In short
Owner-operated businesses mostly sell for 2–3.5x seller’s discretionary earnings (SDE); businesses with $1M+ of EBITDA typically 4–6x EBITDA (IBBA Market Pulse, Q2 2026: 4.0x for $2–5M deals, 5.8x for $5–50M deals); consolidating sectors such as insurance, veterinary, dental and managed IT reach 7–10x at that size, and more at platform scale. Healthcare and insurance sectors sit at the higher end, home services and trades in the middle, and owner-dependent service businesses at the lower end. These are market ranges, not a quote or a guarantee. Within every sector, recurring revenue and management depth explain most of the difference between the top and bottom of the range.
Published multiple ranges
Market ranges, not a quote or a guarantee.
Market ranges from published transaction data: seller’s discretionary earnings (SDE) for owner-operated businesses, adjusted EBITDA for businesses with roughly $1M+ of EBITDA, and platform-scale deals shown separately. Treat all of these as starting points, not quotes or guarantees:
| Sector | Owner-operated (× SDE) | ~$1M+ EBITDA (× EBITDA) | Platform-scale deals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance agencies | 2–3.5x (~1.5x commissions) | 7–10x | 10–13x+ |
| Veterinary practices | 1.5–3.5x | 6.5–9.5x | 9–12x+ |
| Dental practices | 1.5–3.5x | 6–9x | 9–12x |
| Managed IT services (MSPs) | 2–3.5x | 5.5–8.5x | 8–12x |
| Pest control | 1.5–3x | 6–9x | 8–10x+ |
| Home health / home care | 2–3.5x | 5.5–8.5x | 9–12x |
| Accounting / CPA firms | 1.5–2.5x (~1x revenue) | 5.5–8.5x | 10–15x |
| Physical therapy | 1.5–3x | 6–8.5x | 10–13x |
| HVAC | 2–3.5x | 5–8x | 8–12x+ |
| Med spas | 2–3.5x | 4.5–7.5x | 7–12x |
| Plumbing | 1.5–3x | 4.5–7x | 7–10x |
| Landscaping | 1.5–3x | 4.5–7x | 8–12x |
| Roofing | 2–3x | 4.5–7x | 8–10x |
| Optometry | 1.5–3x | 5–7.5x | 8–12x |
| Auto repair / collision | 1.5–3x | 4–6.5x | 8–12x |
| Staffing | 2–3x | 4–6.5x | 6–9x |
| Construction | 2–3x | 4–6x | 6–8x |
| Childcare | 2–4x | 4–6x | 6–8x+ |
| Gyms / fitness | 1.5–3x | 3.5–6x | 5–8x |
| E-commerce | 2.5–4x | 3.5–6x | 6–10x |
| Restaurants | 1.5–2.5x | 3.5–5.5x (multi-unit) | 5–7x |
| Pharmacies | 1.5–3.5x | 3–5.5x | Specialty higher |
| Trucking | 2–3.5x | 3–5x | 4–6x |
| Most other businesses (IBBA) | 2–3.5x | 4–6x | — |
SDE for owner-operated businesses; adjusted EBITDA for businesses with roughly $1M+ of EBITDA. Platform-scale deals are a small minority of sales. Market data from published transaction reports and sold-business comparables, not a quote or a guarantee.
Deeper sector guides: insurance agency valuation → · HVAC valuation → · dental practice EBITDA multiples → · how to sell a med spa →
Sector-by-sector valuation guides with fuller detail: pest control · roofing · staffing · trucking · pharmacy · optometry · auto repair · restaurants · gyms · childcare · construction · e-commerce. Or apply your own numbers in the free 60-second valuation calculator — no email needed.
The multiple prices risk. In every sector listed above, the businesses at the top of the range share the same characteristics: revenue that recurs under contract rather than being re-won each year, a management layer so the business does not depend on the owner, a diversified customer base, clean financials that survive diligence, and staff who intend to stay.
The businesses at the bottom of the range are profitable but fragile — usually because the owner is the business. Moving from the bottom to the top of your sector's range is generally a two-year project, and it is worth far more than any negotiating tactic.
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Larger businesses sell for higher multiples than smaller ones in the same industry, a pattern often called the size premium. A business with $500K of EBITDA and one with $5M of EBITDA in the same sector will not be valued the same way, because the larger business is usually less owner-dependent, has real management, and opens up a deeper pool of institutional buyers.
This is one reason owners considering a sale in two or three years are often better served by growing deliberately first — the multiple rises along with the earnings it is applied to.
There is no single good multiple — it depends on your sector, your size, and your risk profile. Owner-operated businesses mostly sell for 2–3.5x seller’s discretionary earnings (SDE), businesses with $1M+ of EBITDA typically 4–6x EBITDA, and consolidating sectors 7–10x at that size, with platform-scale deals higher. These are market ranges, not a quote or a guarantee. A useful test is whether you are at the top or bottom of your own industry's range, and what would need to change to move up within it.
Because the multiple prices the certainty of future profit. Recurring contracted revenue, management depth, customer diversification, clean financials, and staff stability all push the multiple up. Owner dependence, customer concentration, project-based revenue, and messy books push it down. Two businesses with identical profit can be worth very different amounts for these reasons alone.
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