Guide
409A valuation cost: published prices and price drivers
Updated
Most pages on this topic quote a market range with no source. Some providers publish list prices, so start with those and treat everything else as a quote.
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How this calculator works
- Why the count matters more than the price. For stock not readily tradable on an established securities market, the regulation says fair market value means "a value determined by the reasonable application of a reasonable valuation method".
- Using a previously calculated value is not reasonable if it fails to reflect later information that may materially affect value.
- Nor is it reasonable if "the value was calculated with respect to a date that is more than 12 months earlier than the date for which the valuation is being used" (Treas. Reg. 1.409A-1(b)(5)(iv)(B)(1)). That is where the annual refresh and the event-driven refresh both come from.
- The independent appraisal safe harbor. The regulation presumes a valuation is reasonable where it is "determined by an independent appraisal that meets the requirements of section 401(a)(28)(C) and the regulations as of a date that is no more than 12 months before the relevant transaction to which the valuation is applied".
- The IRS may rebut that presumption only by showing the method or its application was "grossly unreasonable" (Treas. Reg. 1.409A-1(b)(5)(iv)(B)(2)(i)).
- Prices are market prices, not published rates. No government body sets or publishes a 409A fee. The $2,000 default is a round assumption inside the range of the list prices providers publish today, and it is not a statistic. Ask for a written quote and use that instead: the calculator is only as good as the number you put in.
- The count is an upper bound. Adding one valuation per year and one per material event slightly over-counts, because a valuation performed after an event also restarts the 12-month window. Treat the figure as a budgeting ceiling rather than a schedule, and take the schedule from counsel.
- Not included. Cap table software, ASC 718 stock compensation expense reporting, audit support, secondary or tender offer valuations, QSBS attestations and state filings. Several providers bundle some of these with the 409A, which is exactly why comparing headline prices between them is misleading.
- What is at stake if it goes wrong. Where a nonqualified deferred compensation plan fails section 409A, the deferred compensation is included in gross income. The tax is increased by premium interest plus "an amount equal to 20 percent of the compensation which is required to be included in gross income" (26 U.S.C. 409A(a)(1)(B)).
- The cost falls on the option holder, which is why underpricing a strike price is an employee problem before it is a company problem.
- This is general information about a US federal tax rule, not tax or legal advice, and it does not address state law. Talk to your counsel and your accountant before you rely on any of it.
There is no official market rate
The IRS does not set or publish 409A fees, and no trade body collects them. What is checkable is the price a provider publishes on its own pages.
8 of the 44 providers' pages we read on 12 October 2026 published one. The 7 priced for one valuation run from $499 to $1,800 with a median of $1,499; the eighth is a $990 a year plan.
Source: 409A Price Index, 8 of 44 providers' pages publishing a price, read 12 October 2026
That median describes list prices, not a quote for your cap table, so start with the providers' own figures and treat everything else as a quote.
409A valuation price lists published by providers, checked 15 August 2026
| Provider | What is published | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Eqvista | 409A valuation and premium cap table bundle from $990 a year, priced by stage: startup or pre-revenue $990, friends and family or angel $1,290, seed $1,990, Series A $2,590, Series B and later custom. Expedited processing from $490. | Bundled with premium cap table management, and advertised with unlimited 409A updates and renewals |
| Cake Equity | 409A valuation available as an add-on to any plan for $1,500. Its Team plan is listed at $2,750 annually and includes an audit-ready 409A valuation. | Add-on to a cap table plan; the Team plan bundles the valuation with equity and compliance tooling |
| Pulley | Growth plan listed at $3,500 a year, with 409A valuations included. | A plan price covering cap table management, first 40 stakeholders and 409A valuations, not a per-report fee |
Three published list prices are not a market survey. They tell you what the self-serve, platform-bundled end of the market charges. Boutique appraisal firms and national accounting firms quote rather than list, and later-stage and pre-IPO work is materially more expensive. If you need a figure for a board pack, get three written quotes for your own cap table.
What actually moves a quote
| Driver | Why it moves the price | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Cap table complexity | Multiple preferred classes, participating preferences, liquidation stacks, warrants and unconverted SAFEs all add allocation work, which is the labor the fee pays for. | Is the quote fixed for my current structure, and what changes it? |
| Stage and financial history | A pre-revenue company with one common class is a short engagement. Revenue, forecasts and multiple rounds mean more methods and more defense. | Which valuation approaches will you actually apply? |
| Turnaround time | Expedited work is priced as a premium over the standard schedule. Eqvista publishes expedited processing from $490; most providers quote it. | What is the standard turnaround, and what does expediting cost in writing? |
| Refreshes included | Some platform plans include unlimited updates within the year; per-report providers charge again for each refresh. With material events this is often the biggest difference in total cost. | How many refreshes are included, and what triggers a chargeable one? |
| Audit support | Defending the report to your auditors is work, and some providers price it separately from producing it. | Is auditor liaison included, and for how many hours? |
| Who signs the report | The safe harbor depends on the appraiser's qualification, not on the price. The regulation generally looks for at least five years of relevant valuation, appraisal, financial accounting, investment banking, private equity or secured lending experience. | Who signs, and what is their experience? |
That last row is the one worth pausing on. Price has no bearing on safe harbor eligibility.
The regulation asks that the valuation be performed by a person the corporation reasonably determines is qualified (Treas. Reg. 1.409A-1(b)(5)(iv)(B)(2)(iii)). It describes significant experience as generally at least five years in business valuation or appraisal, financial accounting, investment banking, private equity, secured lending or comparable experience in the relevant industry.
Use the calculator with a real quote rather than our default. The point of the tool is the count of valuations you will need, which is fixed by the regulation, not by your provider.