Alternatives
BizBuySell alternatives
Alternatives to BizBuySell are other marketplaces, a broker, and a license of the records. Acquire.com and Flippa look for a buyer. Empire Flippers, FE International, and Quiet Light run a sale and charge at closing. Vetrix pays you to license a de-identified copy while you keep the company. Buy an ad if you still want a local listing. License the records if the company will not sell.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| What BizBuySell sells | Advertising for a listing. Confirm on its own site that it is not the broker. |
| Buyer pool | Main-street listings, which are a different pool from a startup marketplace. |
| If the company will not sell | A local ad is not a shutdown and not a license. |
Why people look for BizBuySell alternatives
BizBuySell sells advertising for listings. Its own pages are the place to confirm that it is not the broker. You pay to be seen. You do not hire BizBuySell to negotiate the sale.
The buyer pool is main-street businesses: local shops, service firms, and companies a local buyer recognizes. A startup marketplace is a different room. Founders land here when a listing ad is the tool they were sold, and the buyer they need is not browsing local businesses for sale.
If the company is closing, an ad for a going concern is a mismatch. The question becomes who files the shutdown, or whether the records can be licensed, not which county the ad targets.
For a 6-month term, Basic listings are $74.95 a month, Showcase listings are $99.95 a month, and Diamond listings are $199.95 a month. A 3-month term costs more per month, and a 12-month term is discounted. BizBuySell says it only charges advertising fees and is not a brokerage firm.
The options
These are the other ways out besides BizBuySell, grouped by what each one does. Vetrix is last.
Acquire.com
Acquire.com lists SaaS, ecommerce, Shopify apps, mobile apps, and marketplaces. A listing must be currently operating and revenue-generating, apart from a few pre-revenue SaaS exceptions, and it needs a secure website and a price multiple the curation team can verify.
Acquire.com is a marketplace where you list a startup for sale. If it sells, you pay a closing fee that is a percentage of the purchase price.
From April 17, 2024, sellers pay a monthly listing fee plus a closing fee if the startup sells. Up to a $250,000 asking price: $25 a month and an 8% closing fee. From $250,000 to $1 million: $50 a month and 7%. Above $1 million: $100 a month and 6%.
Read Acquire.com on its own site. Acquire.com vs Vetrix is the one-to-one fee comparison.
Empire Flippers
Empire Flippers lists websites and online businesses for sale, including Amazon FBA, YouTube, affiliate, newsletter, ecommerce, and Amazon KDP.
Empire Flippers is a marketplace for buying and selling online businesses and websites. It walks a seller through the sale and transfers the business to the buyer.
There is no fee to submit a business for sale. You pay a commission if Empire Flippers sells the business. The commission is blended. Under $700,000, the commission is a flat 15% of the sale price. On the value from $700,000 to $5,000,000, the commission is 8%. On the value above $5,000,000, the commission is 2.5%.
Read Empire Flippers on its own site. Empire Flippers vs Vetrix is the one-to-one fee comparison.
Flippa
For a brokered sale, Flippa looks for a business, digital asset, or YouTube channel with 12 months of consistent monthly net profit, or 6 months for YouTube. It also looks for at least 12 months of trading history, or six months of monetization history for YouTube, and 12 months of financials. A business that is not yet profitable can still be reviewed if the growth profile or customer base would interest a strategic acquirer.
Flippa takes a listing package fee to list a website, online business, Amazon FBA, KDP, or Audible account, an Android or iOS app, or a domain name. A success fee is due when a sale is completed.
Self-service packages include a $29 flat fee for a 60-day term, a $49 flat fee for a three-month term, and six-month packages at $199, $399, $599, and $699, with no monthly billing on the six-month packages. NDA and confidentiality is $199 on some of those packages and free on others. Brokered offers are a 10% success fee with $499 upfront, 9% with $899, 8% with $1,299, 6% with $1,499, and 5% with $1,499. Flippa also lists a 7% success fee. Brokered terms are a single upfront payment, a 6-month term, and a success fee paid when the business sells.
Read Flippa on its own site. Flippa vs Vetrix is the one-to-one fee comparison.
Quiet Light
Quiet Light lists businesses valued from $250,000 to $25,000,000, which it describes as usually at least $75,000 in profit a year. It names content, SaaS, ecommerce, FBA, and other online businesses. A business that gets a significant share of revenue from walk-in customers is directed to a local broker.
Quiet Light Brokerage helps entrepreneurs exit profitable online businesses, with an advisor from start to finish.
Quiet Light's January 2020 seller guide states a success-based Modern Lehman fee: 10% of the first $1 million, 9% of the second, 8% of the third, 7% of the fourth, 6% of the fifth, 5% of the sixth, 4% of the seventh, and 3% of everything above $8 million. The minimum is $25,000 or that scale, whichever is greater. The guide says some transactions outside normal parameters might use a different fee.
