Pre-Seed and Seed Benchmarks 2026: Round Sizes, Valuations, Dilution
The median seed round in 2026 is roughly $4.1 million at a $24.3 million post-money valuation with 18% dilution, according to Carta's July 2026 benchmark. PitchBook-NVCA, measuring a different population, puts the median round size nearer $3.0 million on an $18.4 million pre-money.
Both are correct. They measure different things. This is the full picture, with the method attached to every number, so you can quote it in a meeting without being corrected.
Key takeaways
- Median seed: $4.1M raised, $24.3M post, 18% dilution (Carta, July 2026).
- Median pre-seed pre-money: $7.7M (PitchBook-NVCA, Q3 2025).
- AI companies tend to price well above the median. In our reading, most non-AI B2B SaaS lands below it.
- Seed dilution moves far less than round size or valuation. Round size moves; dilution barely does.
- Never quote a median without its source. The two headline datasets differ by more than $1 million on round size.
The headline numbers
| Metric | Figure | Source | Population measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median seed round raised | $4.1M | Carta, July 2026 | Transactions on Carta's cap-table platform |
| Median seed post-money | $24.3M | Carta, July 2026 | As above |
| Median seed dilution | 18% | Carta, July 2026 | As above |
| Median seed round size | $3.0M | PitchBook-NVCA | Priced rounds, US venture market |
| Median seed pre-money | $18.4M | PitchBook-NVCA | As above |
| Median pre-seed pre-money | $7.7M | PitchBook-NVCA, Q3 2025 | As above |
| Seed capital deployed, Q1 2026 | $12B, +31% YoY | PitchBook-NVCA | As above |
Scroll the table for more columns
Why the two sources disagree
This trips up founders constantly, so it is worth being precise.
PitchBook-NVCA tracks priced equity rounds across the US venture market, sourced from filings, announcements and reporting. It skews toward rounds that were announced and priced.
Carta sees what runs through its cap-table software. That is a broader set of transactions including many that are never announced, and it covers a population that self-selects into using Carta.
Neither is wrong. They are different denominators. The practical rule: quote the source with the number every time. A founder who says "the median seed is $4.1 million" to an investor who reads PitchBook will spend the next two minutes on a definitional argument instead of on their company.
Dilution is the stable number
Round sizes swing with the cycle. Valuations swing harder. Dilution barely moves.
Median seed dilution sits around 18% in Carta's July 2026 data, and in our experience it has stayed in a similar band across very different market conditions. That is not a coincidence; it is a norm. Investors need a meaningful position, founders need to survive to Series A with enough equity to stay motivated, and the negotiation resolves to roughly a fifth.
The useful implication: dilution is the constraint, so solve for it. Decide what you are willing to give up, then work backwards to the raise amount at a defensible valuation. Founders who solve for valuation first end up either raising too little at a good headline number, or taking excessive dilution to hit a round size they picked arbitrarily.
A worked example at the median:
| Target dilution | 18% |
| Post-money | $24.3M |
| Raise | $4.4M |
| Pre-money | $19.9M |
If you need $2.5M, the median valuation gives away about 10%, which most investors will resist as too small a position. If you need $6M, you are at 25% and should expect a hard conversation. The round size and the valuation have to be consistent with a normal dilution outcome, or one side pushes back.
Sector spread beats the median
The single most misleading thing a founder can do with this data is benchmark against the market median.
AI companies tend to raise at well above median valuations. In our reading, most non-AI B2B SaaS lands below it. Deep tech, consumer, marketplaces and fintech all price differently, and geography adds another layer: in our experience a European seed often prices below a US seed at the same stage and traction.
Benchmark against your sector, your stage, your geography and your traction level. If you cannot find that specific comparison, the honest answer in a meeting is "here is the market median and here is why we think we sit above or below it", which is a far stronger position than quoting a number that does not apply to you.
Pre-seed is the noisiest stage
The $7.7M median pre-seed pre-money hides enormous variance, for structural reasons:
- Most pre-seed happens on SAFEs and convertible notes, which have caps rather than valuations. A cap is not a valuation, and treating them as equivalent distorts every dataset.
- "Pre-seed" is not a defined term. It covers $150K friends-and-family and $2M institutional pre-seed, which are different asset classes.
- Much of it is never reported anywhere.
Practical guidance at pre-seed: anchor on the cap and the dilution you are accepting, not on an implied valuation. A $1M raise on an $8M post-money cap is 12.5% if it converts at the cap (about 11% on a pre-money cap), and you should plan around that number, not around the $8M.
The number that should actually drive your planning
Not the valuation. The gap to the next round.
The median gap between primary rounds runs to roughly 774 days, about 2.1 years, in Carta's data. Roughly 15-20% of seed companies reach a priced Series A within 24 months.
That means the correct question is not "what is the market paying?" It is "how much do I need to reach the evidence threshold for the next round, with 24 months of runway and a margin for a process that takes six months?"
Solve that, then check the answer against the dilution norm. If the number you need implies 30% dilution, you have either a valuation problem or a plan that is too expensive - and it is better to find that out now than in month nine of your raise.
More on this in the graduation problem.
Method and sources
Figures as published: Carta benchmark data (July 2026) for seed round size, post-money valuation, dilution and inter-round gaps; PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor for priced-round medians, pre-seed pre-money and quarterly seed deployment. Sector and geography comparisons are our own reading, not a published figure.
Medians from different providers measure different populations and are not interchangeable. We show both rather than blending them. Re-verify before citing in investor materials.
Frequently Asked Questions
Carta's July 2026 benchmark puts the median at $4.1 million on a $24.3 million post-money. PitchBook-NVCA puts the median priced seed round nearer $3.0 million. Use the figure that matches your population.
Median dilution is about 18%. Anything above 25% should prompt a hard look at either the raise amount or the valuation.
Median pre-seed pre-money is around $7.7 million, but the variance is enormous and most pre-seed runs on SAFEs with caps rather than priced valuations.
Yes, AI companies tend to price well above the median. The premium is real and concentrated.
Solve for dilution and runway first. You need 24 months and enough capital to clear the next round's evidence bar. Optimise the headline number only after those two are satisfied.
Read next
The State of Early-Stage Capital 2026
The Graduation Problem: What Share of Seed Companies Reach Series A
How Long a Seed Round Actually Takes
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