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Acquire.com vs Vetrix
Acquire.com lists a startup for sale and charges a closing fee if a buyer closes. Vetrix pays you to license a de-identified copy of operational records, and you keep the company. Use Acquire.com when the company is operating and you want a buyer. Use a license when you want cash for the records without selling the company.
Up to $150K · $0 cost · 3 days
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| What they do | 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. |
| Who it is for | 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. |
| Fee | 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%. |
| Cost to the company | You pay the closing fee only if you sell the business. While the startup is live on the marketplace, you pay a monthly listing fee. There are no other admin costs on that fee. |
| Keeps ownership | You still own the company until the sale documents transfer it. |
| Works if closed | No. They say the company has to be operating. |
The names identify the services. We are not affiliated with them.
What Acquire.com does and how it works
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.
Buyer access
Once the listing is live, buyers request access and you evaluate whether they fit.
Letters of intent
You review each letter of intent, negotiate price and terms, then accept or reject it.
Purchase agreement
After due diligence you sign an asset purchase agreement that sets the assets, terms, and closing conditions.
Escrow and transfer
The buyer funds escrow, you transfer the assets named in the agreement, and escrow releases the funds after the buyer approves them.
Vetrix's path is six steps. Vetrix runs steps 1 to 3 and stays with you through the rest.
- Tell us what you have.
- We confirm fit.
- We check your systems.
- You sign an NDA.
- You receive an offer.
- You sign, and get paid.
Read how company data licensing works for the step detail. Nothing is uploaded in the first step.
Acquire.com finishes the job in its own description. A license is finished when you sign with the data partner and the copy is prepared. You can still be operating, winding down, or already closed, if you meet the staff and records rules.
Bring the question you actually have. If the question is the job Acquire.com describes, stay with that service and read the fee. If the question is whether the records can be licensed while you still own them, that service does not answer it by itself. If the company is already closed or not operating, it does not meet Acquire.com's rule that a listing be currently operating.
Fees, cost, and where the money goes
Read Acquire.com's fee as they state it, then read what a license costs the company. The two numbers are not the same kind of money.
| Question | Acquire.com | Vetrix |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | 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%. | $0 to the company |
| Cost if nothing closes | You pay the closing fee only if you sell the business. While the startup is live on the marketplace, you pay a monthly listing fee. There are no other admin costs on that fee. | $0 |
| Who is paid | Acquire.com is paid its fee. A purchase price, if a buyer pays one, is paid to you. | You, up to $150,000 (US pricing, 250+ staff at peak). |
| What you give up | A listing is for a sale of the startup. Acquire.com does not support a transfer of fractional shares, and it does not do licensing deals. | You give the data partner the right to use your records, with personal details removed, for AI research. The license is worldwide, permanent, and only for them. |
Use the fee Acquire.com states on its own site, in the fee table. Read it as the cost of that service. It is not a payout for a license, and it is not what you pay Vetrix. A listing ad, a broker's commission, a shutdown invoice, and a license payout are different kinds of money. Match the bill to the job before you treat one number as the winner.
What Vetrix pays is not a success fee. The data partner pays Vetrix's fee, not you. If no agreement is signed, nobody pays anything. The amount depends on staff at peak and on the US pricing band. It is not a percent of a sale price, because there is no sale of the company.
Timing
Acquire.com's clock is how long its own process can take. Vetrix's clock is a yes or no within 3 days, which is a fit decision, not a closing date.
If you have prepared well, you could sell in fewer than 30 days. In a tougher market, or if you need more time to prepare, it might take a year or more.
A fit decision in 3 days does not mean the records are licensed that week. After a yes, there is a read-only check, an NDA with the data partner, an offer, and a signature. Those later steps take as long as the check and your lawyer need. They are not a promise that a buyer will appear.
Do not put the two clocks on one calendar and call the shorter one faster. A sale can be the right outcome and still take months. A license can be the wrong product even when the first answer is quick. Decide which clock you need: a buyer, or a decision on the records.
What you keep
You still own the company until the sale documents transfer it.
