Most WordPress plugin businesses sell for 1.5 to 2.5 times their annual revenue. That’s the short answer to WordPress plugin valuation; where a business lands in that range, or outside it, depends on how its revenue is made and where it’s heading. We help most sellers on FlipWP set their asking price, and this is how we do it.
When we started FlipWP in 2021, 2 to 4 times annual revenue was a common benchmark, and this post used to say so. Prices have come down since: 3 times revenue is now the exception, and needs a strong case.
WordPress plugin valuation: the short version
Annual revenue × a multiple, usually 1.5 to 2.5.
- Revenue, not profit. Most plugin businesses cost little to run (hosting, a licensing platform, some tools), so profit is close to revenue, and revenue is the figure buyers can check fastest. Brokers and general marketplaces such as Empire Flippers usually quote a multiple of profit instead, which is why their multiples look higher. Compare like with like.
- The last 12 months. We use trailing 12-month revenue, or annual recurring revenue (ARR) for a business that’s mostly subscriptions. A launch spike or a one-off lifetime deal sale is taken out or discounted.
- The trend matters as much as the total. A plugin making $40K a year and growing is worth more than one making $50K and shrinking.
What moves the multiple
These are the questions we ask every seller, and the ones buyers will ask in due diligence.
- How recurring is the revenue? Annual licences or subscriptions with good renewal rates are worth the most. Lifetime deals and one-off sales are worth less, because next year’s revenue has to be won again.
- What’s the renewal rate? It tells a buyer how much of this year’s revenue arrives next year without any marketing. If you don’t know yours, work it out before you talk to buyers.
- Is revenue growing, flat or falling? Growth over the last 12 to 24 months pushes the price up. A decline pulls it down hard, and is the hardest thing to sell around.
- Is there a free version on WordPress.org? A large, steady install base on WordPress.org is a marketing channel that comes with the sale, and buyers pay for it.
- How much does it depend on you? Clean, documented code and a support load another developer can pick up raise the price. A product only you understand, or support that needs a full-time person, lowers it.
- Where does revenue come from? Sales spread across search, WordPress.org and word of mouth are worth more than sales that depend on one marketplace, one affiliate or a few large customers.
- What’s the category like? A plugin in a crowded category, or one where WordPress core or WooCommerce is building the same feature, is worth less than one with a clear niche.
- Who’s buying? A plugin that fills a gap in a particular buyer’s portfolio can be worth more to them than any formula says. That’s how the deals above 3 times revenue usually happen.
A worked example
Two made-up plugins, each with $60K of revenue over the last 12 months:
- Plugin A sells annual licences through Freemius, renews at around 60%, grew 15% last year, and has 30,000 active installs on its free WordPress.org version. The code is tidy and support takes a few hours a week. It sits at the top of the range: 2.5 times, about $150K, and a buyer who needs exactly this plugin might pay more.
- Plugin B has no free version, made a third of its revenue from a lifetime deal, shrank 10% last year, and the owner answers every ticket personally. It sits at the bottom: 1.5 times or a little under, about $90K or less.
Same revenue, a $60K difference in price. Most of that gap comes from recurring revenue and the trend, which is why those are the first things we ask about.
Plugins with little or no revenue
A free plugin with no sales doesn’t fit the formula, but it can still sell. Buyers pay for the users: a free plugin with tens of thousands of active installs is valuable to a company with a premium version or add-ons to sell to them. The price depends on the install count, how active the users are, and how well the plugin fits the buyer, so there’s no standard multiple. We list pre-revenue and free-only plugins and help set a price case by case.
Themes, SaaS and services
- Themes are valued the same way. Renewal rates are often lower than for plugins, which tends to put them at the lower end of the range.
- WordPress SaaS with monthly or annual subscriptions and low churn can sit at the top of the range, because the revenue is the most predictable.
- Service businesses (care plans, maintenance, agencies) are valued differently: on recurring contract revenue and whether clients will stay with a new owner. We don’t apply the plugin range to them, and price each one case by case.
How we set an asking price at FlipWP
Most sellers have a rough idea of what their business is worth and ask us to help pin it down. We talk through revenue, renewals, the trend and costs, and usually agree on a range quickly.
We push back on asking prices we think are unrealistic, because a listing nobody will pay for helps neither the seller nor our buyer members. We also know an unusual price can make sense to the right buyer, so if we think a listing will interest some of our members, we’ll list it.
Every listing has our own commentary saying what kind of buyer it suits, and the Monday email to buyer members shows each listing’s multiple next to its asking price, so buyers can compare at a glance.
Asking price and sale price
We expect buyers and sellers to negotiate, and many do. Some buyers meet the asking price straight away, which is the best sign the price was right. If you think a price is wrong as a buyer, make an offer.
If a listing goes quiet, the price is usually the first thing to look at. When a seller reduces their price, we mark the listing as reduced and include it in the next Monday email, which brings back buyers who passed the first time. Reductions also tell us where the market is, and feed into the next valuations we do.
Get a valuation
If you’re thinking of selling, send us your revenue for the last 12 to 24 months and some context, and we’ll tell you where we think it sits. Our guide to how to sell your WordPress business covers the rest of the process, and if you’re still deciding where to sell WordPress plugins in the first place, that guide covers the licensing side. There are answers to common questions in our FAQ.
When you’re ready, list your business on FlipWP.
Alex Denning
Updated October 5, 2026