Veterinary Practice EBITDA Multiples: What Practices Sell For in 2026
or see an estimate: Veterinary valuation calculator →
“What multiple will I get?” is usually the first question owners ask about selling. It’s a fair question, and there are real numbers to work from. This guide sets out current veterinary practice EBITDA multiples by practice size, explains which earnings figure each multiple applies to, and shows what moves a practice up or down its range.
Two things to keep in mind. First, the ranges come from industry reports, not from your practice: they are a starting point, not an appraisal. Second, Right Fit Capital doesn’t value practices; the real number comes from buyers, or a specialist adviser, after an introduction. For the step-by-step method buyers use, read what is my veterinary practice worth?
Veterinary practice EBITDA multiples at a glance
These are the ranges reported for US companion-animal practices from 2024 through early 2026, with the 2020 to 2022 peak for comparison.
| Practice size and earnings | 2024 to Q1 2026 | 2020 to 2022 peak |
|---|---|---|
| Single-doctor, owner-operated, under $500K SDE | 2.5x to 4.5x SDE | 3.5x to 5.5x SDE |
| Mature single-doctor or small multi-doctor, $500K to $1M SDE | 4.0x to 6.5x SDE | 5.0x to 7.0x SDE |
| Multi-doctor, $1M to $3M adjusted EBITDA | 6.5x to 9.5x | 8.0x to 11.0x |
| Multi-site regional group, $3M to $10M adjusted EBITDA | 8.5x to 12.0x | 10.0x to 14.0x |
| Platform, $10M+ adjusted EBITDA | 10.5x to 14.0x | 13.0x to 17.0x |
Source: CT Acquisitions, Veterinary Practice M&A Multiples Report 2026 (June 2026), drawing on GF Data, BizBuySell, IBBA, Provident Healthcare Partners and Ziegler. Reports like this rarely disclose sample sizes, so treat the ranges as directional.
A second source points the same way. First Page Sage’s private-practice figures for early 2025 put general practices at about 5.3x EBITDA with $500,000 to $1 million of EBITDA, 8.6x at $1 million to $5 million, and 11.3x at $5 million to $10 million (First Page Sage, Q1 2025).
How to read veterinary practice multiples
SDE or adjusted EBITDA?
The two most common earnings figures are not interchangeable, and mixing them is a common mistake.
- Seller’s discretionary earnings (SDE) is profit before the owner’s pay and benefits, plus legitimate add-backs. It suits smaller practices, where the buyer is often a doctor who will do the owner’s job.
- Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, after paying a market salary for the doctor’s clinical work and adding back one-off or personal costs. It suits larger practices, where the buyer is a group that will employ the doctors.
Because SDE includes the owner’s pay, it is a bigger number, so it attracts a lower multiple. The switch from SDE to adjusted EBITDA usually happens at roughly $750,000 to $1 million of earnings. Applying an EBITDA multiple to SDE overstates value, often by a wide margin.
Size moves the multiple most
Multiples step up sharply at about $1 million of adjusted EBITDA. That is where groups and private-equity-backed platforms compete for add-on practices, and where the practice no longer depends on one doctor. Below that size, most buyers are pricing the risk that revenue leaves with the owner.
The very high multiples sometimes quoted in the press, in the high teens, usually describe the sale of a whole platform of many hospitals, not the price paid for a single practice joining it (Transitions Elite, 2026).
What veterinary practices sell for: two worked examples
These are hypothetical examples to show the arithmetic. They are not valuations.
A single-doctor practice. Revenue is $1.4 million and SDE is $400,000. At 2.5x to 4.5x SDE, the implied price is about $1.0 million to $1.8 million. Where it lands depends mostly on how much of the production depends on the owner, whether an associate is in place, and the lease.
A multi-doctor practice. Revenue is $6 million and adjusted EBITDA is $1.2 million. At 6.5x to 9.5x, the implied enterprise value is about $7.8 million to $11.4 million.
Enterprise value is not what you take home. From it come any debt payoff and closing costs, and a buyer may hold part of the price back as an earn-out or ask you to roll some of it into equity in the larger group. Taxes come after that. Real estate is usually priced separately from the practice. See how much you make selling a veterinary practice and veterinary practice earn-outs and retention periods.
