Monetize.info How to turn your passion into profit.
Are you looking forward to earning revenue from websites but not knowing how to build one? Or are you someone who has made an established site that generates millions and is looking for a buyer?
Let us help you find a platform that can assist you in finding the best buyer or seller for a website.
Buying or selling websites is like any other business model. There are a couple of online markets where you can sell and buy websites. This deal process is precisely what you are thinking.
For instance, if Person A is a website developer and has created a website that earns millions. And Person B is someone who knows the business but lacks at building a website and wants a revenue-generating site. A marketplace platform helps these two persons find each other and complete the transactions.
These platforms provide diversity in their digital product. You can find a website at a lower cost of $500 to $100,000. It depends on the requirements of the buyer and the features provided by the seller.
So, without further ado, let’s start discussing the best platforms for buying and selling websites.
Table of Contents
1. Flippa
Flippa is a global marketplace for sellers, buyers, mediators, or brokers. It offers a range of products that you can acquire or sell.
You can buy and sell any digital product such as domains, apps, websites, SaaS software, and tools. Also, you can create a deal for eCommerce businesses and services or digital content like blogs.
You can use Flippa for almost anything and find options for all budgets. For example, you might see a cheap $99 starter website next to an established site going for $500,000+ or more.
With 120,000 registered buyers, as per 2022 reports, Flippa owns a considerable marketplace for buyers and sellers. It also provides a dedicated Flippa Agent who can guide you through the process. However, as it is an open marketplace, there are chances you might observe low-quality websites.
Flippa PROs
- Good variety of listings: apps, websites, domains, SaaSes, and digital businesses.
- Owners and brokers can place listings.
- Many details about the digital property: verified traffic, finances, SEO metrics, etc.
- Options to verify buyers and integrated NDA system.
- Doesn’t require exclusivity on listings.
Flippa CONs
- As it’s a popular marketplace that attracts scammers, so do your due diligence.
- It’s pretty costly for sellers due to listing prices.
- Quite tricky for buyers to navigate through the listings.
- You are primarily on your own in the acquisition process without much help from the Flippa team.
What can you buy & sell on Flippa?
Most of the listings on Flippa are for websites, domains, and apps that sell for under $300K. So if you are looking for properties under this budget, Flippa is your best bet. They don’t have a clear focus on any particular niche and technology. You can use it for blogs, websites, eCommerce stores, Amazon FBA stores, apps, SaaS tools, and more.
Flippa Pricing
Flippa provides a wide range of four paid plans starting at $29 to $499 for the sellers. Here, the platform offers advertising and all features for listing. For buyers, there is transparent fixed-fee pricing. On a successful transaction between buyers and sellers, Flippa takes a commission fee. If the sold item price is up to $50,000, Flippa’s commission is 10%. The commission will go down to 5% if the deal exceeds $100,000.
2. EmpireFlippers
EmpireFlippers is an extensively vetted marketplace for websites. Websites on this platform are evaluated based on their monthly profits and traffic history. The standard acceptance for a propriety revenue should be $1,000/month and a record of 12 months of revenue.
With this detail alone, you can understand how the websites are sold. They start from as low as $5,000 to the higher end of $10M. The sites are diversified in all formats, such as SaaS tools, eCommerce businesses, marketplaces, affiliates, and revenue sites.
According to Empire Flippers, they claim to have a successful selling rate of 76%, totalling approximately $400M overall sales and around $6M each month.
Empire Flippers PROs
- There are no upfront costs for listing a website in the marketplace.
- Commissions are decent:15% for sales under $1M and 2% for sales over $10M.
- It’s easy to navigate through the listings and decide which one you are interested in.
- The business figures (financial, traffic, SEO) are checked and vetted by the EF team.
- As a seller, you can obtain more for your property (45 months x profit rather than the usual rate of 30-35x.
- It has a lucrative referral program. Read more about it here.
Empire Flippers CONs
- Most digital properties focus on display advertising, Amazon FBA, and the Amazon associates program.
- As a buyer, you may pay more than the usual rates for digital properties.
- Listings are not public. You have to register and go through a vetting program to be able to unlock listing details.
What can you buy & sell on Empire Flippers?
A vast majority of listings on Empire Flippers are for digital businesses evaluated over $1M. You can use them mainly for eCommerce, display ad websites and Amazon FBA and Amazon Associates properties.
