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AI SaaS Valuation Calculator

What an AI app or GPT wrapper sells for: fast growth against high churn, thin margins after model costs and dependence on one LLM API.

Updated · By Niraj Kumar · 4 sources

Revenue

$

Average of the last three months, before payment fees and platform shares.

%
−10%30%

After churn. 8% a month is 152% a year.

%
0%20%

MRR lost each month to cancellations and downgrades, as a share of MRR.

$
months

Months of revenue a buyer can verify.

Costs and margin

%
0%100%

Revenue left after hosting, payment fees, platform shares and model or API costs.

$

Tools, contractors, support staff. Leave out your own pay and marketing.

Acquisition

$

0 if growth is all organic.

Risk and founder

Support, development, marketing: everything a buyer would take over.

$/h

What a buyer would pay a hire or contractor. Used for EBITDA.

Platform dependencyPlatform dependency
%
0%100%
Estimated exit value$244,000Range $162,000 to $325,000
SDE, a year
$31,200
Profit before your pay, valued at 1.50×
EBITDA, a year
-$46,800
After $78,000 to replace your 25 hours a week
MRR multiple
20.3×
1.69× ARR
Revenue cross-check
$369,000
$144,000 ARR × 2.56×; the estimate weighs profit 39%, revenue 61%
LTV:CAC
7.3
LTV $122, CAC $17, paid back in 1.5 months
How the multiple is builtTurns of SDE added or taken off, largest first.
FactorTurns
Base: SDE under $50k2.50×
More than doubling a year+1.00
Churn 6 to 10% a month−0.80
Platform risk: high−0.70
Under a year of history−0.50
Founder works 20 to 40 hours−0.30
Gross margin 50 to 70%−0.30
LTV:CAC 3 or more+0.25
No customer over 10% of revenue0
SDE multiple (held within 1.5× to 8×, from 1.15×)1.50×
From revenue to SDE and EBITDA, a year
ARR (MRR × 12)$144,000
Cost of revenue (45%)-$64,800
Gross profit$79,200
Operating costs-$18,000
Paid marketing-$30,000
SDE$31,200
Founder's time (25 h × $60 × 52)-$78,000
EBITDA-$46,800
SDE multiple for each example businessEach vertical's starting example on these pages. Hover or focus a row for its value and churn.
  1. 1Developer tool / API4.8× SDE
  2. 2B2B SaaS3.8× SDE
  3. 3WordPress plugin3.0× SDE
  4. 4Shopify app3.0× SDE
  5. 5Chrome extension2.1× SDE
  6. 6Productised service1.8× SDE
  7. 7Notion / no-code templates1.5× SDE
  8. 8AI wrapper / GPT app1.5× SDE

How is a micro-SaaS valued?

A ten-month-old AI app on $12,000 MRR, growing 8% a month but losing 9% to churn, with 55% margins after model costs, is worth about $244,000. Thin profit means it is priced partly on revenue, at 1.7× ARR; youth, churn and LLM dependence keep the multiple down.

SDE = MRR × 12 × gross margin − (operating costs + marketing) × 12 EBITDA = SDE − founder hours × hourly rate × 52 SDE multiple = size-band base + growth + churn + founder + age + platform + concentration + LTV:CAC + margin (1.5× to 8×) value = w × SDE × SDE multiple + (1 − w) × ARR × ARR multiple, w = 0 at 10% SDE margin rising to 1 at 40%

This page uses the same method as the Micro-SaaS Valuation Calculator, which explains each term and assumption in full.

Worked example

A ten-month-old AI writing app built on an LLM API, on $12,000 MRR at $20 a month, growing 8% a month but losing 9% of revenue to churn, with 55% gross margin after model costs, $2,500 a month of ads and a founder working 25 hours a week.

  1. 1ARR: $144,000; gross profit at 55%: $79,200
  2. 2SDE: $79,200 − $48,000 of costs and marketing = $31,200
  3. 3Base multiple for SDE of under $50k: 2.5×
  4. 4Adjustments: more than doubling a year +1.00; churn 6 to 10% a month −0.80; platform risk: high −0.70; under a year of history −0.50; founder works 20 to 40 hours −0.30; gross margin 50 to 70% −0.30; lTV:CAC 3 or more +0.25
  5. 5SDE multiple: 1.50×, so $31,200 × 1.50× = $47,000
  6. 6Revenue cross-check: 2.6× ARR = $369,000; weight on profit 39%

About $244,000, within $162,000 to $325,000: 20.3× MRR, and no positive EBITDA once the founder's time is paid for.

Frequently asked questions

Are GPT wrappers worth buying?

Buyers are wary of them. A wrapper whose whole product is one prompt can be copied in a weekend or absorbed by the model provider's own app, and its margin moves with API prices. What buyers pay for is distribution, retained users and proprietary data or workflow. Show cohort retention, not just sign-ups, and the margin after a year of model price changes.

How do model costs affect an AI SaaS valuation?

Through gross margin. Model and inference costs often take 30 to 50% of revenue, against 10 to 20% for ordinary SaaS hosting, so margin falls below 70% and the multiple drops. Revenue multiples are scaled down the same way. Estimate your token bill with the LLM API cost calculator and see whether caching or a cheaper model lifts the margin.

What multiple does an AI SaaS sell for?

For the business on this page, about 1.5× SDE, or 20× MRR: $244,000 on $12,000 of MRR and $31,200 of annual SDE. Change the inputs above to your own figures; churn, growth and founder hours move the multiple most.

Sources

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