What does the One-Person SaaS Valuation Calculator estimate?

It estimates the sale price a solo-operated SaaS might fetch in the current micro-acquisition market. It takes six inputs — ARR, annual profit, monthly growth, months churn, years in operation, and owner hours per week — and blends a revenue multiple, an SDE multiple (SDE is derived from profit plus imputed owner time), and a profit multiple.

Can I verify it with a worked example?

Yes. With ARR = $240,000, annual profit = $120,000, 3% monthly growth, 3% monthly churn, 3 years in operation, 10 owner hrs/week: revenue multiple 3.5× → $840,000; SDE multiple 2.5× on derived SDE $146,000 → $365,000; profit multiple 4.0× → $480,000; blended estimate $542,000, range $365K – $840K.

Methodology: One-Person SaaS Valuation

1. Scope

The One-Person SaaS Valuation Calculator estimates the sale price a solo-operated SaaS might fetch in the current micro-acquisition market. It runs three methods — a revenue multiple on ARR, an SDE multiple, and a profit multiple — then blends them into one estimate with a low/high band from the spread across methods. The multiples move with growth rate, churn, years in operation, and owner dependency, anchored to published indie/micro-acquisition data from Acquire.com, FE International, and Quiet Light Brokerage. It is an indicative valuation, not a formal appraisal.

2. Inputs and outputs

Inputs: ARR (annual recurring revenue), annual profit, monthly growth rate (% per month), monthly churn rate (%), years in operation, and owner hours per week. SDE is derived rather than entered: annual profit plus an imputed owner salary of owner-hours × 52 × $50/hr. There is no tech-stack, customer-concentration, or sellability input.

Outputs: a value and multiple for each method (revenue, SDE, profit), a blended estimate (weighted 30% revenue / 40% SDE / 30% profit), a low/high band from the lowest and highest method values, and factor notes explaining how growth, churn, owner dependency, and track record moved the multiples.

Engine source: src/lib/one-person-saas-valuation/engine.ts.

3. Formula / scoring logic

# Derived owner earnings ($50/hr imputed rate for owner time)
sde = annual_profit + owner_hours_per_week * 52 * 50

# Each multiple starts from a base and takes additive adjustments,
# then is clamped to a band. growth is monthly %, churn is monthly %.
revenue_multiple  base 2.5; +0.5/+1.0/+1.5 as growth passes 2/5/10%;
                  -0.5/-1.0 as churn passes 3/5%; +0.5 at 3yrs, +0.3 at 5yrs   -> clamp 2.0-5.0
sde_multiple      base 2.5; +0.5/+1.0 as growth passes 5/10%; -0.5 if churn>5%;
                  +0.5 if owner<10h/wk, -0.5 if owner>30h/wk                    -> clamp 2.0-4.0
profit_multiple   base 3.5; +0.8/+1.5 as growth passes 5/10%; -0.8 if churn>5%;
                  +0.5 if churn<2%; +0.5 at 3yrs                                -> clamp 3.0-6.0

revenue_value = ARR           * revenue_multiple
sde_value     = sde           * sde_multiple
profit_value  = annual_profit * profit_multiple

blended = 0.3 * revenue_value + 0.4 * sde_value + 0.3 * profit_value
low     = min(revenue_value, sde_value, profit_value)
high    = max(revenue_value, sde_value, profit_value)

4. Assumptions

Micro-acquisition population. Base multiples target solo-operated SaaS with < $2M ARR. Larger businesses trade through different broker pools (FE International, Quiet Light above ~$500K; investment banks above ~$5M) with different multiple bands.
Revenue multiple is most informative for high-growth businesses. SDE and profit multiples are more informative for steady-state owner-operator businesses where margin is already extracted.
Owner earnings are imputed at $50/hr. SDE = annual profit + owner-hours × 52 × $50. If your true owner-labour value differs, the SDE method shifts with it.
Owner dependency is priced by hours per week. Under 10h/week lifts the SDE multiple; over 30h/week discounts it, reflecting transition risk for a buyer.
Growth multiples are time-sensitive. A fast grower trades well above a flat one. Peak-cycle growth premiums (2020–2021) have compressed.
Qualitative factors are not inputs. Customer concentration, tech-stack quality, and documentation move real deals but are not modelled here. Adjust the output yourself for those.

5. Data sources

Acquire.com (formerly MicroAcquire) — aggregate micro-SaaS deal data, self-reported multiples. Base reference for < $1M ARR.
FE International — valuation reports — mid-market SaaS deal multiples (typically $500K–$20M revenue).
Quiet Light Brokerage — industry reports — SaaS and content-site multiples by size and growth tier.
Bessemer State of the Cloud 2024 — public-SaaS revenue multiples; useful as a cycle reference but should be heavily discounted (20–40%) for private micro-SaaS.

