SDE Multiple Calculator for Owner-Operated Small Businesses
Businessappraisal estimates value for owner-operated businesses using seller discretionary earnings, or SDE, which adds the owner salary and perks back to profit. You enter your numbers and it returns a range, so a main-street business can be valued the way buyers and brokers actually price it.
Last updated July 2026
Estimated business value
Method breakdown
What moves this number
Estimate, not a certified appraisal. Your figures are not stored.
In short
An SDE multiple calculator estimates the worth of an owner-operated business by applying a market multiple to its seller discretionary earnings, which is profit plus the owner salary, benefits, and one-time costs added back. Businessappraisal computes your SDE and applies an industry multiple, so many small businesses estimate in the 2x to 4x SDE range depending on sector and stability. It returns a low-to-high range with the SDE and multiple it used, not a single promised price. This is an educational estimate to help you plan, not a certified appraisal or financial advice.
What you get
SDE multiple, for founders, buyers, and sellers
Built for owner-run businesses
SDE adds the owner salary and personal add-backs back to profit, which is how buyers value a business one person effectively runs.
Clear add-back logic
Businessappraisal shows each add-back it applied, from owner compensation to one-time expenses, so your SDE is easy to check.
Anchored to broker ranges
Many small businesses estimate near 2x to 4x SDE, so your figure sits against how comparable listings are typically priced.
Transparent range
You get a low-to-high estimate with the SDE and multiple shown, keeping the result honest and defensible.
How it works
From your numbers to a value range in four steps
Enter your financials
Provide profit, owner salary, benefits, and one-time costs so Businessappraisal can build your seller discretionary earnings.
AI applies the multiple
It selects an SDE multiple from comparable small-business sales and applies it to your calculated SDE.
Get the value range
You receive a low-to-high estimate showing your SDE and the multiple, framed as an educational estimate.
Understand the drivers
See how owner dependence, margins, and industry moved the multiple so you know what raises or lowers the estimate.
Which SDE multiple applies to your sector
The 2x to 4x band is the whole market. Your sector sits somewhere inside it, and the spread is wide enough to matter: across roughly 9,500 US small business sales the all-industry average was about 2.5x SDE, but marinas closed at 6.60x, car washes at 4.73x, storage facilities at 4.60x, HVAC at 2.80x, restaurants at 2.26x, and distribution routes at 1.51x.
Our reference table of SDE multiples by industry lists the closed-transaction median for more than 90 US sectors, explains why sell-side advisors quote higher ranges than the medians, and covers the SBA financing constraint that caps most Main Street deals near 3x. Find your row there before you apply a multiple to your own earnings.
Why the multiple stops being the right question above $1M
SDE describes what one working owner takes out of a business, which is exactly what an individual buyer needs to know. Once earnings pass roughly $750,000 a second buyer pool appears: search funds and small private equity sponsors who hire a manager and therefore price on EBITDA, usually one to two turns higher on the same financials.
Sellers in that overlap band lose money by presenting only one figure. A business at $900,000 of earnings shown purely as SDE attracts individual buyers at roughly 3x. The same business shown with a defensible EBITDA figure also reaches sponsors. If your earnings are near or above that line, read EBITDA multiples by industry alongside the SDE table, and work through SDE vs EBITDA so the two numbers are not accidentally compared against each other.
Questions
SDE multiple questions people ask
What is SDE in business valuation?
Seller discretionary earnings is the total financial benefit one working owner takes from a business: net profit plus owner salary, benefits, personal expenses run through the company, interest, taxes, depreciation, and one-time costs. It is the standard earnings measure for valuing owner-operated businesses, because it shows what a new owner-operator would actually earn.
What is a typical SDE multiple for a small business?
Most owner-operated small businesses sell for 2x to 4x SDE, with the middle of the market around 2.5x to 3x. Stable earnings, recurring customers, and a business that runs without the owner push toward the top of the band; heavy owner dependence or customer concentration pulls it down.
What is the difference between SDE and EBITDA?
SDE adds the full owner salary back to earnings; EBITDA keeps a market-rate manager salary in the costs. SDE fits businesses one owner effectively runs, EBITDA fits businesses with a management team. The practical line: under roughly $1M in earnings buyers quote SDE multiples, above $2M to $3M they quote EBITDA multiples.
How do I calculate my SDE?
Start with net profit, then add back your salary and payroll taxes, personal expenses the business pays, interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and true one-time costs. Document every add-back, because buyers will test each one. The result is the earnings figure a broker or buyer will multiply to price the business.
More valuation methods
Businessappraisal provides an educational estimate for informational purposes only. It is not a certified appraisal or financial advice. For a formal valuation, consult a credentialed appraiser.
See what your business is worth
Enter your numbers and get an estimate from three methods in minutes, benchmarked against comparable sales, with the drivers explained.