The best free calculator depends on what you run. Traditional owner-operated business: BizBuySell's, because real marketplace SDE multiples beat any formula. Software or recurring-revenue business: ours, because MRR-native inputs beat SDE framing. Online business you might sell: Flippa's, because their market is where those assets trade. Run two, compare, trust the overlap.
- Main-street businesses
- BizBuySell — real SDE transaction data, the best free anchor for traditional SMBs.
- SaaS / recurring revenue
- EvalyMe — MRR, churn, growth, LTV/CAC in, range plus six-factor score out. No signup.
- Online businesses
- Flippa — free and unlimited, calibrated to their marketplace.
- SaaS comps cross-check
- Acquire.com's calculator — closed SaaS acquisitions as ground truth.
The picks at a glance
| Calculator | Best for | Price | What it wants in return |
|---|---|---|---|
| BizBuySell | Owner-operated, SDE-priced businesses | Free | Broker/marketplace engagement eventually |
| EvalyMe | Recurring-revenue and software businesses | Free, no signup | You trying the app (Pro $14.99/mo) |
| Flippa | Sites, stores, apps, small SaaS | Free, unlimited | A listing when you sell |
| Acquire.com | SaaS specifically | Free | A seller subscription if you list |
| Valzura | A formal PDF on a budget | Free estimate; ~$199 one-time report | The report upgrade |
What free calculators can and can't do
Can: put you in the right band, expose which variables drive your number, and give you a before/after instrument for improvement work. A free calculator used quarterly for two years is worth more than one paid report read once.
Can't: see customer concentration, owner dependence, deal structure, or strategic buyers. Industry commentary consistently notes real deals hinge on exactly those factors. Free tools produce bands; negotiations produce prices.
The disqualifier to watch for: a calculator that hides its mechanics and pushes an upgrade to "unlock your real valuation." That's a sales script wearing a lab coat.
1.BizBuySell's business value calculator
- Best for
- Traditional owner-operated businesses
- Price
- Free
- Why it's first
- Actual marketplace SDE multiples — the best free data in its segment
The data foundation is the whole story: multiples drawn from the largest US business-for-sale marketplace. For restaurants, trades, and local services, this free number is closer to reality than any paid general-purpose tool — including ours.
The catch: main-street math (SDE) applied to a software business misprices it badly, and the calculator is a doorway to broker attention.
2.EvalyMe's calculator ours
- Best for
- SaaS, apps, subscription businesses
- Price
- Free · no signup · computed in your browser
- Why it's here
- MRR-native inputs and a published formula, not SDE framing
Eight inputs, about sixty seconds, runs locally in your browser with no account. You get a range, a 0–100 operating score across six weighted factors, and a factor breakdown — and the full formula, base multiples, and score weights are published on the methodology page, so you can argue with the model instead of trusting it.
The catch: for SDE-priced businesses it's the wrong instrument — and being second on our own list behind BizBuySell for general small businesses is the honest ranking.
3.Flippa's valuation tool
- Best for
- Content sites, e-commerce stores, small apps and SaaS
- Price
- Free, unlimited
- Why it's here
- Calibrated to a marketplace where these assets actually sell
Flippa's instant estimate considers revenue, traffic, age, and niche — the variables online businesses trade on. If a marketplace listing is in your future, this number has a foot in reality that pure formula tools lack.
The catch: optimism sells listings. Discount accordingly and model the success fees (roughly 5–10%) before celebrating.
4.Acquire.com's SaaS valuation tool
- Best for
- SaaS founders wanting comps-grounded numbers
- Price
- Free
- Why it's here
- Grounded in closed SaaS acquisitions
For recurring-revenue software specifically, Acquire's calculator is the best free market-calibrated counterweight — it's the one we point to from our own methodology page.
The catch: comps reflect their marketplace's deal sizes and geography; the funnel wants sellers.
5.Valzura and the paid-report freebies
- Best for
- Wanting a document without subscription creep
- Price
- Free estimate; ~$199 one-time full report (as listed)
- Why it's here
- One-time pricing is a fair shape for a one-time document
A newer pattern: free unlimited estimates, one-time fee for the formal PDF. For owners who want a document once — not another subscription — that pricing shape is honest, and worth comparing against Equitest's monthly plans if a report is all you need.
The catch: younger tools carry less track record; sample the report format before paying, and read what the document claims to be (estimate, not appraisal).
My pick, by situation
- Traditional small business: BizBuySell. It's not close.
- Software / subscription business: EvalyMe (ours) with Acquire's as the market cross-check.
- Online business you might sell: Flippa first, ours second for the factor view.
- Everyone: run two calculators from different data worlds. Agreement is signal; divergence is homework.
What I'd do today
- Pick the two calculators that match your business type from the table above.
- Run both with the same honest numbers — round down where unsure.
- Write down the single variable that moved each result most.
- Improve that variable for a quarter, then re-run both. Repeat until you're selling or rich.
Questions
How accurate are free valuation calculators? +
As directional bands, useful; as point predictions, no. The best free tools are transparent about inputs (BizBuySell shows SDE multiples, EvalyMe publishes its formula) so you can sanity-check the mechanics. A 2026 analysis noted online tools typically land around 2.5–3× SDE while real deals move on factors calculators can't see — concentration, owner dependence, records. Trust the band, not the decimal.
Why are they free? What's the catch? +
Every free calculator is a top of a funnel, ours included: marketplaces want listings, report platforms want upgrades, and we want you to try the app. That doesn't make the numbers dishonest — it makes the incentives worth knowing. Ours: no account required, and the paid tier is playbooks, not 'unlock your real number.'
Can I use a free calculator number in negotiations? +
As a reference point with attribution, carefully ('public multiples put similar businesses at X–Y') — never as authority. A counterparty with a banker will eat a printout for breakfast. Bring clean financials and comps to any negotiation; the calculator is for you, before that room.
Why do two free calculators give different numbers? +
Different models, different data, different businesses they're calibrated for. SDE tools and revenue-multiple tools will disagree wildly for the same company because they're answering different questions. Divergence isn't a bug to resolve — it's information about which market prices your business.
Competitor details from public sources, checked October 2026. EvalyMe outputs are estimates, not appraisals or investment advice.