Average Startup Valuation by Country (2026): Pre-Seed and Seed Data for 88 Countries and Territories

What angel, pre-seed and seed rounds were priced at in the US, the UK, Germany, India and 84 other countries and territories, measured from announced rounds with a published valuation and refreshed twice a year.

The average pre-money valuation of angel, pre-seed and seed rounds announced from January 2024 to July 2026 was $6.45M in the US, $5.90M in the UK and $6.55M in Germany, according to Equidam’s July 2026 data built on Crunchbase rounds. These are means; the median US deal was lower, at $4.92M.

Data as of 28 July 2026 (Equidam parameters update P6.3). Next update expected in early 2027.

What do these numbers measure, and what don’t they?

Each figure is the average pre-money valuation of angel, pre-seed and seed rounds recorded on Crunchbase for startups based in that country, announced from 1 January 2024 to the end of July 2026, a window of about 30 months (Equidam, Parameters Update P6.3). Across the 88 countries and territories below, the figure runs from $2.50M in Egypt and Tunisia, which both use the Northern Africa regional figure, to $10.53M in China (Equidam internal data, July 2026).

The figure is a mean, not a median. We add up the valuations and divide by the number of rounds. A few large rounds pull a mean up, so in each large market we checked the mean sits above the median. In the US the mean is $6.45M and the median is $4.92M; in the UK the mean is $5.90M and the median $4.26M (Equidam internal data, July 2026). We use the mean because the Scorecard method is defined on it: Bill Payne’s method “adjusts the average valuation of recently funded companies in the region” (Payne, Scorecard Valuation Methodology, 2011).

Outliers are removed first. Of the 4,606 rounds collected worldwide, we drop the 470 with a pre-money valuation above about $25.5M (the third quartile plus 1.5 times the interquartile range, a standard outlier rule) and three records below $1,000 that are data errors. That leaves 4,133 rounds (Equidam internal data, July 2026). The cut-off is set on the global pool, not country by country, and it falls mostly on seed rounds: 386 of the 470 removed rounds were seed rounds, and 229 were American. That keeps the largest deals from setting the benchmark for everyone, but it also means our figures describe the bulk of the market rather than its top end.

Small countries borrow a regional figure. When a country has fewer than 20 rounds of its own, we use the average of its sub-region, following the UN’s geographic groupings (for example “Western Europe” or “Latin America and the Caribbean”). Only 24 of the 88 countries and territories here have enough rounds for their own figure (Equidam internal data, July 2026). The tables mark every figure that is a regional average rather than a country one.

Only rounds with a published valuation count. Many early rounds, especially SAFEs and convertible notes, never disclose a pre-money valuation, so they are not in the sample. The rounds that do disclose one tend to be the more visible deals, so read these figures as the market for priced rounds rather than for every startup that raises money.

Ideally you would compare within your own sector and stage, but most countries have too few rounds for that, so we pool all industries. Payne himself noted that “in most regions, the pre-money valuation does not vary significantly from one business sector to another” (Payne, 2011).

Pre-seed and seed rounds, separately

The country figures blend three round types: 2,230 pre-seed, 2,054 seed and 322 angel rounds before outlier removal (Equidam internal data, July 2026). Seed rounds are priced well above pre-seed rounds, so the blend sits between the two. Where a country has enough rounds, here is the split, using Crunchbase’s own round labels.

Equidam internal data, July 2026, rounds after outlier removal. Germany has 26 pre-seed and 28 seed rounds, too few for a reliable split.

Three Equidam “pre-seed numbers” and how they differ

Equidam publishes more than one early-stage valuation figure, and they are easy to mix up.

The country average sits above the H1 2026 Valuation Delta median mainly because it includes seed rounds and because it is a mean, which large deals pull up. Valuation Delta also measures something different: estimates that founders run before raising, not prices paid. The Q1 snapshot rests on a single quarter of valuations, so it moves more from one edition to the next.

