Below is a list of 11 marketplaces to buy and sell internet businesses. Each listing has an assigned rating based upon the accuracy of business listings, ease of sale/purchase, and trust factors.
Indie Maker
- Rating: 7/10
- This is for buying and selling side-projects, domains, and social media accounts. This is suitable for first-timers.
- There are lots of different listings to choose from. It's quite easy to use and I've personally bought and sold a site on IndieMakers. The money is held in Escrow which also makes the experience more trustworthy.
- Hard to trust the individual listings and figures provided. It’s unlikely you’ll do well with any of these unless you’re good at growth marketing. Most of the time there’s no traction behind anything. You’re usually buying a side project.
- IndieMaker published an article on buying an online business for the first time to help you get started.
- Caution: If the username of the owner posting a listing has ‘mail’ in it be wary. This user routinely copies templates from CodeCanyon that you can buy for under $100.
Micro Acquire
- Rating: 9.5/10
- This is one of my favorite marketplaces for buying and selling a digital business. The founder, Andrew Gazdecki has done a great job. The platform is clean, it’s free to join, and the companies listed start from ~$5k.
- Andrew builds in public which makes me trust MicroAcquire more than other marketplaces. Furthermore, the Micro Acquire resource hub is packed with really useful content.
- Basic membership is free, however, most of the value is in the premium membership which gives you first pick on the listings. It costs $290 a year.
Shopify Exchange Marketplace
- Rating: 6.5/10
- This is purely for buying and selling Shopify eCommerce businesses. The listings are connected to the Shopify store so it’s easier to validate the traffic and sales.
- However, the majority of listings are still terrible options. Firstly, purchasing small dropshipping stores is risky, and other seemingly high-performing sites could be the result of massive ad spend. This means once you receive the store the traffic will fall to pretty much 0.
- It’s great for first-timers who want a store that’s already set up. If you spend a bit more money (>$10k) you can find some decent non-dropshipping opportunities but it's rare.
Flippa
- Rating: 9/10
- Flippa claims to be the #1 Marketplace for buying and selling digital businesses and I agree. The listings start from $100-$1m+.
- Businesses selling over $10k are more legitimate compared to some of the other marketplaces I’ve reviewed. Although, you still need to do your due diligence.
- There’s a lot of traffic to the site so people are actively commenting on listings. I've sold one site on Flippa and it was a very smooth experience.
- They have a great email newsletter with the editor's top picks. I recommend subscribing.
Transferslot
- Rating: 1/10
- Transferslot is a curated marketplace where profitable side projects founders
- can sell their product to our community of trusted buyers.
- The listings contain basic information and some of them have been on the site for >2 years which tells me the site isn’t being updated.
FE International
- Rating: 6/10
- FE International is more of a high-end brokerage service than a marketplace.
- Most of the businesses listed for sale are in the seven-figure vicinity.
- Highly trustworthy, although not for any beginners or anyone looking to sell/buy a business under seven figures.
Side Projectors
- Rating: 6/10
- As the name suggests this is about side projects. I wouldn’t expect to find any high-quality businesses here. However, there can be more opportunities to turn a side project into a legitimate business.
- You can also post your project and seek Co-Founders.
Empire Flippers
- Rating: 7.5/10
- Empire Flippers is another popular marketplace. They pride themselves on verification to help you with due diligence.
- They’re more suitable to investors looking to purchase businesses >$50K.
- You’re required to unlock a listing by paying a fee. This grants you access to all the verified metrics such as traffic, revenue, profit, etc.
- Most of the listings are Amazon FBA businesses which is something I would stay away from.
Quiet Light Brokerage
- Rating: 7/10
- Quiet Light Brokerage pride itself on having a team of experienced business owners. Their site mentions that all their brokers have sold, bought, and started their own online businesses. The brokers on their site seem credible.
- Quiet Light Brokerage seems geared towards owners looking to sell.
- The site only has a handful of businesses for sale starting from ~$100k.
Motion Invest
- Rating: 5/10
- Motion Invest caters to businesses generating $20-$7000 per month. They don’t specify which types of businesses they buy or sell.
- The listings for sale are mostly Amazon Affiliate sites which are pretty specific to a particular type of buyer.
Facebook Groups
- Rating: 7.5/10
- Some notable Facebook groups I’ve seen businesses being bought and sold through include Trends, MyFirstMillion, and Flipping Websites.
- I’ve given Facebook groups a rating of 7.5/10 mainly because you can truly find some gems if you’re prepared to jump on the opportunity.
