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Valuations / Service Businesses

What service businesses sell for

Agencies and online service businesses.

A median of 28 months of profit, or 2.3x a year's profit. From 21 sales listed since 2023.

Median multiple
28 months
of profit
Middle half
19–33
months of profit
Median sale
$125k
asking price
Median profit
$5.1k
a month

Updated 10 Nov 2026 · From Flippa, Empire Flippers, Motion Invest, Investors Club and Microns

In short
  • Most service businesses sell for 28 months of profit. That's 2.3x a year's profit.
  • Half sell for between 19 months and 33 months.
  • Bigger ones sell for more: 18 months under $25k, 28 months at $100k to $500k.
  • Multiples have fallen from 33 months in 2020 to 23 months in 2026.
  • Sellers ask 22 months today, 6 months less than past sales.
  • Example: a service business making $5k a month would sell for about $140k.

Multiples by year

Median months of profit, by the year the business was listed.

2020
33 months · 7 sales
2021
38 months · 6 sales
2022
36 months · 8 sales
2025
30 months · 9 sales
2026
23 months · 6 sales

By size

Bigger businesses usually sell for higher multiples. Buyers pay more for less risk.

PriceSalesMedian multipleMedian profit/mo
$25k to $100k618 months$4.2k
$100k to $500k1228 months$6.7k

By age

How long the business had been running when it was listed.

AgeSalesMedian multipleMedian sale
4 to 7 years927 months$125k
7 years and up828 months$122k

By how it makes money

Many businesses have more than one income source, so they count in each.

Income sourceSalesMedian multipleMedian sale
Service1130 months$125k
Agency1128 months$204k

Recent sales

Real service businesses marked sold. Price is the last asking price.

BusinessPriceProfit/moMultiple
SEO marketing agency
Empire Flippers · 5 yr old
$301k$10.8k28 mo
Wedding DJ booking service
Empire Flippers · 20 yr old
$124k$4.4k28 mo
Dropshipping store sales
Empire Flippers · 4 yr old
$204k$11.3k18 mo
SEO digital marketing agency
Empire Flippers · 13 yr old
$85.8k$4.8k18 mo
Real estate sponsored posts site
Empire Flippers · 3 yr old
$44.3k$3.4k13 mo
Healthy recipe blog
Empire Flippers · 10 yr old
$121k$4.3k28 mo
Link building agency
Empire Flippers · 11 yr old
$76.5k$3.9k20 mo
B2B manufacturer platform
Empire Flippers · 16 yr old
$480k$13.3k36 mo
Plumbing lead generation sites
Empire Flippers · 9 yr old
$117k$4.3k27 mo
Digital marketing agency
Empire Flippers · 4 yr old
$412k$14.2k29 mo
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What moves the price

Pushes it up
  • Long-term clients on monthly retainers.
  • A team that does the work, not the owner.
  • Written processes for every task.
  • Many clients, none too big.
Pulls it down
  • The owner does most of the work.
  • One or two clients make most of the money.
  • Clients with no contracts.
  • Sales that come from the owner's network.

How to value a service business

  1. Take the average monthly profit for the last 12 months.
  2. Multiply it by the median: 28 months.
  3. Move up toward 33 months for strong ones, down toward 19 months for risky ones.
  4. Check the result against the recent sales above.

Try the valuation calculator →

For sale right now

  • 429 service businesses listed today.
  • Sellers ask a median of 22 months of profit. Past sales: 28 months.

See service businesses for sale →

Questions

What multiple do service businesses sell for?

A median of 28 months of profit, or 2.3x a year's profit. That's from 21 sales listed since 2023.

What is a normal price range for a service business?

Half of sales land between 19 months and 33 months of profit. The median sale was $125k.

How much is my service business worth?

Multiply monthly profit by 28 months. At $5k a month, that's about $140k. Growth, risk and age move it up or down.

Do bigger service businesses sell for higher multiples?

$25k to $100k: a median of 18 months. $100k to $500k: 28 months.

Are service businesses selling for more or less than before?

Lower. 2020: 33 months. 2026: 23 months.

Do older service businesses sell for more?

4 to 7 years old: 27 months. 7 years and up: 28 months.

How we count

  • Multiple = asking price ÷ monthly profit, in months. 36 months = 3x a year's profit.
  • Sold prices are the last asking price. Final prices aren't public.
  • We leave out sales under $1k and numbers that don't add up.
  • Numbers update every hour from our listings data.
  • Not advice. Every business is different.

Other types

SaaS businessesContent sitesAmazon FBA businessesEcommerce storesYouTube channelsApps

We're not a broker. AI writes the summaries.
Always check the numbers yourself.

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