Empire Flippers Pricing
There is no service fee for listing, but the listing process is rigorous, so not all digital properties are accepted to be put on sale. EmpireFlippers offers commission fees based on the sale valuation. It starts with 15% for sales under $1M and regresses to 2% if the deal values $10M.
3. FE International
FE International assists in buying and selling websites with a pre-qualified and established global network. This feature also provides an advisory board or team that helps potential buyers in their acquisitions. You can exchange various products such as SaaS tools, eCommerce websites, and businesses.
It has completed over $500 million in acquisitions and over 1,000 transactions in the six- to the eight-figure range. Besides that, with an 80,000+ network of buyers and a 94% success rate, FE International is a complete package with a global website and digital products market.
An advisory board that helps in acquiring businesses and gives apt valuations and legal advice. They do due diligence on all the properties they sell, so you can be sure that only authenticated, established sites make it into the marketplace. It also provides updates and case studies for the industry and the company.
What can you buy & sell on FE International?
FE International focuses on technology websites, so this is your best bet to sell SaaS, WordPress plugins, or eCommerce websites. The vast majority of deals are evaluated at over $500K.
FE International PROs
- Focuses on technology, digital businesses and eCommerce.
- Their team conducts due diligence, so you can stay assured that the businesses are legit.
- Many details about the digital property: verified traffic, finances, SEO metrics, etc.
- Options to verify buyers and integrated NDA system.
- Get support from their team throughout the entire acquisition process.
FE International CONs
- Limited amount of listings (32 at the moment of review)
- For each listing, you have to unlock details through a vetting process.
- Not suitable for new websites or those that don’t generate a reasonable income.
FE International Pricing
There are no particular listing fees. Instead, they mention the commission fees where FE International takes 10-15% of the deal, and the rest is the sellers. The fees are to be paid once your agreement is processed.
4. Motion Invest
Motion Invest offers two platforms to sell your website. It provides a global marketplace and a dedicated Motion Invest team ready to pay you the valuation of your website immediately. With this approach, they tend to eliminate the commission system.
Motion Invest has not precisely set any factorization regarding what type of sites you can sell. But it majorly deals with specialized content websites that are funded by affiliates.
What can you buy & sell on Motion Invest?
The Motion Invest team focuses only on monetized content websites through display ads and affiliate marketing. Most of their websites are new websites launched no more than 2-3 years ago.
Motion Invest PROs
- No upfront payment cost for listing.
- It is very beginner-friendly.
- There are around 30-40 available listings every time.
Motion Invest CONs
- They tend to focus only on content websites.
- The due diligence process is not tremendous (especially on SEO growth strategies, aka black hat).
- They require an exclusivity period.
Motion Invest Pricing
There are no specific price listings. However, when you sell a website in the marketplace, you need to pay 15% commission if the valuation is above $20,000 and 20% commission if it’s under the standard valuation.
5. MicroAcquire
This platform connects buyers and sellers anonymously. However, you will connect with the potential buyer to finalize the transaction. The marketplace targets startups and SaaS with below $500,000 ARR. Although the marketplace is limiting compared to Empire Flippers and Flippa, MicroAcquire gives you precisely what you want.
Listing on this platform is free for sellers. However, buyers who wish early access to deals can upgrade to MicroAcquire Premium, starting at $390 per annum.
What can you buy & sell on Micro Aquire?
The Micro Aquire marketplace is the best-to-go place to buy and sell SaaSes, Marketplaces, and eCommerce businesses, focusing only on these kinds of businesses.
Micro Aquire PROs
- No upfront payment cost for listing a startup.
- They will help the sellers create compelling listings.
- It is very beginner-friendly for both buyers and sellers.
- There are over 2000 available listings every time.
Micro Aquire CONs
- You have to purchase a $390 yearly membership to view listing details.
MicroAquire Pricing
Micro Aquire does not ask for listing fees or commission fees. This can be helpful and motivating for new sellers. However, the quality of the websites is compromised, and everyone can list their sites on the platform.
As a premium buyer, you will get early access to the special offers and discounts sellers to offer. You can open a premium account with a service cost of $390 per year.
