{
 "name": "FirstPass Memo online-business listing benchmarks, October 2026",
 "edition": "2026-10",
 "published": "2026-10-07",
 "updated": "2026-10-07",
 "url": "https://firstpassmemo.com/data/",
 "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
 "cite": "FirstPass Memo. What $10k–$150k online-business listings ask: payback and multiples, October 2026. https://firstpassmemo.com/data/ (accessed [date]). Based on WebsitesForSaleOnline public API data, 2026-09-06 to 2026-10-06. CC BY 4.0.",
 "source": "WebsitesForSaleOnline public API (/api/v1/deals), daily collections from 2026-09-06 to 2026-10-06",
 "window": "2026-09-06 to 2026-10-06",
 "filter": "Asking price $10,000 to $150,000; stated monthly profit above zero; Empire Flippers listings excluded; each listing counted once, at its latest price in the window. Asking prices and seller-stated profit, not sale prices.",
 "min_group_size": 8,
 "groups": [
  {
   "key": "all",
   "group": "All business types",
   "listings": 36,
   "median_payback_months": 26.8,
   "payback_p25_months": 22.2,
   "payback_p75_months": 31.1,
   "median_annual_multiple": 2.23,
   "multiple_p25": 1.85,
   "multiple_p75": 2.59,
   "median_asking_price_usd": 40750,
   "listings_with_stated_age": 31,
   "under_12_months_old": 11,
   "share_under_12_months": 0.355,
   "note": ""
  },
  {
   "key": "software",
   "group": "SaaS and software",
   "listings": 20,
   "median_payback_months": 28.7,
   "payback_p25_months": 22.6,
   "payback_p75_months": 31.8,
   "median_annual_multiple": 2.39,
   "multiple_p25": 1.88,
   "multiple_p75": 2.65,
   "median_asking_price_usd": 50000,
   "listings_with_stated_age": 16,
   "under_12_months_old": 8,
   "share_under_12_months": 0.5,
   "note": ""
  },
  {
   "key": "apps",
   "group": "Mobile apps",
   "listings": 1,
   "median_payback_months": null,
   "payback_p25_months": null,
   "payback_p75_months": null,
   "median_annual_multiple": null,
   "multiple_p25": null,
   "multiple_p75": null,
   "median_asking_price_usd": null,
   "listings_with_stated_age": null,
   "under_12_months_old": null,
   "share_under_12_months": null,
   "note": "fewer than 8 listings; no figures published"
  },
  {
   "key": "content",
   "group": "Content and affiliate sites",
   "listings": 3,
   "median_payback_months": null,
   "payback_p25_months": null,
   "payback_p75_months": null,
   "median_annual_multiple": null,
   "multiple_p25": null,
   "multiple_p75": null,
   "median_asking_price_usd": null,
   "listings_with_stated_age": null,
   "under_12_months_old": null,
   "share_under_12_months": null,
   "note": "fewer than 8 listings; no figures published"
  },
  {
   "key": "ecommerce",
   "group": "Ecommerce and dropshipping",
   "listings": 3,
   "median_payback_months": null,
   "payback_p25_months": null,
   "payback_p75_months": null,
   "median_annual_multiple": null,
   "multiple_p25": null,
   "multiple_p75": null,
   "median_asking_price_usd": null,
   "listings_with_stated_age": null,
   "under_12_months_old": null,
   "share_under_12_months": null,
   "note": "fewer than 8 listings; no figures published"
  },
  {
   "key": "youtube",
   "group": "YouTube channels",
   "listings": 6,
   "median_payback_months": null,
   "payback_p25_months": null,
   "payback_p75_months": null,
   "median_annual_multiple": null,
   "multiple_p25": null,
   "multiple_p75": null,
   "median_asking_price_usd": null,
   "listings_with_stated_age": null,
   "under_12_months_old": null,
   "share_under_12_months": null,
   "note": "fewer than 8 listings; no figures published"
  },
  {
   "key": "amazon",
   "group": "Amazon FBA and FBM",
   "listings": 1,
   "median_payback_months": null,
   "payback_p25_months": null,
   "payback_p75_months": null,
   "median_annual_multiple": null,
   "multiple_p25": null,
   "multiple_p75": null,
   "median_asking_price_usd": null,
   "listings_with_stated_age": null,
   "under_12_months_old": null,
   "share_under_12_months": null,
   "note": "fewer than 8 listings; no figures published"
  },
  {
   "key": "newsletter",
   "group": "Newsletters",
   "listings": 0,
   "median_payback_months": null,
   "payback_p25_months": null,
   "payback_p75_months": null,
   "median_annual_multiple": null,
   "multiple_p25": null,
   "multiple_p75": null,
   "median_asking_price_usd": null,
   "listings_with_stated_age": null,
   "under_12_months_old": null,
   "share_under_12_months": null,
   "note": "fewer than 8 listings; no figures published"
  }
 ],
 "flag_frequency": {
  "description": "Structured asking price, monthly profit, monthly revenue and business age, plus the short description text carried by the aggregator.",
  "status_key": {
   "measured": "Inputs are structured fields present for every listing; the count is exact for this sample.",
   "at_least": "Fires on something stated in the short summary text; full listings may state more, so the count is a lower bound.",
   "absence": "Fires when something is not stated; a truncated summary cannot show that, so it is not measured.",
   "filtered": "Cannot occur in this sample: listings without a price or with zero or negative profit were filtered out.",
   "excluded": "Compares with benchmark ranges built from Empire Flippers data, which we do not publish from."
