What is normal dilution at each stage
Carta, Rebel Fund, SaaStr, and PitchBook data assembled in one place. Medians, quartiles, raise sizes, valuations, and founder ownership at each stage. Use as context for your own term sheet.
| Stage | Median dilution | 25th pct | 75th pct | Median raise | Median pre-money | Founder retain (cumulative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-seed | 8.5% | 5.0% | 12.0% | $0.3M | $5M | 91% |
| Seed | 13.8% | 10.0% | 18.0% | $2.4M | $12M | 78% |
| Series A | 17.9% | 13.5% | 22.5% | $8M | $32M | 64% |
| Series B | 14.0% | 10.5% | 18.0% | $22M | $130M | 55% |
| Series C | 11.0% | 8.0% | 15.0% | $50M | $320M | 49% |
| Series D | 9.0% | 6.5% | 12.5% | $80M | $700M | 44% |
Pre-money figures are typical median snapshots from Carta and PitchBook. Rounded for legibility. Founder retain is the median collective founder-team ownership after each cumulative round (not per-founder).
Year-over-year context
Frame the decision in terms of expected value, not percentage. If this round's post-money is $X and your remaining ownership is Y%, your expected paper value is X x Y. If that exceeds the expected value of your alternative path (smaller round, bootstrap, different valuation), the dilution is worth it. Use the homepage calculator to model both paths and compare.