How much is your ecommerce business worth? The honest answer is a range, not a number. Below is the same framework buyers actually use when they run numbers, plus the calculator above to run yours. Store-type deep dives: Shopify store valuation and dropshipping valuation.
How ecommerce valuations work
Ecommerce businesses are almost always valued on a multiple of SDE — seller's discretionary earnings. That's net profit plus your salary as owner-operator, plus any one-off costs, plus non-cash charges like depreciation. It's what the business really generates for whoever runs it.
The multiple depends on what kind of store it is, where the traffic comes from, how sticky the customers are, and how dependent the business is on things you don't control — a single platform, a single supplier, a single ad account.
What drives the multiple
Six things move the needle more than anything else.
Traffic mix. Organic and email traffic are worth substantially more than paid traffic. A store running on 80% Meta ads is one algorithm update from a very different valuation.
Customer repeat rate. A store where 40% of revenue comes from returning customers is a fundamentally different asset to one where every sale is a first-time buyer. Buyers pay for LTV.
Supplier dependency. One supplier for 70% of your catalogue is a risk. Diversified suppliers, contracts, and in-house fulfilment increase the multiple.
Platform dependency. Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, TikTok Shop — each carries platform risk. FBA gets a higher multiple than pure Shopify because Amazon handles fulfilment, but the same FBA business would get docked if 90% of sales come from one product listing.
Growth trajectory. Flat is fine. Growing is better. Declining gets a lower multiple regardless of the current SDE.
Age. A business under 18 months old carries execution risk that comes off the multiple. Past three years, age stops mattering as much.
Typical ranges by store type
Numbers below are annual SDE multiples for stores in the $50k–$1M SDE band. Above $1M, multiples expand somewhat as institutional buyers get involved.
Generic ecommerce: 2.2x low, 2.8x typical, 3.5x high.
Shopify DTC: 2.5x low, 3.0x typical, 3.8x high.
Amazon FBA: 2.8x low, 3.5x typical, 4.5x high — higher because Amazon handles fulfilment and returns.
Dropshipping: 1.5x low, 2.2x typical, 3.0x high — lower because margins are thinner and the model is easier to copy.
The top of each range assumes strong repeat rate, diversified traffic, no single-SKU concentration, and clean books. The low end assumes the opposite.
What buyers actually check
Serious buyers don't take stated numbers at face value. Before an offer becomes real, expect a diligence pack that includes a P&L that reconciles to tax filings, Google Analytics and Shopify (or Amazon Seller Central) exports for the trailing 24 months, ad account access with attribution data, supplier contracts, and returns data. Anything you don't have will come off the price.
Frequently asked questions
What multiple should I expect for a $500k SDE Shopify store?
Realistically, 2.8x–3.5x SDE ($1.4M–$1.75M) is the honest range. Top of range requires strong repeat rate, diversified traffic, and clean books. If most of your traffic is paid Meta ads, expect to land near the bottom.
Do buyers care about SKU count?
Yes, but the direction depends on the business. Too few SKUs (or one product doing 80% of revenue) is concentration risk. Too many SKUs with slow-moving inventory is a working capital problem. The sweet spot most buyers pay for is 30–150 active SKUs with the top 20 doing 60–70% of revenue.
What if most of my traffic is from paid ads?
Multiples come down. A store where 80%+ of revenue is Meta or Google ads gets valued closer to the bottom of the range because the business is one algorithm change from being a different business. Diversifying into organic, email, and repeat customers before you sell is the highest-leverage thing you can do to increase your multiple.
How is FBA valued differently to a Shopify store?
FBA gets a small premium because Amazon handles fulfilment, customer service, and returns — meaning the business runs with less operational overhead. The trade-off is Amazon-specific risk: account suspension, product listing changes, PPC cost creep. Buyers price both.
Should I sell before or after peak season?
If your data supports the growth narrative, sell after Q4 with fresh trailing-twelve-month numbers. If Q4 numbers might disappoint, sell before with the previous year's Q4 still in the trailing window. Timing matters more than most sellers think.
Thinking of selling? Astora Group buys ecommerce businesses with proven distribution. The form below is the fastest way to get a first response — usually within 48 hours.