Post-money valuation is the single number that decides how much of your startup an investor gets for their check. It is simply the value of the company right after the new cash hits the bank. Yet founders and investors argue about it constantly, because the same round can be described two ways: a $5 million pre-money with a $1 million investment is the identical deal to a $6 million post-money with a $1 million investment — but those two descriptions frame who is paying for what.
This post-money valuation calculator takes your agreed pre-money valuation, the size of the investment, and the number of fully-diluted shares outstanding, then instantly returns the post-money valuation, the investor's ownership percentage, the price per share, the number of new shares issued, and the remaining ownership for the founders.
How to Use
- Enter the Pre-Money Valuation — the value the parties assign to the existing business before the new money is added. This is the headline number negotiated in the term sheet.
- Enter the Investment Amount — the total cash the new investor(s) wire in this round. If multiple investors participate, sum their checks.
- Enter the Fully-Diluted Shares — all shares outstanding today plus the entire employee option pool, counted before the new shares are issued. Using only issued-and-outstanding shares (without the pool) will understate the denominator and overstate the investor's price per share.
- Read the result card: the Post-Money Valuation, the Investor Ownership %, the Price Per Share, the Shares Issued to the Investor, and the Founder & Existing Holders Ownership %.
The core math is deliberately simple: post-money = pre-money + investment, and the investor's stake is their check divided by that post-money figure. The price per share is the pre-money valuation divided by the fully-diluted share count, because the new shares are priced on the value that already existed.
The Three Formulas Behind the Calculator
Everything on this page comes from three equations that venture capitalists have used for decades:
- Post-money valuation = pre-money valuation + investment. The new cash adds to, rather than replaces, the agreed value of the business.
- Investor ownership = investment ÷ post-money valuation. This ratio is the investor's percentage of the fully-diluted company after the round.
- Price per share = pre-money valuation ÷ fully-diluted shares outstanding. The investor pays the same price per share that the existing company was valued at, then receives new shares equal to their check divided by that price.
Worked example: on a $5,000,000 pre-money, a $1,000,000 investment, and 10,000,000 fully-diluted shares, the post-money valuation is $6,000,000. The investor owns 16.67% ($1,000,000 ÷ $6,000,000). The price per share is $0.50 ($5,000,000 ÷ 10,000,000), so the investor receives 2,000,000 new shares. The founders and earlier holders keep the remaining 83.33%.
Notice that the option pool is usually sized before the round and counted in the pre-money. That means the founders — not the new investor — absorb the dilution from a pool reserved for future hires, which is one reason "fully-diluted" matters so much in term-sheet negotiation.
Why Pre-Money vs. Post-Money Matters
Founders naturally want a high pre-money valuation, because it preserves more of their equity. Investors care about post-money, because it is the price they are actually paying for their stake. A higher pre-money with the same check always means less dilution for founders; a lower pre-money means the investor owns more.
A useful sanity check: a $1,000,000 check on a $5,000,000 post-money buys 20%. On a $10,000,000 post-money it buys only 10%. Doubling the post-money halves the investor's ownership for the same cash, which is why the valuation negotiation is really a negotiation over dilution, not just over a number.
Examples
Example 1 — A seed round. A startup agrees to a $5,000,000 pre-money valuation. A seed fund wires $1,000,000, and the company has 10,000,000 fully-diluted shares. Post-money is $6,000,000; the fund owns 16.67%; the price per share is $0.50; the fund gets 2,000,000 new shares; founders retain 83.33%.
Example 2 — A larger Series A. A growth-stage company closes a $20,000,000 pre-money with a $5,000,000 investment against 20,000,000 fully-diluted shares. Post-money is $25,000,000; the investor owns exactly 20%; the price per share is $1.00; the investor receives 5,000,000 shares; existing holders keep 80%.
Example 3 — A zero-investment edge case. If the investment amount is $0 (for example, a paper exercise or an all-founder recap), post-money simply equals the pre-money, the investor owns 0%, no new shares are issued, and founders keep 100%. The price per share is still pre-money divided by the share count.
FAQ
What is post-money valuation?
Post-money valuation is the estimated value of a company immediately after an outside investment round closes. It equals the pre-money valuation plus the new investment: post-money = pre-money + investment. It is the figure used to calculate what percentage of the company the new investor owns.
How is investor ownership calculated from post-money valuation?
Divide the investment by the post-money valuation and multiply by 100. For example, a $1,000,000 investment in a company with a $6,000,000 post-money valuation gives the investor 1,000,000 ÷ 6,000,000 = 16.67% ownership.
What is the difference between pre-money and post-money valuation?
Pre-money is the company's value before the new cash is added; post-money is that value plus the investment. A $5M pre-money with a $1M raise is a $6M post-money. The distinction determines how much of the company the investor buys for the same check.
How do I calculate price per share?
Divide the pre-money valuation by the fully-diluted number of shares outstanding (including the option pool) before the round. On a $5,000,000 pre-money with 10,000,000 fully-diluted shares, the price per share is $0.50. The investor's new shares equal their investment divided by that price.
Why does "fully-diluted" matter for this calculation?
Fully-diluted shares include all issued shares plus the entire option pool and any convertible securities. If you count only shares outstanding and leave out the pool, your denominator is too small, the price per share looks too high, and the investor's share count and your dilution will both be wrong.
Does a higher post-money valuation mean less dilution?
Yes, for the founders. Holding the investment amount constant, a higher post-money valuation means the investor's check buys a smaller percentage, so founders and earlier holders are diluted less. That is why founders push for the highest defensible pre-money valuation while investors push for a lower one.
Disclaimer
This post-money valuation calculator is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, tax, or investment advice. Results depend on the inputs you enter and the standard priced-round valuation formulas; actual term sheets, option pool sizes, convertible instruments, and side agreements can change ownership materially. Always confirm the final valuation, share price, and cap table with your lawyer, accountant, or a qualified venture professional before closing a round.