6. FlipWP
FlipWP is a marketplace for people interested in properties from the WordPress ecosystem: plugins, themes, marketplaces, SaaSes that target WP users, etc. So this may be your best bet to buy or sell a WordPress business. At the moment of writing this review, there are 22 WordPress businesses listed for sale. The prices of the listings range from $50K to $1.5M.
Like on MicroAquire, as a buyer, you have to get a $299 yearly membership to view the name of the businesses and other details.
What can you buy & sell on FlipWP?
FlipWP focuses only on the WordPress ecosystem’s digital assets: plugins and themes for WordPress, marketplaces, API services, and SaaS-es.
FlipWP PROs
- Fees are pretty affordable for serious buyers and sellers.
- No exclusivity listing is required.
- You can get access to listings that aren’t posted elsewhere.
- The listings are seen only by members that paid a membership; no tire kickers.
FlipWP CONs
- As a buyer, you must purchase a $299 yearly membership to view listing details.
- The number of listings is not consistent.
FlipWP Pricing
Sellers should pay a listing fee of $99 if their asking price is below $20K or $199 for listings up to $100k. You must contact them for a custom offer if the requested price is higher. On top of that, they ask for a 1% success fee if the property gets sold through their marketplace.
Buyers should only pay an annual membership of $299 to access listing details.
7. Indie Maker
IndieMaker.co is another marketplace with over 16000 members where you can buy & sell domains, side-projects, social media accounts, and micro-businesses. There are a couple of particularities of this website. One is that independent developers create the projects listed here. The second one is that most of the projects are in the initial growth stages, and most do not generate too much profit.
The marketplace also has an escrow service that protects buyers and sellers. Escrow currently accepts bank or wire transfers and major debit or credit cards.
So this marketplace is for you if you are a marketer or an entrepreneur looking to get projects with growth potential in the developing growth phase. I like the way you can easily navigate between the projects as the website has many filters for the properties and also loads very fast.
What can you buy & sell on IndieMaker?
Most of the projects listed on IndieMaker are attractive websites (databases, memberships, startups, SaaSes, content) in their initial phase or projects that didn’t perform as expected by the owners. So if you are an entrepreneur or a marketer, you may find some excellent projects that you can resurrect and grow further.
IndieMaker PROs
- There are many exciting listings available for sale at reasonable prices.
- They claim to show your business to a network of 16K+ potential buyers.
- You discuss directly with the creators, which can give you 1st hand information about the project.
IndieMaker CONs
- The platform only lists basic details about a website, so you have to do your research.
- If you are looking for established businesses with a proven record, then IndieMaker is not for you.
- The fees are not beginners friendly.
IndieMaker Pricing
For sellers, listing a digital asset on IndieMarker is free; however, if you want to see the contact details of your prospective buyers, you have to pay an unlock fee ranging from $9 (for listing prices under $100) and $250 (for listing priced over $10K). Besides that, there are some promotional fees like promoting a listing on the homepage for $12/week
For buyers, you pay only when you close deals. If you are on a free plan, you are paying a 12% success fee, but if you get a premium membership which costs $19/month, you’re paying only a 7.5% success fee.
8. BuySellEmpire
BuySellEmpire is a private online marketplace for listing and buying listed websites. With an over 90% success rate, BuySellEmpire has a network of 10,000+ networks. This network includes vetted buyers, trusted sellers, and investors.
BuySellEmpire offers to sell various business formats such as chrome extensions, amazon associates, eCommerce sites, marketplaces, SaaS tools, and many more. You can conduct a free valuation of your website and list it in the marketplace for buyers.
What can you buy & sell on BuySell Empire?
The Motion Invest team focuses only on monetized content websites through display ads and affiliate marketing. Most of their websites are young websites launched no more than 2-3 years ago.
BuySell Empire PROs
- No upfront payment cost for listing.
- It is very beginner-friendly.
- There are around 30-40 available listings every time.
BuySell Empire CONs
- They tend to focus only on content websites.
- The due diligence process is not tremendous (especially on SEO growth strategies, aka black hat).
- They require an exclusivity period.
Buy Sell Empire Pricing
Like a few other platforms, BuySellEmpire does not provide any listing prices. It offers the lowest commission fees at 4% – 10% depending on the deal’s valuation.
9. Human Proof Designs
Human Proof Designs is an example of a ‘too good to be true’ platform. It is an investment that you can make in a blink. The platform offers a range of features that any businessperson would require to grow their business.