What moves a practice up or down its range
Two practices with the same earnings can sit at opposite ends of the same band. These adjustments come from the same 2026 report (CT Acquisitions), which cites Provident, Ziegler, VetPartners and The BSM Group.
| Factor | Typical effect on the multiple |
|---|---|
| Specialty or emergency referral hospital, versus a comparable general practice | 1.5 to 3.5 turns higher |
| 24-hour emergency hours, versus daytime-only | 0.5 to 1.5 turns higher |
| AAHA accreditation (smaller and mid-size practices) | 0.25 to 0.75 turns higher |
| Interest from more than one qualified buyer | 0.5 to 1 turn higher |
| Rural or low-density area, versus dense suburban | 0.5 to 1.5 turns lower |
| Real estate sold with the practice | The practice itself is often priced 0.5 to 1.5 turns lower |
The same report names three drivers without putting a number on them:
- Associate depth. More full-time doctors means less depends on you. It’s the first thing most buyers check.
- Owner production. When the owner produces 70% or more of revenue, practices tend to price at the bottom of their band.
- Recurring revenue. Wellness-plan penetration of 15% or more tends to push practices toward the top.
Practice type matters too: see emergency vs. general practice sales. If you’re the only doctor, read how to sell a single-doctor veterinary practice.
How the market has moved
Multiples peaked in 2021 and 2022, when low interest rates and a wave of private-equity money pushed prices up. Since then, multi-doctor practices have come down by about 1.5 to 2.5 turns from that peak, multi-site groups and platforms by about 2 to 4 turns, and single-doctor practices by about 1 turn of SDE (CT Acquisitions).
Deal volume fell further than prices. CLA Meridian Capital counts about 1,550 veterinary hospital sales in 2021 and 357 in 2025, while the average reported EBITDA multiple held at about 12x through 2025 and the first half of 2026. Deals with a reported multiple tend to be larger ones, which is likely why that average sits above the typical range for a single hospital (CLA Meridian Capital, Q2 2026).
The demand underneath is steady. Americans spent $41 billion on veterinary care and products in 2024 (APPA), and the AAVMC projects a shortfall of about 17,000 veterinarians by 2032 (AAVMC). Corporate groups already own about 25% of general practices and 75% of specialty practices (AAHA, citing Brakke Consulting). For buyers, that makes practices with stable doctor coverage worth competing for, and practices that rely on one overworked owner riskier.
Revenue multiples: a rough cross-check
Some owners hear value quoted as a multiple of revenue. First Page Sage puts general practices at about 1.6x revenue at $1 million to $3 million, 2.2x at $3 million to $10 million, and 2.9x at $10 million to $50 million (First Page Sage, Q1 2025).
Use these only as a sense check. A $2 million practice with a 20% margin and one with an 8% margin share a revenue figure but not a value. Buyers price on profit and how reliably it will continue.
Common mistakes with multiples
Quoting a peak-era number
A multiple a colleague got in 2021 is not today’s market. Ranges have come down since then, by about 1 to 2.5 turns for most practices.
Applying the wrong multiple to the wrong earnings
An EBITDA multiple applied to SDE, or a platform multiple applied to a single hospital, produces a number no buyer will pay.
Counting add-backs buyers won’t accept
Buyers review every add-back. Personal expenses and one-off costs count only when they are documented. Clean books, with personal costs kept separate, protect the earnings figure the multiple is applied to.
Confusing price with proceeds
The headline multiple sets the enterprise value. What you take home depends on cash at closing, earn-outs, rollover equity, debt, real estate and taxes.
The real number comes from buyers
Industry ranges tell you roughly where a practice like yours sits. Where yours actually lands depends on what a particular buyer sees in your team, your clients, your location and your growth, and on how many buyers are interested.
Right Fit Capital introduces veterinary owners confidentially to qualified buyers: groups, private-equity-backed platforms, and brokers who represent individual veterinarians. 95% of qualified owners receive an introduction within 24 hours of our initial call, and there is no cost to the seller. For a quick starting point, try the veterinary valuation calculator, learn more about selling a veterinary practice, or get introduced to a buyer on a 15-minute call.