  },
  "totals": {
   "all": {
    "n": 36,
    "any_high": 10,
    "any_flag": 27
   },
   "software": {
    "n": 20,
    "any_high": 7,
    "any_flag": 16
   }
  },
  "rules": [
   {
    "code": "NO_PRICE",
    "status": "filtered",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "NO_PROFIT",
    "status": "filtered",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "NO_EARNINGS",
    "status": "filtered",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "TOO_CHEAP",
    "status": "measured",
    "all": 1,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "RICH_MULTIPLE",
    "status": "excluded",
    "all": null,
    "software": null
   },
   {
    "code": "LAST_MONTH_ZERO",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "PROFIT_DECLINE",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "REV_TREND",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "SHORT_PERIOD",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 1,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "ARR_MRR",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "ARR_VS_TTM",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "MRR_VS_COLLECTED",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "MONTHLY_VS_TTM",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "PROFIT_GT_REV",
    "status": "measured",
    "all": 1,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "HIGH_MARGIN",
    "status": "measured",
    "all": 12,
    "software": 7
   },
   {
    "code": "NO_CHURN",
    "status": "absence",
    "all": null,
    "software": null
   },
   {
    "code": "CHURN",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "FEW_CUSTOMERS",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "CONCENTRATION",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "CONC_UNKNOWN",
    "status": "absence",
    "all": null,
    "software": null
   },
   {
    "code": "SEO_DEPENDENT",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "CHANNEL_CONC",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "CLAIM_SEO_VS_DATA",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "PLATFORM",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 8,
    "software": 2
   },
   {
    "code": "NO_TRAFFIC",
    "status": "absence",
    "all": null,
    "software": null
   },
   {
    "code": "UNVERIFIED",
    "status": "absence",
    "all": null,
    "software": null
   },
   {
    "code": "NO_AGE",
    "status": "measured",
    "all": 5,
    "software": 4
   },
   {
    "code": "TOO_YOUNG",
    "status": "measured",
    "all": 9,
    "software": 7
   },
   {
    "code": "YOUNG",
    "status": "measured",
    "all": 2,
    "software": 1
   },
   {
    "code": "NO_HOURS",
    "status": "absence",
    "all": null,
    "software": null
   },
   {
    "code": "HOURS",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "PASSIVE_VS_STAFF",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   },
   {
    "code": "GENERIC_REASON",
    "status": "at_least",
    "all": 0,
    "software": 0
   }
  ]
 },
 "schema": {
  "groups[].group": "Business type",
  "groups[].listings": "Listings in the group after the filter",
  "groups[].median_payback_months": "Median asking price ÷ stated monthly profit",
  "groups[].payback_p25_months": "25th percentile of payback",
  "groups[].payback_p75_months": "75th percentile of payback",
  "groups[].median_annual_multiple": "Median asking price ÷ stated annual profit",
  "groups[].multiple_p25": "25th percentile of the annual multiple",
  "groups[].multiple_p75": "75th percentile of the annual multiple",
  "groups[].median_asking_price_usd": "Median asking price in US dollars",
  "groups[].listings_with_stated_age": "Listings that state a business age",
  "groups[].under_12_months_old": "Of those, listings under 12 months old",
  "groups[].share_under_12_months": "under_12_months_old ÷ listings_with_stated_age",
  "groups[].note": "Why figures are missing, if they are",
  "flag_frequency.totals": "Listings measured, listings raising any high-severity flag, listings raising any flag, for all types and for SaaS and software",
  "flag_frequency.rules[].code": "Checker rule code, as in /rules.json",
  "flag_frequency.rules[].status": "measured, at_least, absence (not measured), excluded (not published) or filtered (removed by the sample filter)",
  "flag_frequency.rules[].all / .software": "Listings raising the rule; null when not measured or not published"
 },
 "changelog": [
  {
   "date": "2026-10-07",
   "change": "First JSON edition: benchmark aggregates (same as the CSV) and flag frequency."
  }
 ]
}