Human Proof Designs helps across the journey from starting the website to selling it in a market. It is a one-stop store that offers the creation of a website and digital content like a blog or video creation. It helps put your business out there in the market to generate revenue through web hosting. And lastly, it has a reliable and trusted marketplace to sell and buy websites.
Human Proof Designs offers ready-made and custom websites of all formats. Staring from dropshipping and affiliates sites to lead generation and aged domain packages. It assists in all types of businesses and tools.
Human Proof Designs Pricing
Considering the diversity of the platform and the available feature, there is no saying that the platform is expensive. It starts from $1,298 and only increases according to the packages you take. To use the keyword generating tool as an add-on, you must pay $99.
10. Brand Father
Brand Father is a global marketplace and affiliate website platform. Websites are custom-built by the platform within 24 hours and provide ready-made sites for buyers. The affiliates and sellers can create their websites on the platform as it is a unified forum for premium plugins and fully responsive designs.
Brand Father guarantees that websites with any niche are profitable and claims the potential profits to be $100,000 per month. The platform also offers traffic acquisition guides and blueprints that you can implement.
Brand Father Pricing
Brand Father has standardized the marketplace where all sites cost $99. However, you need to purchase a web hosting package. And additional benefits like traffic acquisition guides cost $499 as an add-on.
11. BrandBuilders.io
Just like Brand Father, BrandBuilders.io is also a marketplace for affiliate websites. The sites are custom-built, and the platform offers a fast and easy-to-use interface for the affiliates and the sellers.
BranBuilders.io can build any website format as it provides a niche, competition, and keyword researcher. Other significant plugins like Thrive Architect and Element Pro help create responsive designs for the websites.
Brand Builders Pricing
BrandBuilders.io starts at the price of $1,395 per site.
12. Side Projectors
Side Projectors is another good alternative for a global marketplace. The seller can pursue the same cycle of listing and valuation. A platform other than the marketplace also offers a forum for finding a co-founder or showcasing the website.
Side Projectors supports projects such as SaaS tools, mobile and desktop apps, eCommerce businesses, digital content like blogs, domain names, and more. It offers a vast range of formats.
Side Projectors Pricing
There is no special commission rate for the listings. However, premium listing for a few websites or digital content may cost $10/month.
We conclude our list of 12 Awesome Platforms to Buy and Sell Websites. Do check out our quick tips for buyers and sellers.
Quick Tips To Buy And Sell Websites Online
Tips for Sellers
- Classify the worth of your website and quote multiple valuations.
- Know and understand your audience’s niche.
- Conduct research on the available marketplaces for buying and selling websites.
- Gather statistical data and reports for the potential buyers.
- Offer commissions to the brokers for a seamless process and higher cost price.
Tips for Buyers
- Perform due diligence before purchasing a website. Due diligence refers to understanding all the aspects of an entity.
- You must research the website’s background for PBNs links used to manipulate search rankings.
- Self-introspection is also a key element in deciding on a website as a buyer. You need clarity in your priorities.
- And practicality to determine your requirements as you will invest quite an amount in the website.
Buy & Sell Websites FAQ
What is a website broker?
In that process, there are several tasks performed to try and maximize price:
- Determine an appropriate valuation range
- Compile an information memorandum (sales memorandum)
- Market the website
- Present the website to potential buyers
- Assist in negotiation on behalf of the seller
- Protect sellers’ confidentiality
- Look after paperwork
- Provide after-sales support.
How does it work?
The process is similar to a realtor (real estate agent). You approach a website broker looking to sell. You enter into a sales agreement with them. This is usually an exclusive agreement that is valid for 90 days. The broker will then prepare the information memorandum about the website to be used to show potential buyers. This document contains all the relevant information about the website, its financials, traffic stats, and answers to general questions.
The broker will then go out and sell your website to potential buyers. Screen them with their screening process and present you with the best offers.
The buyer will typically sign a letter of intent (LOI) and ask for a set period for final due diligence. It is your choice as the buyer whether you allow this to be exclusive or not.
They will make a formal offer after due diligence, and you will accept or decline it.
Then the transfer process happens. Money is usually transferred using an escrow service. That can be the brokers’ trust account, a lawyer’s account, or an escrow service. We prefer our service or escrow.com. The site is then transferred to the new owner, the seller receives their funds, and the buyer will take ownership of the website.