6. Known limitations

Multiples are self-reported and biased toward successful closings. Acquire.com aggregate data reflects deals that closed; failed / withdrawn listings are not included.
Narrow sample size at the extremes. Very-high-growth micro-SaaS (> 100% YoY) and very-old micro-SaaS are both outside the typical marketplace sample; multiples here are more editorial than data-driven.
Qualitative factors sit outside the model. Customer concentration, code quality, and documentation are not inputs, yet they move real offers. Treat the output as a starting point and adjust for them, and pair it with a third-party audit if the decision is material.
Tax consequences of sale are not modelled. Asset vs stock sale, ordinary-income vs capital-gains treatment, and seller-note mechanics all materially change net proceeds. Consult a tax professional.
Market-cycle sensitivity. A 2021 multiple applied in 2024 could be 1.5–2× too high. The tool's base bands are refreshed periodically; check the as-of date.

7. Reproducibility

Input
ARR = $240,000 ($20K MRR), annual profit = $120,000, monthly growth = 3%, monthly churn = 3%, years in operation = 3, owner hours = 10/wk.

Expected output
Derived SDE = $120,000 + 10 × 52 × $50 = $146,000. Revenue multiple 3.5× → revenue_value $840,000. SDE multiple 2.5× → sde_value $365,000. Profit multiple 4.0× → profit_value $480,000. Blended (0.3/0.4/0.3) ≈ $542,000, low/high band $365,000 – $840,000. Micro-SaaS of this profile commonly lists in this range on Acquire.com.

8. Change log

2026-04-24methodology page first published. Multiple bands anchored to Acquire.com, FE International, and Quiet Light 2024 data.

Worked example

Run live against the same engine this site ships (/engines/one-person-saas-valuation.js). The inputs and outputs below are recomputed on every build and independently re-verified in CI — they are never hand-authored.

Input

tool: one_person_saas_valuation
arr: 100000
annual_profit: 40000
monthly_growth_rate: 5
years_in_operation: 2
churn_rate: 5
owner_hours_per_week: 20

Output

methods[0].name: Revenue Multiple
methods[0].multiple: 2.5
methods[0].value: 250000
methods[0].basis: 100000
methods[0].basisLabel: ARR
methods[1].name: SDE Multiple
methods[1].multiple: 2.5
methods[1].value: 230000
methods[1].basis: 92000
methods[1].basisLabel: SDE
methods[2].name: Profit Multiple
methods[2].multiple: 3.5
methods[2].value: 140000
methods[2].basis: 40000
methods[2].basisLabel: Annual Profit
blendedEstimate: 209000
blendedLow: 140000
blendedHigh: 250000
factors[0].name: Growth rate
factors[0].impact: neutral
factors[0].detail: 5% monthly growth is modest. Higher growth commands premium multiples.
factors[1].name: Churn rate
factors[1].impact: neutral
factors[1].detail: 5% monthly churn is within the typical 2-5% micro-SaaS band. Reducing it would directly increase valuation.
factors[2].name: Owner dependency
factors[2].impact: neutral
factors[2].detail: 20h/week is moderate. Automating or documenting processes would improve valuation.
factors[3].name: Track record
factors[3].impact: neutral
factors[3].detail: 2 years is early. More history increases buyer confidence.
insight: A $8333.33 MRR SaaS with 5% churn and 5% monthly growth is worth approximately $140,000 to $250,000, using indie/micro-SaaS multiples from platforms like Acquire.com and MicroAcquire.

Frequently asked questions

What does the One-Person SaaS Valuation Calculator estimate?: It estimates the sale price a solo-operated SaaS might fetch in the current micro-acquisition market. It takes six inputs — ARR, annual profit, monthly growth, months churn, years in operation, and owner hours per week — and blends a revenue multiple, an SDE multiple (SDE is derived from profit plus imputed owner time), and a profit multiple.
Is this a formal appraisal?: No. It is an indicative valuation, not a formal appraisal.
Can I verify it with a worked example?: Yes. With ARR = $240,000, annual profit = $120,000, 3% monthly growth, 3% monthly churn, 3 years in operation, 10 owner hrs/week: revenue multiple 3.5× → $840,000; SDE multiple 2.5× on derived SDE $146,000 → $365,000; profit multiple 4.0× → $480,000; blended estimate $542,000, range $365K – $840K.