Glossary/Marketing Finance/Burn Multiple
Marketing Finance
Burn Multiple
Net cash burned divided by net new annual recurring revenue in a period; lower means more capital-efficient growth.
By Brandon Mina·CEO, BrandPilot AI·Updated November 2026
Short answer
Burn multiple is net cash burned divided by net new annual recurring revenue in a period; a lower number means more capital-efficient growth. A burn multiple of two, for example, means a company spends two dollars to add one dollar of ARR. Investors use it to compare startup efficiency across different stages and growth rates.