Startup valuations by country: the full table

This is the average startup valuation by country for 88 countries and territories, grouped by region. All figures are Equidam internal data from the P6.3 dataset (July 2026). The last column says what each average covers. Where a country has fewer than 20 rounds of its own, the figure is the average of its whole UN sub-region, and the table says so: read it as a regional benchmark, not a measurement of that country. Countries with 20 to 29 rounds of their own are marked as small samples, so treat those figures with care.

All figures are in US dollars, computed from Crunchbase’s USD-converted valuations, so countries can be compared directly. The local-currency values the Equidam platform uses for the Scorecard method are listed on the P6.3 page next to the previous (February 2026) figures.

Europe

Cyprus and Turkey are listed under Europe here. The UN groups both in Western Asia, so Cyprus, with too few rounds of its own, uses the Western Asia figure.

North America

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and Africa

Asia-Pacific

How big is the gap between Europe and the US?

In announced rounds with a published valuation, the gap is smaller than many founders expect. Across all 874 European rounds in the sample (Europe as the UN defines it, which places Turkey and Cyprus in Western Asia), the mean pre-money valuation was $5.79M, against $6.45M in the US, about 10% lower. On medians the gap is wider: $4.04M in Europe against $4.92M in the US, about 18% lower (Equidam internal data, July 2026).

European countries are far apart from each other. Germany ($6.55M, 62 rounds) sits level with the US, and Switzerland ($7.43M, 41 rounds) is above it. The UK ($5.90M) and France ($5.80M) are a little below, while Spain ($5.10M) and Italy ($4.07M) are well below. By sub-region, Western Europe averages $6.49M, Northern Europe $5.93M, Eastern Europe $5.73M and Southern Europe $4.91M (Equidam internal data, July 2026).

Our platform data shows a wider gap. In the H1 2026 edition of Valuation Delta, the median pre-seed company valued on Equidam came out at $5.16M in the US and $3.30M in Europe (Valuation Delta H1 2026). The two findings fit together. European startups that close a priced, disclosed round are valued not far from US ones, while the wider group of European founders preparing a raise works from lower valuations than its US peers. Our analysis of Europe’s VC gap covers the funding side of that story.

Outside data uses other definitions. Beauhurst reports a median UK pre-money valuation of £2.0m for companies at its “seed” stage in H1 2026 (Beauhurst, The Deal H1 2026). That median covers every equity raise by companies Beauhurst classifies as seed-stage, many of them small. In the US, the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor puts the median pre-money valuation of VC-backed seed rounds at $18.3M for 2026 up to 30 September (PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor Q3 2026, p.11). For US rounds backed by a venture fund, that is far above our figures, and definitions explain only part of the gap. PitchBook counts only rounds with a venture fund involved and keeps the large seed rounds our outlier rule removes. Before that rule is applied, the median of the 842 US seed rounds in our data was $10.0M, and about 23% of them sat above the cut-off (Equidam internal data, July 2026). If you are raising a VC-backed US seed round, PitchBook’s figure is the closer reference; for angel and pre-seed rounds, and outside the US, ours is.

Why do startup valuations differ between countries?

A pre-money valuation is a price agreed between founders and investors, so it reflects local conditions as much as the company. Where many angels and funds chase the same companies, prices go up, and where a few investors see most of the deals, they set the terms.

Exit markets matter too. Investors price a round by looking ahead to an acquisition or an IPO, so markets with more buyers support higher entry prices. In a study of European and US venture deals, Axelson and Martinovic found that “both amounts invested and valuations are higher in the US than in Europe”, and that European trade sales were “less likely and less profitable” than US ones (Axelson and Martinovic, European Venture Capital: Myths and Facts, LSE Financial Markets Group, 2016). Their data is older, but the mechanism still applies.

Investors pricing in a volatile currency, or in a market with higher country risk, ask for a larger stake for the same cheque, and our article on country risk explains how that works. Our piece on international valuation differences goes through these factors market by market, and our Southern Europe analysis looks at one region in depth.

