Acquire.com Alternatives for Smaller SaaS Deals
Last updated · Acqora Research
The best Acquire.com alternatives for smaller SaaS deals are Microns, Flippa, Empire Flippers and Acqora. Acquire.com charges sellers an 8% closing fee below a $250k ask plus a $25 monthly listing fee. Alternatives differ on closing fee, buyer cost, escrow and revenue verification, and the cheapest option changes with deal size.
Why do founders look for Acquire.com alternatives?
Acquire.com (formerly MicroAcquire) is a marketplace for startups and SaaS where founders list a business and buyers send offers. It is one of the best-known options, so it is usually the first place sellers price-check against.
Three things push people to compare. Sellers pay a monthly listing fee for every month a listing is live, on top of a closing fee that is due in full at closing. Buyers must pay for a membership to contact sellers. And an 8% closing fee is a meaningful share of proceeds on a small sale.
None of that makes Acquire.com a bad choice. It means the right platform depends on deal size, how fast you need to close, and what protection you want around the money and the revenue numbers.
How much does Acquire.com cost sellers and buyers?
Acquire.com's seller pricing page lists tiered closing fees by asking price. The closing fee is a percentage of the total purchase price and is paid only if you sell. The monthly listing fee is paid while the startup is live. The page states that escrow is free to sellers.
| Asking price | Closing fee | Monthly listing fee |
|---|---|---|
| Below $250k | 8% | $25 |
| $250k to $1M | 7% | $50 |
| Above $1M | 6% | $100 |
What do buyers pay on Acquire.com?
Basic access is free and shows public listing details. The buyer membership, which adds direct connections to founders, detailed financials and tools for building letters of intent and asset purchase agreements, starts at $390.
The FAQ describes two paid tiers: Premium for startups priced up to $250k and Platinum for all sizes. The page does not state a price for either tier, so check the current figure before you subscribe.
Acquire.com alternatives compared: fees, escrow and fit
The table uses each marketplace's own published pricing as of October 2026. Fees change, so confirm on the provider's pricing page before you list or bid.
| Marketplace | Seller fees | Buyer cost | Escrow | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acquire.com | 8% / 7% / 6% closing fee by ask, plus $25 / $50 / $100 per month listing fee | Free browsing; membership from $390 | Free to sellers, via Escrow.com | Startups and SaaS, mid-size deals |
| Microns | No listing fee; 10% from $1k, 8% from $10k, 6% from $100k | Free plan; Premium $299 per 12 months or $40 per month, listed with zero commission | Not described on the pricing page | Micro-acquisitions |
| Flippa | Listing packages from $29 to $599; NDA add-on $199 on some packages | Free to browse; Premium $49 per month or $490 per year | FlippaPay from 1%, Escrow.com from 1.2% | Small sites, apps and domains |
| Empire Flippers | No listing fee; flat $10,000 up to $66,666.66, then 15% to $700k, 8% on $700k to $5M, 2.5% above | Not listed on the seller FAQ | Not covered on the seller FAQ | Larger, vetted, profitable sites |
| Acqora | Free listing; 5% of the sale price split 2.5% buyer and 2.5% seller | Free access; 2.5% of the price at closing | Escrow.com | SaaS with revenue verified against payment processors |
What do the fees cost at $30,000, $100,000 and $500,000?
Percentages hide the real gap, so here is the seller-side arithmetic using the published rates above. It assumes the asking price equals the sale price and excludes optional add-ons. Flippa is left out because its success-fee terms were not shown on the pricing page.
Acquire.com's listing fee is on top of the closing fee: a $100,000 listing that stays live for three months adds $75. At a flat 5% split, the buyer pays a matching amount, so the combined cost of the deal is double the seller figure.
| Marketplace | $30,000 sale | $100,000 sale | $500,000 sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acquire.com (8% / 8% / 7%) | $2,400 | $8,000 | $35,000 |
| Microns (8% / 6% / 6%) | $2,400 | $6,000 | $30,000 |
| Empire Flippers (flat / 15% / 15%) | $10,000 | $15,000 | $75,000 |
| Flat 5% split (2.5% seller share) | $750 | $2,500 | $12,500 |
Which Acquire.com alternative fits your deal?
Match the platform to deal size first, then to buyer audience, escrow and verification.
Microns for small deals
Microns lists no seller fee until you sell and charges 10%, 8% or 6% depending on the ask. Buyers on Premium pay a subscription and no commission. The pricing page says Premium subscriptions are non-refundable and does not mention escrow, only that Microns handles the purchase agreement, invoice and payment processing. Confirm how funds and asset transfer work before you accept an offer. See the Microns comparison.
Flippa for small sites, apps and domains
Flippa mixes content sites, domains, stores, apps and SaaS, so software buyers have more unrelated inventory to filter. Listing packages start at $29 for 60 days, and the page offers FlippaPay from 1% or Escrow.com from 1.2%. Read the Flippa alternatives guide for the full breakdown.
Empire Flippers for larger, vetted sales
Empire Flippers reviews and vets each business and asks sellers to agree to a two-month exclusive listing period. Its flat $10,000 floor makes it expensive for small SaaS, but the 8% band from $700k to $5M can be competitive for larger sales.
A flat 5% marketplace for verified SaaS
Acqora lists startups and SaaS for free, reads revenue from Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy or Chargebee, and closes through Escrow.com. The 5% fee is split evenly, so the seller pays 2.5% and the buyer pays 2.5%. Browse the marketplace, or list a startup at no cost.
How do these marketplaces verify revenue?
Revenue verification means the marketplace connects to the seller's payment processor, such as Stripe, and reads revenue directly instead of accepting a screenshot. It matters because a SaaS price is usually a multiple of recurring revenue, so a fake number inflates the price directly.
The Acquire.com pages reviewed for this guide say buyers can evaluate web, customer and financial metrics, and that sellers receive offers from buyers with verified funds. They do not describe how revenue itself is checked, so ask before you rely on a figure. Empire Flippers' seller FAQ asks for revenue screenshots, verified expenses and analytics access, and says each business is reviewed and vetted.
Whichever platform you use, ask for read-only access to the billing dashboard during diligence and compare it to the stated monthly figure. The SaaS due diligence checklist lists the other checks to run before you sign.
What should buyers compare besides price?
Buyers face a different cost structure than sellers. Acquire.com and Microns charge buyers a subscription to reach sellers, Flippa offers an optional Premium plan, and a flat 5% split charges the buyer 2.5% only when a deal closes. A buyer who closes one deal a year and a buyer who browses weekly will rank these differently.
Also compare listing quality, how much financial detail is visible before you pay, and whether offers, escrow and the asset purchase agreement happen in one place.
- Subscription price versus a per-deal fee, based on how many deals you expect to close.
- The deal-size ceiling on your plan, such as Acquire.com's Premium limit of $250k.
- Whether revenue shown on a listing is verified or self-reported.
- Who holds the money and who pays the escrow fee.
What should you check before you switch platforms?
- Read the current fee page for your price band, not a roundup, because fees change.
- Add up total cost: monthly listing fees for the months you expect to be live, the closing fee, add-ons and any buyer-side charges.
- Ask how revenue is verified and whether buyers see verified or self-reported numbers.
- Confirm who holds the funds and whether Escrow.com or another escrow service is used.
- Check that the platform's buyers actually buy software, not only content sites or domains.
- Read how asset transfer works for your domain, code repository, payment processor account and customer data.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
Related
List your SaaS free, pay only when it sells
Revenue verified against your payment processor, closings through Escrow.com, and a flat 5% split between buyer and seller.
List your startup