Compared
Businessappraisal vs a Business Broker Valuation
A broker or CPA valuation is a formal, paid engagement running roughly $1,500 to $15,000. Businessappraisal is the fast exploration step before it. Here is which one you actually need right now, and in what order.
Last updated July 2026
Estimated business value
Method breakdown
What moves this number
Estimate, not a certified appraisal. Your figures are not stored.
The short answer
Businessappraisal and a business broker valuation solve different stages of the same question. A broker or CPA valuation is a thorough, documented, hands-on engagement, typically about $1,500 to $15,000 and days to weeks, and it is what you commission when you are ready to sell or need a formal number. Businessappraisal is the pre-appraisal exploration layer: in minutes it triangulates three methods, shows the comparable sales behind the multiple, and explains the drivers, so you can size up the range privately first. It is an educational estimate, not a certified appraisal, meant to sit before a broker, not replace one.
| Dimension | Businessappraisal | Business broker valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Answer in minutes | Yes | No |
| Self-serve, no scheduling | Yes | No |
| Comparable-sale benchmarks shown | Yes | Yes |
| Transparent, low, public pricing | Yes | No |
| Thorough, documented formal engagement | No | Yes |
| Educational estimate, not a certified appraisal | Yes | It is a formal valuation |
What you are buying for $1,500 to $15,000
A formal business valuation is a professional engagement, not a document. Someone with a CVA, ABV, or ASA credential normalizes your financials, interviews you about the operation, researches comparable transactions, applies and reconciles multiple approaches, and signs an opinion they can defend. The fee typically runs $1,500 to $15,000 depending on scope, company size, and the standard required, and delivery takes days to weeks.
You are paying for three things software cannot supply. First, judgment about your specific facts, such as whether a related-party lease is at market or whether that add-back survives scrutiny. Second, defensibility, meaning a named professional stands behind the number in front of the IRS, a court, a lender, or a buyer attorney. Third, standards compliance, because tax and litigation work has rules about how the opinion must be produced.
Businessappraisal does none of that, and it never claims to. What it does is give you the range in minutes, from three methods, with the comparable sales behind the multiple shown, for $29 a month. It is an educational estimate designed to sit before a formal engagement, not to replace one.
The mistake owners make is not choosing wrong between the two. It is buying the expensive one first, discovering the business is worth 40 percent less than assumed, and shelving the whole plan with a $6,000 invoice already paid.
A broker opinion of value is free, and that tells you what it is for
Most business brokers will value your company at no charge. That is not charity and it is not a scam. It is the front end of a listing agreement, and it is a completely normal way for that industry to work. You should just read the number in that light.
| Businessappraisal | Broker opinion of value | Certified appraisal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | $29 per month | Free | $1,500 to $15,000 |
| Turnaround | Minutes | Days | Days to weeks |
| Provider incentive | A software subscription | Winning your listing | Professional fee, independent of outcome |
| Defensible to IRS or a court | No | No | Yes |
| Accepted by SBA lenders | No | No | Yes, from a qualified source |
| Confidential from the market | Yes | You are now in a broker pipeline | Yes |
| Real market feel for your area | Benchmark data | Genuinely strong | Strong |
Look at the last row honestly. A broker who has closed fourteen deals in your industry within a hundred miles knows things no dataset captures: which buyers are active, what landlords will assign, how long a liquor license transfer takes in your county. That local knowledge is real value and it costs you nothing to hear.
The catch is direction of bias, and it cuts both ways. Some opinions come in high to win the listing. Some come in low to make the sale easy. Neither is malicious; both are shaped by the incentive in the table. Knowing your own range first means you can tell which one you are hearing. We laid out the full fee landscape in how much a business valuation costs.
A $4.2M landscaping company: what running the estimate first saved
A commercial landscaping and snow removal company in Minnesota. Revenue $4.2M, seller discretionary earnings $780,000, twelve trucks with $610,000 of remaining debt, and about 60 percent of revenue under annual maintenance contracts. The owner assumed the business was worth $4M because someone told him companies sell for about revenue.
