Guide
How long a 409A valuation takes, by provider
Updated
Twentyfold variation in stated turnaround, on what is nominally the same deliverable, is the clearest signal in this market that the deliverables are not the same.
Talk to a specialist Nine 409A valuation providers, the four that publish a price, the five that will not, and what each says about turnaround, audit support and who signs the report.
What providers publish
| Provider | Stated turnaround | Expedite |
|---|---|---|
| 409A.io | 48 hours average | Not offered separately |
| Pulley | 3 to 5 days | Not stated |
| Eton Venture Services | 10 days | As little as one day, at a premium |
| Kruze Consulting | 10 business days from full information | Not stated |
| Eqvista | Not stated | 1 to 5 days, from an extra $490 |
| Redwood Valuation | Draft in 3 to 4 weeks | From one week |
| Cake Equity | Not stated for the valuation | Not stated |
| MELD Valuation | Not stated | Not stated |
| Sharp 409A | Described as speedy, no number given | Not stated |
Every figure was read on the provider's own page on 15 August 2026 and is reproduced, not estimated. Turnaround claims are marketing statements about typical cases, not contractual commitments, and every one of them is measured from the point at which the provider has all your information.
The clock starts later than you think
Kruze is the most explicit about this: 10 business days from the date all company information is submitted. That qualifier is doing a lot of work across the whole market.
The information pack is broadly the same everywhere: financial statements, a forecast, the cap table, and the terms of every convertible instrument, including SAFEs and convertible notes. If your cap table is a spreadsheet with three versions in circulation, the reconciliation is the long pole. No provider's turnaround claim covers it.
When speed is worth paying for
- You have signed a term sheet and need the pre-round valuation dated before it closes.
- Offers are out to candidates and the strike price is unpriced, which is a real recruiting problem and a compliance one.
- A material event has landed and grants are queued behind it.
- Board approval is scheduled and the valuation is the last item, which is the most common and the most avoidable.
When speed is the wrong purchase
If your cap table has multiple preferred classes with participation rights, a recent secondary, or a tender offer in the past year, the work is an allocation exercise. Then the difference between a 48 hour product and a three week engagement is not effort, it is method.
MELD's own site characterizes fast-turnaround firms as offering generic templates, limited methodology and weak audit defensibility. It characterizes national firms as taking 4 to 8 weeks with junior staff doing the work. Both characterizations are positioning rather than findings, and both point at something real.
On a complex cap table, someone has to make judgement calls about allocation, and a fast pipeline is designed to avoid needing to.
Plan the date, not the delivery
The number that matters is the valuation date, not the delivery date. The safe harbor presumption runs from the appraisal date, not from when the PDF arrived. Work backwards from the board meeting where grants are approved, add the provider's stated turnaround, add a week for the information pack, and start there.
Our sister site 409acost.com covers a related question: how many valuations the 12 month window and material events actually force you to buy over a planning horizon.