Under a license you keep ownership of your data and full use of it in your business. You sign an NDA and the licensing agreement directly with the data partner, not with Vetrix.
Read what the company keeps under a data license before you treat the two offers as the same promise.
Read what is shared and never shared. Personal details are removed before a copy leaves.
Where Acquire.com is a better fit
- You want to sell the whole startup, and it is operating and bringing in revenue. Acquire.com lists SaaS, ecommerce, Shopify apps, mobile apps, and marketplaces.
- You can pay the monthly listing fee while the listing is live, and the closing fee only if a buyer closes.
Use Acquire.com when the job those points describe is the job you have. Do not force a license into a contract that does a different job.
Where licensing records fits
- If the company is already closed or not operating, it does not meet Acquire.com's rule that a listing be currently operating.
- You want to be paid for a de-identified copy of the records and to keep the company, including when no buyer is ready to purchase it.
The license fits when those conditions are true and the company meets the staff and records rules. It is not a substitute buyer, and it does not file a dissolution. You can estimate the payout before you start the check.
If you are weighing a broker, a shutdown, or a license, compare exit options for a company. If no buyer is in sight, read exit options when a company cannot be sold. If the listing did not sell, read What to do when a listing did not sell. For other ways to sell or to license the records, read Acquire.com alternatives.
Using both
Acquire.com sells the startup and says it does not do licensing deals. A license of the records is a separate contract from the listing.
You agree not to license the same records to anyone else. A later buyer of the company has to be told. You can pursue a sale and a license when the license does not hand the same records to someone else, and when the sale documents can live with that promise.
If the buyer will want those records exclusively, say so before you sign the license. If you only want the records licensed and you do not want a buyer, do not pay a listing fee while you wait for a sale you are not seeking.
Related
- Compare
Exit options compared: sell, broker, shut down, or license records.
- Selling a company
How to sell a failed startup, and the options when a company cannot be sold as a whole.
- Acquisition.com vs Vetrix
Acquisition.com buys and partners with businesses. It is not the startup marketplace.
- BizBuySell vs Vetrix
BizBuySell sells advertising for business listings. Licensing records is a separate choice.
- License terms
The four license terms: what you give, keep, agree, and sign.
- What's shared
Which records can be licensed, which details never leave, and what you approve.
- Estimate
US payout bands by staff at peak, and the estimator that uses them.
- Acquire.com alternatives
Other ways to sell, or to license records, if Acquire.com is not the fit.
Questions about Acquire.com vs Vetrix
Can we use Acquire.com and Vetrix at the same time?
Yes, with one limit. You agree not to license the same records to anyone else. A later buyer of the company has to be told. Acquire.com sells the startup and says it does not do licensing deals. A license of the records is a separate contract from the listing. You still own the company while it is only listed. Once you sign a purchase agreement and transfer the assets, the buyer owns what that agreement names.
What seller fees does Acquire.com charge?
Acquire.com charges a monthly listing fee while the startup is listed, and a closing fee only if the business sells. The monthly amount and the closing percent follow the asking price. One band stops at $250,000, the next runs from $250,000 to $1 million, and the last is above $1 million. You pay the closing percent only when a sale closes. That band is the schedule, not a number you negotiate after a call.
If we list on Acquire.com, do we still own the company until it sells?
Yes. You still own the company while it is listed. You commit when you sign an asset purchase agreement, and you transfer the assets named in that agreement through escrow. Until then you can refuse a letter of intent. A listing is not a sale of a slice of the company, and it is not a license of the records.
Does Acquire.com replace a license of the records?
No. Acquire.com is a sale of the startup to a buyer. A license leaves ownership with the company and pays for a de-identified copy. A listing is for a buyer who wants the business. If you want to keep the company, the listing does not do the job a license does. The two paths use different documents and a different counterparty.
Sources
- Acquire.com. Simple Pricing to Help Sell Your Business.
- Acquire.com. Seller FAQs.
- Acquire.com. Refunds, cancellations, and subscriptions.
- Acquire.com. How to sell your business on Acquire.com.