Many entrepreneurs have a common dream — the idea of buying or selling an online business. This dream is finally within reach! The digital world has lots of fresh opportunities, new brokers and platforms constantly appear, making it easier than ever to turn that entrepreneurial dream into a reality.
We’ve also been there, starting with the popular Flippa.com and gradually exploring more specialized markets as the industry grew.
Companies like Empire Flippers and Quiet Light Brokerage brought a new level of professionalism, focusing on the best online businesses. Then, the pandemic changed everything, leading to a huge increase in specialized marketplaces. Now, you can find platforms dedicated to selling everything from newsletters to European YouTube channels. What a time to be alive in the world of online business!
We know that the online business world can be a bit tough and overwhelming, but don't worry! We've created a guide to help you find your way. It has information about the best brokers and marketplaces, whether you're looking to buy or sell an online business. Let it be your starting point!
We can't go into detail about each platform right now, but we've put together a helpful table that gives you all the key information about the marketplaces and brokers we've found. Let's explore the options together!
Understanding the Numbers: Insights into the Online Business Market
To gain a better understanding of the online business brokerage scene, we analyzed key statistics provided by the platforms themselves. Here's what we found regarding listing times, audience reach, and the number of deals available:
- How Long Does it Take to Sell a Website? Based on data shared by the brokers, the average time it takes to sell an online business is about 55.8 days. This suggests a relatively active market where businesses often find buyers within a couple of months.
- Who's Looking to Buy? On average, each listing on these platforms attracts around 703 unique users. This represents the potential pool of buyers who might be interested in any given business, highlighting the wide reach these brokers have within the online business community.
- What's Available? Looking at the inventory across different brokers, we found an average of 667.5 deals listed at any given time. This wide variety ensures there are options for buyers with different interests and budgets.
Our Top Picks for Online Business Brokers and Marketplaces
- Flippa: Your Go-To for Small to Medium-Sized Online Businesses
Launched in 2009, Flippa is a major player in the online business buying and selling industry. With over 4,791 businesses currently listed, ranging in price from just $1 to a whopping $59,000,000, Flippa provides a vast marketplace for entrepreneurs.
While Flippa offers a wealth of opportunities, it's crucial to be cautious. Not every listing is equally valuable, so thorough research is essential before making a purchase. If you're unsure about a deal, consider seeking professional advice to help you assess it properly.
Flippa's pricing structure is straightforward, with a percentage-based fee that depends on the sale price. Recently, they've also introduced a subscription model for buyers, offering early access to new listings as a key benefit.
Example listing from flippa.com
In terms of website valuation, Flippa reports an average multiple of 36.36x for the first half of 2023. After taking into account their 10% commission, this translates to an effective average multiple of 32.7x. Notably, many of the successful website purchases highlighted in our Stream SEO newsletter were found on Flippa.
Because of its extensive deal flow and variety of opportunities, Flippa earns the top spot on our list as the best recommendation for buying online businesses.
- Empire Flippers: The Premier Choice for Quality and High Sales Prices
Empire Flippers has established itself as a leading platform for selling online businesses, known for its rigorous listing requirements and thorough vetting process. This selective approach ensures that only high-quality businesses are featured on their platform, attracting a pool of serious buyers and resulting in higher selling prices and valuations.
With a strong reputation built on years of experience and insightful resources on website flipping, Empire Flippers has earned the trust of many sellers. While they may have fewer listings than some other platforms, the demand and quality of buyers are significantly higher, leading to impressive results. In fact, they boast an average sale time of less than a month, reflecting the efficiency of their platform and the quality of the businesses they represent.
If your business meets Empire Flippers' high standards, they are a top choice when considering brokers. Their expertise in marketing online businesses and their ability to achieve exceptional sales multiples make them a valuable partner. In 2023, their average sales multiple was an impressive 48.2x, translating to roughly 41x after their standard 15% commission (for sales under $700,000).
- Quiet Light Brokerage: A Strong Contender for High-Value Businesses
Quiet Light Brokerage is another prominent player in the online business brokerage space, with nearly two decades of experience helping entrepreneurs sell their digital ventures. They handle a wide range of businesses, from those valued in the mid-five-figure range to multimillion-dollar enterprises in the seven- and eight-figure brackets.
While not personally experienced with a Quiet Light sale, their strong reputation, high-quality deal flow, valuable educational resources, and reported sales multiples speak volumes about their expertise and effectiveness. If you're looking to sell a seven- or eight-figure business, Quiet Light should be a top consideration when selecting a broker.
- FE International: Maximizing Exposure with a Curated Approach
Rounding out our list of top brokers is FE International. While the meaning of "FE" may be a mystery, their exceptional curation of deals and large audience are undeniable. With an estimated 60,000 monthly users and a limited number of just 10 listings at any given time, FE International boasts the highest audience-per-listing ratio in our analysis — a key factor that makes it attractive to sellers.
FE International has focused on larger transactions in recent years, playing a key role in the sale of well-known platforms like SendOwl and AnswerThePublic. As a result, if your website generates less than $10,000 to $20,000 per month, it may not meet their listing requirements. However, if your business aligns with their scale and criteria, FE International is a top-tier option for both buying and selling.
- Acquire.com: Your Hub for SaaS Businesses
Acquire.com has made a significant impact on the online business brokerage scene, particularly within the Software as a Service (SaaS) industry.