How to use a country benchmark for your own round

A country average tells you what a typical priced round in your market looked like. That is a price, shaped by how much capital is chasing deals locally, so use it as a check rather than a target: your valuation should rest on what your company is and what it can become. The Scorecard method turns the comparison between your company and that typical one into a number.

The formula is: pre-money valuation = country average × (1 + Σ weight × score). Equidam uses six criteria with default weights of 30% for the team, 25% for the size of the opportunity, 15% for the product, 10% for the competitive environment, 10% for strategic relationships and 10% for the funding required (Scorecard method). A score of 0 means “the same as the average company”; positive scores mean a stronger position and negative ones a weaker position.

Worked example (illustrative). Take a hypothetical German pre-seed SaaS company that automates invoice reconciliation for mid-sized manufacturers. Two founders work on it full time, one with ten years in enterprise finance software. It has a working product with three paying pilot customers, no patents, several competitors, a referral partnership with a network of tax advisers, and it plans to raise a moderate amount for its stage.

Starting from the German average of $6.55M, the Scorecard result is $6,550,000 × 1.175 = $7,696,250, and the team score alone adds $982,500. The result moves one for one with the anchor, so a company in Italy ($4.07M) with the same scores would get $4,782,250. The anchor blends pre-seed and seed rounds, and seed rounds are priced far higher. For a pre-seed company, the other four methods and the stage weighting shape much of the final figure, so no single method should be read on its own.

That is one method out of five. In a full Equidam valuation, the Scorecard sits next to the Checklist method, the VC method and two discounted cash flow methods, and at the development stage it carries 30% of the final figure (Scorecard method; the five methods). The Checklist method works from a separate, higher figure for each country, a high-end benchmark near the top of recent rounds, which is also published on the P6.3 page.

How often is this data updated?

We refresh the country averages twice a year, with each parameters update, around February and July. The current figures come from the July 2026 update (P6.3), and the previous edition is the February 2026 update. The Valuation Delta hub tracks platform valuations over time.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average pre-seed valuation in the UK in 2026?

Across 157 UK pre-seed rounds announced from January 2024 to July 2026, the mean pre-money valuation was $4.71M and the median $3.38M. Including angel and seed rounds, the UK average is $5.90M, across 293 rounds (Equidam internal data, July 2026).

What is a typical seed valuation in Germany?

Across 62 German angel, pre-seed and seed rounds announced from January 2024 to July 2026, the mean pre-money valuation was $6.55M and the median about $5.04M (Equidam internal data, July 2026). There are too few German seed rounds alone for a reliable seed-only figure.

Why are US startup valuations higher than in Europe?

For announced rounds with a published valuation, the gap is modest: a $6.45M mean in the US against $5.79M across Europe. Research points to stronger US trade-sale markets (Axelson and Martinovic, 2016). Our platform valuations show a wider gap, $5.16M against $3.30M in H1 2026, but those are estimates founders run before raising.

Is this the same as Equidam’s Valuation Delta?

No. This page reports the mean of announced angel, pre-seed and seed rounds from Crunchbase. Valuation Delta reports the median result of valuations that pre-seed founders run on the Equidam platform, which are estimates rather than prices paid.

How is the average calculated?

We take angel, pre-seed and seed rounds from the last 30 months on Crunchbase, drop outliers above about $25.5M pre-money, and compute the mean for each country with at least 20 rounds. Smaller countries use the mean of their UN sub-region. Figures are in US dollars.

Can I use this number in my pitch deck?

You can cite it as a market reference, with the source and date. Investors price your company rather than your country, so present it as context and pair it with a valuation that shows how your team, traction and market compare with the average.

Cite as: Equidam, Average Startup Valuation by Country, July 2026, https://www.equidam.com/startup-valuation-by-country/

Data source: Equidam parameters update P6.3 (July 2026), based on Crunchbase angel, pre-seed and seed rounds announced since 1 January 2024. This page is for information only and is not investment advice.