices your business. A plumbing company sells as a multiple of seller's discretionary earnings — profit plus everything the owner takes — to someone who will run it. A SaaS with $20k MRR sells as a multiple of revenue to someone who will keep the subscriptions running. Same word, "valuation," different math.
Most bad experiences with these tools come from feeding the wrong business to the wrong model. So this guide's rankings are per business type, and the tools are listed in the order you'd realistically try them — free first, humans last.
1.EvalyMe ours
- Best for
- SaaS, apps, subscription and productized businesses
- Price
- Calculator free, no signup · Pro $14.99/mo
- Platform
- Web + native iOS and Android apps
- Distinctive bit
- Operating score and 30/60/90-day playbooks
If your business runs on recurring revenue, EvalyMe asks for the numbers you already track — MRR, churn, growth, LTV/CAC, active users, age, business model — and returns a range, a 0–100 operating score across six weighted factors, and (in Pro) a 30/60/90-day exit playbook with tasks. The formula and score weights are published on our methodology page.
The catch: it's an estimate, full stop — and for main-street SDE businesses it's the wrong instrument entirely (see #2).
2.BizBuySell's valuation calculator
- Best for
- Trades, restaurants, local services, small retail
- Price
- Free
- Platform
- Web calculator inside the largest US business marketplace
- Distinctive bit
- Real SDE multiples from actual listings and sales
For owner-operated businesses, this is the best free number you can get, because it's anchored to the marketplace where those businesses actually change hands. Twenty minutes browsing comparable listings afterwards will calibrate your expectations better than any paid report.
The catch: calculators miss what deals hinge on — owner dependence, customer concentration, records quality. It's a starting estimate, and the ecosystem around it (brokers, paid reports) is where the money goes.
3.BizEquity
- Best for
- Owners working with a financial advisor or broker
- Price
- Advisor-dependent; reseller packages ~$1,497 listed
- Distinctive bit
- Hundreds of thousands of valuations; advisor-channel recognition
If a professional is already in your corner, BizEquity is likely what they'll run — and access through an existing relationship often beats anything you'd buy directly. Its scale and patents are real institutional assets.
The catch: solo owners without an advisor hit a wall: opaque pricing and a process built around the advisor channel.
4.Equitest
- Best for
- Owners who need a polished document, self-serve
- Price
- Free trial; plans listed around $99/mo
- Distinctive bit
- ~35-page AI-generated reports with methods disclosed
When someone expects a document — a partner, a lender conversation, a licensing discussion — Equitest's questionnaire produces a formal-style report that reads like a deliverable, with an established review trail on G2 and AppSumo.
The catch: real subscription money for something that's still an estimate. Buy it for the format, not for accuracy you can take to a bank.
5.A certified appraiser
- Best for
- Loans, lawsuits, estates, taxes, serious sale processes
- Price
- Roughly $1,000 informal · $2,500–$5,000+ formal
- Distinctive bit
- The only entry here that's defensible
Software estimates; appraisers certify. When a counterparty can say "prove it," you need an ASA/NACVA-credentialed professional, and every tool above is a planning aid by comparison.
The catch: cost and weeks of process. Which is exactly why you use free software for the years of planning and buy this once, when it counts.
My pick, by situation
- Recurring-revenue founder who wants a number and a to-do list: EvalyMe Pro — that specific combination is why we built it.
- Owner-operator of a traditional business: BizBuySell's free calculator, then a broker conversation when you're serious.
- Someone needs a document from you: Equitest for speed, an appraiser for stakes.
- You have an advisor: ask what they can run for you before buying anything.
What I'd do today
- Classify your business: SDE-priced or revenue-multiple-priced.
- Run the matching free calculator — ten minutes, zero dollars.
- Write down the number's three weakest assumptions (churn? concentration? records?).
- Spend one quarter improving those, then re-run. The second number tells you more than the first.
Questions
Can software replace a professional valuation? +
For planning, curiosity, and before/after measurement — mostly yes. For a bank, a court, the IRS, or a serious buyer's diligence — no. Software produces estimates; professionals produce defensible documents. Most owners sensibly use software for years and hire a professional once, when the stakes require it.
How much should a small business owner pay for a valuation? +
Nothing, for planning purposes: free calculators cover it. Paid software ($15–$100/mo) makes sense when you'll re-run it regularly or want a polished report. Formal appraisals (roughly $1,000–$5,000+) are event purchases — buy when someone demands the document, not before.
What's the difference between SDE and revenue-multiple valuation? +
Owner-operated businesses (trades, restaurants, local services) sell on seller's discretionary earnings; software and recurring-revenue businesses sell on a multiple of revenue or ARR adjusted for growth and churn. BizBuySell's tool speaks SDE; EvalyMe speaks revenue multiples. Feeding the wrong shape of business to the wrong tool produces a confidently wrong number.
How often should I revalue my business? +
Quarterly is plenty for planning. What matters is re-running after material changes — a pricing shift, a churn problem, a big customer — because the useful information is which direction and why the number moved, not the number itself.
Competitor details from public sources, checked October 2026. EvalyMe outputs are estimates, not appraisals or investment advice.