Valuation calculator

Price it like a buyer would.

Earnings, engagement, subscriber quality, growth and risk: the things buyers actually look at, in one live estimate. Change any number and watch the price move.

Want the two-minute version? Try the quick valuation.

Money

Monthly averages over the last 12 months. Leave out what you pay yourself.

Monthly revenue

Monthly costs

Tools, writers, design, ads. Not your own salary.

Where revenue comes from

Audience and engagement

Use numbers from your email platform's dashboard, not memory. Buyers will check.

Subscribers

Subscriber growth, last 12 months

Average open rate

Apple Mail privacy inflates this. Clicks matter as much.

Average click rate

Unique clicks ÷ delivered emails. 2–4% is healthy.

Subscriber quality

Two lists of the same size can be worth very different amounts. This is why.

Readers in tier-1 countries

US, UK, Canada, Australia, Western Europe. Sponsors pay most for these.

Readers who joined organically

Search, social, referrals, word of mouth. Not paid ads or giveaways.

Monthly unsubscribe rate

Under 1% is excellent; over 2.5% needs constant refilling.

The business

How transferable it is. Buyers pay more for a business than for a job.

Niche

Age

years

Your hours per week

Built around you

Readers subscribe for your personal voice or name.

How we got to 4.3×

Owner-run newsletters usually sell on SDE, starting around 3.0×. Each factor moves the multiple up or down.

Starting multiple (SDE): 3.0×
Engagement: Strong open rate+0.15×; Healthy click rate+0.1×
Subscriber quality: Mixed geography—; Mixed acquisition—; Normal churn—
Growth and history: Steady list growth+0.3×; Revenue is growing+0.2×; 2–4 years of history+0.2×
Revenue quality: No sponsor dominates—; Diversified revenue+0.1×
Owner dependence: Manageable owner time—
Market: Marketing niche premium+0.2×
Your multiple: 4.3×

SDE is profit before you pay yourself. EBITDA subtracts what it would cost to hire someone for your hours, at $50 an hour ($20.8K a year).

What buyers will like

Steady list growth
Revenue is growing
2–4 years of history
Marketing niche premium

An estimate, not an appraisal. Buyers pay the top of the range for verified numbers, a clean data room and a smooth handover plan.

Suggested range

$210,000 – $285,000

Details