Acquire.com (formerly MicroAcquire) is the go-to marketplace for buying software businesses — micro-SaaS, apps, and tech startups that traditional brokers ignore. Here's what the platform actually looks like from the buyer's side.
Acquire.com has the deepest inventory of software businesses anywhere, and the founder-direct model means faster negotiations and no broker commission inflating the price. The tradeoff: listings aren't manually vetted, SaaS due diligence is more technical than content or FBA, and a portion of listings are pre-revenue or overly optimistic on multiple. For experienced buyers hunting software deals, it's essential. For first-timers, it's a steep learning curve.
Score any Acquire.com listing before you reach out to the seller.
Free Deal Analyzer →Acquire.com has one of the most buyer-friendly fee structures in the acquisition space — free to browse, free to contact sellers, and no membership required.
| Fee type | Who pays | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Browse & contact | Buyer | FREE | Full access to listings, metrics, and seller messaging |
| Listing fee | Seller | FREE | No cost to list — sellers pay only on success |
| Success fee | Seller | 3–5% | Paid by seller at closing. Not charged to buyers. |
| Premium placement | Seller | Optional | Sellers can pay for featured positioning |
| Escrow / legal | Buyer + Seller | Varies | Arrange independently — Acquire.com doesn't provide this. Typical: attorney $2K–$5K, escrow 1–3% |
The main thing buyers need to budget beyond the purchase price: a deal attorney ($2,000–$5,000 for smaller deals) and escrow service. Unlike Flippa which has built-in Escrow, Acquire.com transactions close directly between buyer and seller with independent legal. Budget for this upfront.
Every listing shows an asking multiple — but asking and closing are different numbers. Here's what actually trades, broken down by stage and growth rate.
Small tools, Chrome extensions, niche utilities. Often sold by solo founders. Wide quality variance. Many are undervalued if the problem is real.
Product-market fit found, growing MRR, low churn. This is the sweet spot on Acquire.com — most active buyer competition here.
Proven revenue, documented processes, some team. Often SBA-financeable at this size. Less available on Acquire.com, more on Empire Flippers.
MRR has been falling 3+ months. Sellers often list at normal multiples and get no traction — watch for price reductions as the real signal to buy.
Built but not monetized. Value is in the product, code, and customer list. No standard multiple — negotiate based on what you can build with it.
Two-sided platforms with network effects. Valued lower because buyer concentration and churn are harder to predict. GMV is not revenue.
Acquire.com is founder-direct — there's no broker managing the process for you. That means faster deals and lower cost, but you own more of the process. Here's how it works.
Filter by revenue model (SaaS, marketplace, app), MRR range, asking multiple, and niche. Sort by newest to catch fresh listings before other buyers reach out. Set saved searches to get email alerts on new matches.
Don't just say "I'm interested." Sellers get dozens of low-effort messages. Lead with your relevant background, why this business fits your portfolio, and one specific question about the product. A qualified intro moves you to the front of the queue.
Most sellers require an NDA before sharing detailed metrics. Acquire.com has a standard NDA you sign in-platform. Once signed, you get access to the full data room: P&L statements, MRR dashboard, churn data, tech stack details.
Ask for read-only access to Stripe, Paddle, or Braintree — the actual payment processor. Match every MRR claim against live payment data. For apps, request App Store Connect or Google Play console access. Never trust a spreadsheet alone.
Ask: What does a typical week look like? What breaks most often? What's the #1 thing that would accelerate growth? Why are you selling now? The answers reveal whether this business needs a builder or an operator — and whether the asking price matches reality.
The LOI outlines your offer price, payment structure, transition period, and any conditions. It's non-binding but sets the negotiation anchor. Most Acquire.com deals close 10–30% below asking — expect to negotiate. A lower offer with a fast close is often more attractive to motivated sellers than full price with conditions.
Hire a deal attorney for the Asset Purchase Agreement — don't use seller-provided templates. Set up escrow (Escrow.com or a legal trust account) so funds are held until transfer is complete. Transfer includes: codebase, domain, payment processor, customer list, all social accounts. Confirm every asset before releasing funds.
Standard Acquire.com deals include 30–90 days of seller support. Push for the full 90 days, especially if the product has technical complexity or the founder holds key customer relationships. This is non-negotiable on anything over $100K — don't skip it.
SaaS red flags are different from content site or FBA red flags. Know these before you make an offer.
A business losing 5% of revenue monthly is losing more than half its customer base every year. At that rate, you'd need to constantly acquire new customers just to stand still. Unless you have a clear churn fix, this kills the investment thesis.
"We're on track to hit $20K MRR by Q4" is not a number you pay on. Buy based on trailing 6-month average MRR — nothing else. Sellers optimistic about projections often have a reason they're selling before the growth materializes.
If the founder can't show you documentation, a setup guide, or how to deploy the product yourself, you're buying a black box. Ask: "If you disappeared tomorrow, how would I run this?" A great answer covers docs, deployment, support, and dependencies. No answer is a dealbreaker.
If 40% of MRR comes from one enterprise customer, you're one cancellation email away from a completely different business. Ask for a customer breakdown. Nothing over 20% from a single customer unless you have a strong retention reason.
Buying a Ruby on Rails app when you only know Python isn't a deal — it's a hostage situation. Either plan for a developer hire (cost it into the deal) or buy businesses built on stacks you can support, or stacks with abundant contractor availability.
A founder who built a real business knows it cold. If they can't tell you their top customer acquisition channel, average lifetime value, or main support pain points without hesitation — something is being concealed or the business never reached real product-market fit.
How Acquire.com fits into the broader acquisition landscape.
| Platform | Vetting | Best asset type | Price range | Buyer fees | Process |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acquire.com | Partial | SaaS, apps, tech startups | $10K–$10M | Free | Founder-direct, buyer runs DD |
| Empire Flippers | ✓ All listings | FBA, content, SaaS, eComm | $10K–$20M | Free | Broker-managed, fully curated |
| Flippa | Verified tier only | Everything, best under $200K | $1K–$50M+ | Free | Self-serve, high noise |
| Quiet Light | ✓ All listings | Content, SaaS, agencies | $300K–$20M | Free | Advisor-guided |
| Motion Invest | ✓ All listings | Content sites only | $5K–$500K | Free | Simple, beginner-friendly |
The smart approach: Run Acquire.com and Empire Flippers simultaneously. EF gives you vetted, lender-ready deals across all asset types. Acquire.com gives you uncut access to software deals before they're broker-packaged. The best buyers are watching both.
We scan Acquire.com, Empire Flippers, Flippa, and Motion Invest every morning and send you the highest-quality listings before they fill up.
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