The self-serve estimate took twenty minutes and returned a very different picture:
| Method | Applied to the landscaper | Indicated value |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue multiple | 0.62x on $4.2M | $2,604,000 |
| SDE multiple | 3.5x on $780,000 | $2,730,000 |
| Discounted cash flow | Truck replacement capital spending held in | $2,480,000 |
| Reconciled range, before debt | Contracted revenue supports the upper half | $2.5M to $2.8M |
Two consequences followed. He did not pay for a formal appraisal that year, because the gap between his expectation and the market was large enough that the real work was operational, not documentary. And he learned which lever moved: contracted recurring revenue is the reason this business earns 3.5x instead of 2.8x, so pushing maintenance contracts from 60 percent to 80 percent of revenue over two seasons is worth more than any negotiation tactic. That is the kind of thing value driver analysis is for, and the multiple logic is explained further in what multiple does my business sell for.
When he does go to market, he will commission the formal valuation, because a buyer with an SBA loan will require one. The estimate did not replace that engagement. It told him when to schedule it. Figures are illustrative.
The sequence that saves the most money
Run it in this order and you rarely waste a fee:
- Estimate the range yourself. Minutes, $29, nobody knows you are looking. You find out whether you are in the neighborhood of your goal.
- Fix what the drivers tell you. Customer concentration, owner dependence, messy books, and month-to-month leases all cost real multiple points. Most take six to twenty-four months to move.
- Talk to two or three brokers. Free, and you gain local market intelligence. Compare their opinions against the range you already know.
- Commission the formal valuation when the transaction is real. Lender requirement, estate filing, partner buyout, or a serious buyer at the table.
Skip straight to step four and you may pay several thousand dollars to learn something step one would have told you for $29. Skip step four when a bank, the IRS, or a court is involved and you will simply be sent back to do it. The distinction between the two documents is worth ten minutes of reading: see certified appraisal versus estimate.
To be direct about our own limits: this is an educational estimate. It does not carry a credential, it does not come with a signature, and no lender will accept it. It is the cheapest way to find out whether the expensive step is worth taking. More detail sits on our broker appraisal alternatives page and in the wider software comparison.
Questions
Broker and appraisal questions people actually ask
How much does a business valuation cost?
A formal business valuation from a credentialed professional generally runs $1,500 to $15,000, driven by company size, scope, and whether the opinion must satisfy the IRS or a court. A broker opinion of value is usually free. Self-serve software estimates cost a small monthly subscription.
Do business brokers charge for a valuation?
Most brokers provide an opinion of value at no cost, because it is how they win listings. That makes it useful market intelligence and a poor independent benchmark. Read it alongside your own estimate so you can tell whether the number was set to win your business or to sell it fast.
What is the difference between a business valuation and a business appraisal?
The terms overlap in everyday use, but appraisal usually implies a formal, credentialed opinion prepared to a professional standard and signed by the appraiser. Valuation is the broader word and covers everything from a software estimate to a full engagement. Only the credentialed version is defensible to third parties.
Do I need a certified appraisal to sell my business?
Not always. A private sale between two willing parties may never need one. You will need a formal valuation if an SBA lender is financing the buyer above their threshold, if there is a partner buyout, or if the IRS or a court has an interest in the number.
How long does a business valuation take?
A formal engagement typically takes days to weeks, since the analyst normalizes financials, interviews management, and researches comparables. A broker opinion usually comes back in a few days. A software estimate takes minutes once you have your profit and loss and add-backs in front of you.
Verdict
The bottom line
Pick a business broker or CPA valuation when you are ready to sell or need a formal, documented number and can invest the time and fee. Pick Businessappraisal first to explore the range in minutes, understand the drivers, and decide whether a paid engagement is worth commissioning.