How to Value Your Micro-SaaS or Side Project (Pricing Guide)

How Much is Your Side Project Worth?

Pricing a side project can feel like guesswork. Too high and you'll scare off buyers. Too low and you're leaving money on the table.

This guide gives you concrete formulas and examples for valuing your project.

The Two Types of Projects

Revenue-Generating Projects:

These have paying customers and monthly recurring revenue (MRR). They're valued using revenue multiples.

Non-Revenue Projects:

These include starter kits, templates, and tools without customers. They're valued based on development time and included assets.

Valuing Revenue-Generating Projects

The Standard Formula:

```

Valuation = Monthly Net Profit × Multiple (12-36x)

```

Choosing Your Multiple:

**12-18x**: Declining revenue, high churn, old tech stack

**18-24x**: Stable revenue, moderate growth

**24-36x**: Growing revenue, low churn, modern stack

Example:

Monthly revenue: $500

Monthly costs: $50

Net profit: $450

Growth: Stable

**Valuation: $450 × 20 = $9,000**

Valuing Non-Revenue Projects

The Development Time Method:

```

Valuation = Hours Invested × Hourly Rate × Discount Factor

```

Hourly Rate Guidelines:

Junior developer code: $50-75/hour

Senior developer code: $100-150/hour

Specialized/niche expertise: $150-300/hour

Discount Factor:

Apply 30-60% discount because buyers take on risk.

Example:

Development time: 100 hours

Quality: Senior-level code

Hourly rate: $125

Discount: 50%

**Valuation: 100 × $125 × 0.5 = $6,250**

What Increases Value

Technical Factors:

Clean, documented code (+20-30%)

Tests included (+10-20%)

Modern tech stack (+10-15%)

Mobile responsive (+10-15%)

Business Factors:

Existing users/waitlist (+20-50%)

SEO rankings (+10-30%)

Email list included (+10-20%)

Domain included (+5-15%)

What Decreases Value

Technical debt (-20-40%)

Outdated dependencies (-10-20%)

No documentation (-20-30%)

Security issues (-30-50%)

Seller unresponsiveness (-20-30%)

VibePath Price Ranges

Based on our marketplace data:

**$50-200**: Templates, simple scripts, browser extensions

**$200-500**: Starter kits, landing pages with components

**$500-2,000**: Mini SaaS, tools with users, mobile apps

**$2,000-5,000**: Revenue-generating projects, established tools

The Bottom Line

Most side projects sell for less than their creators expect. Be realistic, document everything, and remember: a sold project is better than a rotting side project on your hard drive.