Software Valuation Multiples: 2015-2025

Software valuations influence markets and shape every exit decision. Over the past decade, valuation multiples have shifted sharply as investor priorities moved from growth at all costs to efficient, profitable expansion. In this article, we look at how software valuation multiples changed worldwide from 2015 to 2025 and why they matter to founders, executives, and investors.

Publicly traded software companies report valuation multiples every day, but the link to private deals is not always straightforward. Understanding that connection helps with both market read and exit timing. Public pricing now rewards cash flow, sustainable margins, and efficient growth; trends such as AI adoption, vertical SaaS, and usage-based pricing also shape investor expectations.

Private software firms differ meaningfully from their listed peers. Many are smaller, more focused on profitability, and operate outside major U.S. exchanges. To provide a more relevant view, we analyzed hundreds of private software M&A transactions completed between 2015 and September 2025. We examine how multiples vary by deal size, geography, business model, and growth profile to give practical benchmarks for funding and exits.

Table of Contents

1. Global Trends in Software Valuation
2. Software Valuation Multiples
3. What Drives Valuation Differences
4. Market Outlook for Software Valuations
5. About Aventis Advisors

Global Trends in Software Valuation

Understanding how software valuation multiples have evolved globally over the past decade provides essential context for today’s M&A market. After a long period of expansion fueled by low interest rates and high growth expectations, multiples reached record levels in 2021 before normalizing in the following years. To assess these changes accurately, we focused our research on private-market transactions rather than public-company benchmarks.

Private Markets Research Methodology

For this research, we reviewed a proprietary database of more than 45,000 software-company transactions completed worldwide. From this dataset, we identified 1,262 transactions with disclosed valuation multiples, including EV/Revenue and EV/EBITDA. Within this subset, 584 transactions reported EV/EBITDA multiples, allowing us to benchmark both growth-oriented and mature software companies.

Because valuation multiples are disclosed for only a fraction of private-market deals, the sample is not fully comprehensive. Even so, thousands of transactions across geographies, company sizes, and business models provide meaningful insight into how software companies are valued and what drives those differences.

Our review covered transactions from 2015 through September 2025 and examined how multiples vary by:

• Deal size – how larger transactions typically command premium valuations
• Geography – how U.S.-based SaaS companies and European peers differ in pricing
• Business model and growth profile – how recurring revenue models and strong cash flow affect EV/Revenue and EV/EBITDA multiples

The dataset included both on-premise and SaaS companies, reflecting the ongoing shift of many traditional software vendors toward subscription and cloud-based models.

This foundation allows us to explore how valuation multiples have evolved over time and what patterns have emerged across market segments.

Software Valuation Multiples

Over the past ten years, software companies have consistently been valued at robust valuation multiples, reflecting strong investor appetite for scalable, high-margin business models.

Across 1,262 transactions with disclosed EV/Revenue multiples, the median revenue stood at 3.7x, with the top quartile reaching 7.3x and the bottom quartile at 2.0x. This highlights how key factors such as growth rate, customer base quality, and recurring revenue influence outcomes.

584 transactions reported EV/EBITDA multiples for profitability-focused metrics, showing a median of 18.6x EBITDA. More profitable or strategically positioned companies reached 34.4x EBITDA or higher, while slower-growth or concentrated businesses traded at 10.8x.

These figures show how company performance and risk profile affect valuation. Businesses with strong revenue growth, diversified customers, and predictable earnings typically fall in the upper quartile, while smaller or lower‑growth companies trade closer to the lower quartile.

Median EV/Revenue multiples for software companies

Revenue multiples are widely used when valuing software companies, especially those investing heavily in growth while generating limited or no profit.

From our sample of 1,262 transactions, from 2015 to 2017, software company EV/Revenue multiples were relatively modest, mostly in the 2–4x range, reflecting steady but conservative market conditions.
In 2018–2019, multiples gradually expanded, reaching 4–5x as investor appetite for scalable SaaS businesses increased and cloud adoption accelerated.

A sharp spike occurred in 2021, when the median multiple peaked at 6.7x, fueled by abundant capital, low interest rates, and a strong focus on growth over profitability.

By 2022, sentiment shifted dramatically as interest rates rose and risk appetite declined, driving a steep correction with multiples falling to roughly 3x.

Through 2023 and 2024, EV/Revenue multiples stabilized at these lower levels, with H1 2025 medians at 2.6x, signaling a return to disciplined, profitability-driven dealmaking after the post-pandemic boom.

There is still significant dispersion in the market:

• Bottom quartile companies: ~2.0x revenue
• Top quartile companies: >7.3x revenue

Companies achieving premium valuations tend to share several characteristics:

• Large and growing addressable markets
• High revenue growth with a clear path to profitability
• Strong SaaS metrics, such as net revenue retention, low customer churn, and healthy LTV/CAC ratios

While revenue multiples remain a useful benchmark, they are ultimately a proxy for profitability. Investors still base long-term value on the company’s ability to generate sustainable cash flow.

Median EV/EBITDA multiples for software companies

EBITDA multiples are commonly used to value mature software companies with stable cash flow, slower growth, or niche operations.

From 1,262 transactions with disclosed EV/EBITDA multiples, the median for the past ten years is 18.6x. From 2015 to 2019, software company EV/EBITDA multiples remained relatively steady, fluctuating mostly between 15x and 20x, indicating a stable and balanced valuation environment.

In 2020, valuations dipped slightly to 14.6x, reflecting uncertainty at the onset of the pandemic.
This was followed by a strong surge in 2021, when the median multiple climbed to 26.1x in H2, driven by abundant capital, ultra-low interest rates, and aggressive growth-focused investment.

The momentum peaked in H2 2022 at 39.9x, marking the highest valuation levels of the decade, before a rapid correction began later that year as rising interest rates and tightening capital markets shifted investor focus toward profitability.

Through 2023 and 2024, EV/EBITDA multiples normalized to the 17–22x range, reflecting a return to more disciplined, fundamentals-driven pricing. By H2 2025, the median multiple stood at 17.6x, reinforcing this stabilization. Given the small sample size, the apparent uptick to 28.4x in H2 2025 should be viewed cautiously.

What Drives Valuation Differences

SaaS vs. On-Premise Software Multiples

In recent years, much of the discussion around software valuations has focused on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies. In our analysis, we did not separate SaaS and on-premise vendors because the distinction has largely blurred.

Many traditional vendors now offer cloud-enabled or hybrid delivery and rely on subscription-based revenue. At the same time, investors have shifted focus from pure growth to efficiency and sustainable cash flow, meaning even SaaS businesses must demonstrate profitability to command premium valuations.

In practice, SaaS companies still trade at slightly higher revenue multiples, largely due to lower technical debt and stronger long-term growth prospects. However, this spread has narrowed significantly compared with the high-growth years before 2022.