Correction — September 30, 2026
Earlier versions of this guide said the median public SaaS company traded at 6.8x NTM revenue in May 2026 "per BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index data and Jamin Ball's Clouded Judgement tracker," and showed quartile and Rule of 40 multiples. Clouded Judgement's median was 3.2x on May 8, 2026, and we could not find a source for the quartile and Rule of 40 figures. The data, the worked example and the headline now use Clouded Judgement's dated readings.
The median public cloud software company traded at 3.2x NTM revenue on May 8, 2026, per Clouded Judgement. On Nov 26, 2021, that number was 13.5x; on Feb 19, 2021, it was 20.0x. The correction is real, it is documented, and if you are valuing a SaaS company without the right comparables set, you are guessing.
SaaS comps are not optional. They are the foundation of any credible SaaS valuation — whether you are raising a round, making an investment, or running an M&A process. Getting the comps right means knowing which public companies to include, which metrics to weight, and how to translate a public multiple into a private company price. That matters even more when public market sentiment is stretched — BofA's Bull & Bear Indicator hitting a sell signal in August 2026 is exactly the kind of backdrop where the comp set you're using deserves a downside sensitivity check.
What Are SaaS Comps and Why Do They Matter?
SaaS comparables are a curated set of public SaaS companies that share key characteristics — growth rate, gross margin, ARR scale, go-to-market motion, and vertical focus — with the company you are trying to value. The premise is simple: the market has already priced these companies. You use that market pricing to benchmark the private company.
The most commonly used SaaS multiple is EV/NTM Revenue (enterprise value divided by next-twelve-months revenue). NTM is preferred over LTM (last-twelve-months) because it is forward-looking and better reflects growth expectations. Investors pay for the future, not the past.
EV/NTM Revenue
Most widely used SaaS multiple — forward-looking, growth-adjusted
EV/ARR
Used for pre-revenue or early-stage companies where GAAP revenue lags ARR
EV/NTM Gross Profit
Better for comparing companies with very different gross margin profiles
EV/EBITDA
Relevant for profitable or near-profitable SaaS companies with >$50M ARR
Current Public SaaS Comps: The Data (May 2026)
Here is where public SaaS multiples actually sat in May 2026, from Clouded Judgement's May 8, 2026 readings: the median enterprise value (market cap + debt − cash) divided by next-twelve-months revenue, overall and by projected growth.
| Segment (projected NTM growth) | Median EV/NTM Rev (May 8, 2026) |
|---|---|
| All public cloud software | 3.2x |
| High growth (>22%) | 12.6x |
| Mid growth (15–22%) | 5.2x |
| Low growth (<15%) | 2.5x |
| Top five multiples | 21.1x |
Source: Clouded Judgement (Jamin Ball), May 8, 2026. Clouded Judgement publishes medians by growth bucket. Earlier versions of this table also showed quartiles and Rule of 40 splits; we could not find a source for them, so they were removed.
How to Build the Right SaaS Comps Set
The most common mistake founders and investors make with SaaS comps is picking companies that look similar on the surface but have fundamentally different economics. Here is the screen I use:
1. Match gross margins first
SaaS gross margins vary from 55% (infrastructure-heavy) to 85% (pure software). A 70% gross margin company should not be compared against a 55% gross margin company — the underlying unit economics are incomparable. Only include comps with gross margins within ±10 percentage points.
2. Match revenue growth bands
The biggest driver of EV/Revenue multiples is growth rate. Group comps into bands: <10%, 10–20%, 20–40%, >40%. Mixing a 15% grower with a 45% grower in the same comps set produces a meaningless average. Stick within a ±15 percentage point range.
3. Match go-to-market motion
PLG (product-led growth) companies, enterprise sales-led companies, and SMB-focused companies command fundamentally different multiples because their churn, CAC, and expansion revenue dynamics differ. Segment your comps by primary GTM motion.
4. Match ARR scale
A $5M ARR company should not use a $500M ARR company as a comp. Scale affects predictability, churn rates, and growth potential. For private company valuation, use comps that were at a similar scale at a similar stage — look at historical filings if needed.
5. Apply a private-market discount
Private companies are illiquid, typically smaller, and carry higher key-person and concentration risk. The standard private discount to public SaaS comps is 20–30% for Series B+ companies and 30–40% for Seed/Series A. In the current risk-off environment (2024–2026), apply the higher end of these ranges.
Where to Find Public SaaS Comparables
These are the sources I actually use. All are either free or low-cost:
Jamin Ball – Clouded Judgement
Weekly tracker of public cloud software multiples: the median EV/NTM revenue multiple, overall and by growth bucket.
cloudedjudgement.substack.com
BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index
Bessemer's public cloud index, with constituent-level multiples and financial data. Its headline revenue multiple is an average, not a median.
cloudindex.bvp.com
SEC EDGAR Filings
10-K and 10-Q filings give you exact ARR, NRR, gross margin, and CAC data for any public SaaS company — straight from the source.
sec.gov/edgar
Value Add VC SaaS Dashboard
Revenue multiples, growth and Rule of 40 data for a set of public tech companies (Yahoo Finance data; check the update date shown on the dashboard).
/saas-valuations
Applying SaaS Comps to a Real Valuation
Here is how to translate a public comps set into a private company price. Assume you are valuing a Series B SaaS company with $8M ARR, growing 35% YoY, 74% gross margin, 115% NRR, and no meaningful profitability (Rule of 40 score of ~35%).
SaaS comps are only as good as the selection criteria you use.
Growth rate, gross margin, and Rule of 40 — not industry category — should determine which companies end up in your comp set.
Track live public SaaS multiples and build your own comps set on the SaaS Valuations Dashboard. For broader market context, see the Benchmarking tool at Value Add VC. Originally published in the Trace Cohen newsletter.
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