Read Quiet Light on its own site. Quiet Light vs Vetrix is the one-to-one fee comparison.
FE International
FE International is for people listing a startup, with a self-serve listing and a network of pre-qualified buyers.
FE International sells a business for a single success fee at closing, scaled to the asking price. A seller can run a self-serve listing, and the firm takes the deal from the first valuation through due diligence to close.
A single success fee at closing, scaled to the asking price, with no hidden costs at any tier. Below $250,000: a 5% closing fee when you sell. From $250,000 to $1 million: 4%. Above $1 million: 3%.
Read FE International on its own site. FE International vs Vetrix is the one-to-one fee comparison.
Vetrix
License the records only if the company meets the staff and records rules: at least 30 staff at peak and 2 years of records. A local shop listing is not automatically a fit.
The cost to the company is $0.
Payouts go up to $150,000 (US pricing, 250+ staff at peak).
Up to $150K · $0 cost · 3 days
Read how company data licensing works for the steps, including what you keep.
Side by side
| Option | What they do | Fee or price | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acquire.com | Lists an operating startup for sale. Fits when you want a buyer for the company. | A monthly listing fee, plus a closing fee if the startup sells. | Marketplace |
| Empire Flippers | Sells online businesses and websites, and transfers them to the buyer. Fits when you want that guided sale. | No fee to submit. A commission if the business sells. | Marketplace |
| Flippa | Lists websites, online businesses, apps, and domains. Fits a digital asset you want to sell. | A listing package fee, plus a success fee when a sale closes. | Marketplace |
| Quiet Light | Brokers a sale of a profitable online business. Fits when you want an exclusive advisor. | A success fee if the sale closes, on the scale Quiet Light publishes. | Broker |
| FE International | Sells a business, with a self-serve listing or a managed deal. Fits a startup you want to sell. | A single closing fee, scaled to the asking price, only if you sell. | M&A advisor |
| Vetrix | Pays you to license a de-identified copy of operational records. You keep the company. | $0 to the company | Data license |
How to choose
Do you need a broker or an ad?
An ad puts the listing in front of people who browse that site. A broker signs an engagement and runs the process. If you need the person, do not buy another ad and call it advice. Read which fee is a commission and which fee is placement.
Is the buyer pool local businesses?
Local businesses for sale are a real market. They are not the same buyers as a startup marketplace. If your company is a software firm with no shopfront, a main-street ad is a different pool from the one you need.
Is the company closing instead?
A closing company is not a going-concern ad. Shutdown help and a license of records are the two jobs that still have a counterparty. An unsold local listing does not become either one by waiting.
For other brands in the same situation, read alternatives to selling your business on a marketplace. If the company cannot be sold, read how to sell a failed startup. When you want two fees side by side, compare exit options for a company.
You can also read Acquire.com alternatives or Flippa alternatives.
Related
- Alternatives
Alternatives when selling on a marketplace is the wrong tool, or the listing did not sell.
- Selling a company
How to sell a failed startup, and the options when a company cannot be sold as a whole.
- Compare
Exit options compared: sell, broker, shut down, or license records.
- Acquire.com alternatives
Other ways to sell, or to license records, if Acquire.com is not the fit.
- Flippa alternatives
Marketplaces, brokers, and a data license compared with listing on Flippa.
Questions about BizBuySell alternatives
What is the best BizBuySell alternative if the company is closing?
There is no single best alternative. If the company has already closed, read each option for a closed-company fit, then read the fee that provider states. A BizBuySell ad is a listing placement for businesses buyers browse locally. A company that is closing needs a shutdown or a license, not another ad for a going concern. Read the table for which option states that job in its own words.
What are sites like BizBuySell that are not only listing ads?
Brokers are the options that are not only ads. A broker takes an engagement and runs the sale. A listing site sells placement. Startup marketplaces are a third group: they host a company for sale, and they are not a local business directory. The table separates those jobs. Pick the job before you pick the logo.
Does BizBuySell's own page say it takes a commission?
Treat BizBuySell as advertising for listings unless its own site says it is the broker and states a commission. Use the fee in the table, which quotes that site. Do not import a commission from a forum or from a different marketplace's schedule. If its site says it is not the broker, that is the fact.
What should a company do when the BizBuySell listing gets no buyer?
Stop buying more placement and name the job you still have. A broker is the next step only if you want someone to run a sale. A shutdown service is the next step if the company is closing and you need filings. A license is the next step if you will keep or close the company and you still control the records. An empty ad is not a price.
Sources
- Acquire.com. Refunds, cancellations, and subscriptions. Checked 2026-11-04
- Empire Flippers. What are the fees to list my site with you?. Checked 2026-11-04
- Flippa. Flippa pricing. Checked 2026-11-04
- Quiet Light. 10 Steps to Sell Your Amazon Business. Checked 2026-11-04
- FE International. Seller Pricing. Checked 2026-11-04