This innovative platform stands out with its subscription-based model for buyers, a departure from the traditional listing fee approach.
Other major players, including Flippa, have since adopted similar models, highlighting the effectiveness of Acquire.com's approach.
Beyond its pricing structure, Acquire.com has introduced new metrics and valuation methods, favoring Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) earnings over monthly multiples. They also consider factors like "Recurring Annual Revenue," which is particularly relevant for SaaS businesses.
Acquire.com has fostered a strong community through its active presence on Twitter, attracting a diverse group of indie hackers and SaaS entrepreneurs. It's a great resource for finding software businesses founded by tech-savvy individuals who might lack marketing expertise or marketers seeking technical support to grow their ventures.
Similar to Flippa, Acquire.com offers numerous opportunities, but buyers should remain vigilant about potential red flags. A recent trend to watch out for is the rise of
AI startups that experience quick growth but may struggle to maintain momentum as competition intensifies.
- Investors Club: Your Destination for Content Site Investments
Investors Club is a reputable marketplace primarily focused on content sites, along with a selection of e-commerce and SaaS businesses, all offered at competitive prices. Based on personal experience, there are some attractive deals to be found, particularly in the content niche.
Currently, the platform's average sales multiple is around 31x, which, after their 7% fee, translates to roughly 29x. This aligns with the average for content sites, making Investors Club a valuable resource for buyers seeking deals.
Investors Club offers fair valuations and reasonable fees, reflecting the team's industry expertise and solid reputation.
- Motion Invest: Niche Content Sites with Hidden Gems
Founded by Spencer Haws, a well-known figure in the niche site community, Motion Invest specializes in selling content sites, primarily in the lower price range. While not having direct experience with this platform, regular observation of their listings has revealed some fairly priced, hidden gems. However, there are also less desirable sites listed.
One area where Motion Invest could improve is its user interface, which could benefit from a more user-friendly design. Despite this, it's a solid marketplace for those seeking content sites.
For sellers, it's important to note that Motion Invest requires a one-month exclusivity period. This seems reasonable, allowing sellers to explore other options if they don't find a buyer within the first month.
The platform boasts an impressive average selling time of just 12 days, making it the fastest marketplace for selling websites in our analysis. This efficiency is likely due to the fact that their listings are generally at lower price points, making them more liquid.
Motion Invest also reports an average sales multiple of 36x, which, depending on the site's size, translates to a 34x multiple for sites over $500,000 and 29x for sites under $20,000. They support this claim with data showing their ability to sell even larger sites within 30 days:
Source: link
- Side Projectors: A Hub for Startup and Co-Founder Opportunities
Side Projectors stands out among online business marketplaces due to its high volume of deal flow. One of its key features is the "showcase" option, which allows business owners to list their ventures even if they're not ready to sell. This approach provides buyers with access to a vast database of almost 10,000 startups that could potentially be acquired, as well as opportunities to connect with co-founders for collaborative projects.
Specialized platforms: Catering to specific niches
- Duuce: The Go-To for Newsletter Businesses
Newsletter businesses have seen significant growth in recent years, offering creators a direct and algorithm-free way to connect with their audience. Recognizing this trend, Duuce has emerged as a leading platform for buying and selling newsletters.
Duuce presents attractive investment opportunities, although due diligence can be more challenging in this niche. Assessing audience engagement, conversion rates, and the number of genuine subscribers can be difficult. Newsletter valuations also vary considerably, ranging from 7x to 80x, potentially offering some great deals.
- Trustiu: Focusing on European Online Businesses
For those interested in European markets, Trustiu is a valuable resource specializing in European websites, YouTube channels, and e-commerce businesses. Listings often come with lower valuations compared to global counterparts and are frequently in languages like Spanish, French, and German. If you speak one of these languages, Trustiu offers a wide range of potential deals.
The platform offers competitive pricing with success fees ranging from 8% to 10%. Trustiu also prioritizes security for sellers by requiring buyers to verify their identity through a simple process, adding an extra layer of trust to transactions.
- FlipWP: Your Source for WordPress Plugin and Theme Businesses
FlipWP is a niche marketplace dedicated exclusively to WordPress-based businesses, primarily focused on themes and plugins. These businesses are typically sold at lower valuations compared to others, despite their consistent revenue streams and organic traffic. It's not unusual to find established plugins, generating consistent revenue and organic traffic, being sold for around a 20x multiple.
One benefit of FlipWP is its generally low and fixed fees, particularly advantageous for larger transactions.
SaaS Tools for Finding Source Deals
- Folio Findr: Uncovering Off-Market Deals
Folio Findr is a SaaS tool that originated from a custom script used to successfully secure off-market deals.
Here's how it works:
- Enter a keyword related to the type of websites you're interested in.
- The tool generates a list of domains ranking for that keyword, along with their "last update" date, indicating when the website was last modified.
- With this information, you can identify potentially abandoned or underutilized websites, contact their owners, and explore acquisition opportunities.
Conclusion
This detailed list of brokers, marketplaces, and SaaS tools provides tons of options for buying and selling online businesses. The market right now is great for anyone looking to get started or grow in this industry, with lots of good deals out there. We hope this guide has helped you find your next opportunity.
