Free online calculators
A NUMBERCHANGES NOTHING
You typed your revenue into a free calculator at 11pm, got a number, and closed the tab. Monday was still 60 hours. It told you what the business might be worth and nothing about why you still cannot leave it for a week.
Four minutes, no card. Free, and everything you see is yours to keep.
The usual move
Most free online business valuation calculators do one thing: multiply your revenue or SDE by a rule of thumb and stop. Some are honest ballparks. Many are lead-capture forms wearing a calculator’s clothes.
Give it its due
What a free calculator does
- It gives you an instant order-of-magnitude figure at no cost.
- It is a fine gut-check that you are in the right zip code.
- It takes less than a minute.
The gap
Why the number is soft
- It applies a static multiple, so it cannot see the owner-dependence that moves a service business between 1.65x and 3.5x.
- It is rarely calibrated to real closed sales, so the range comes out wide and generic.
- It hands you a figure and no roadmap, so nothing about your week changes.
The long game
The daily trap and the discount are the same problem.
A number you cannot act on is worth about what you paid for it. The reason the figure matters is the reason your week is full: how much the business runs on you sets both. An owner-dependent service business trades near 1.65x SDE, an owner-light one near 3.5x, a $555,000 gap on $300,000 of earnings. The free diagnostic reads that, estimates your sale price against ten years of closed transactions, and names the first thing to fix, so the number turns into a plan.
owner-dependent vs owner-light on identical earnings, a $555,000 gap on $300,000 of SDE
Straight talk
If all you want is a 30-second gut-check, our own free calculator does that honestly and hands off when you want the real number.
Open the free calculatorWhat the diagnostic actually reads
Eighteen questions, four minutes. It reads the business on the three things a buyer prices, estimates a sale price, and names the first thing keeping the business tied to you. Free.
Business Independence Score
Can the business run without you?
The single value driver inside your control. It reads how much the business still depends on you personally, which is what a buyer discounts hardest.
Systems Maturity Score
How documented and repeatable are your operations?
Whether the work lives in written systems or in your head. Documented operations transfer; undocumented ones leave with you.
Acquisition Attractiveness Score
What would a buyer see when they look at your business?
The buyer’s-eye view: recurring revenue, customer concentration, clean books, and the risks that move the multiple.
Common questions
- Are online business valuation calculators accurate?
- Most online business valuation calculators are rough ballparks, because they multiply revenue or SDE by a fixed rule of thumb and cannot read what actually sets the price. The biggest factor they miss is owner-dependence, which moves a service business between roughly 1.65x and 3.5x SDE, a $555,000 swing on $300,000 of earnings. Use one for a gut-check, then the free diagnostic for an estimate calibrated to real closed sales.
- What is the most accurate way to value a small business?
- The most accurate free read comes from a tool calibrated to real closed transactions that also reads how much the business depends on you. A static calculator applies one multiple to your earnings; a diagnostic reads the drivers a buyer actually prices. Keystone estimates your sale price against ten years of closed sales and ranks what is discounting it, free in four minutes.
Free in four minutes
Find the first thing keeping the business tied to you
Three scores, an estimated sale price, and the ranked list of what is discounting your value, read against ten years of real closed transactions.
See what to hand off firstFree in 4 minutes, no credit card. Add your email to see your scores and estimated sale price.
Keystone gives an estimated sale price, not a formal appraisal. For a certified number in a sale, a loan, or a dispute, work with an accredited business valuator. This comparison reflects how these options differ as of 2026.