Compare
Selling your app directly vs marketplaces and brokers
You can sell an app on a marketplace (Flippa, Acquire.com, Microns, TrustMRR), through a broker (Empire Flippers, FE International), or directly to a buyer like me. They differ most on four things: what you pay, how long it takes, who sees your numbers, and who you deal with.
Short answer
Seller fees run from 1.5–6% (TrustMRR, whose pages disagree) to 15% or a $10,000 minimum (Empire Flippers). A direct buyer charges nothing. On a $50,000 app, that’s roughly $40,000–$49,250 net through a marketplace or broker, vs $50,000 selling directly to me. Compare offers by what you’d net, not by the headline price. I reply within 1 hour, pay in full, in cash, at closing, and close in about 14 days, everything included. Marketplaces list mobile apps next to SaaS and other online businesses, and you screen the buyers yourself; selling directly means one buyer, no fees and a fixed timeline.
Disclosure: I’m the direct buyer in this comparison, so my row is highlighted. Every other figure links to the platform’s own page, checked September 2026.
How do the ways to sell an app compare?
| Route | Seller fee | Fee on a $50K sale | Published speed | Who sees your numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct to me | $0 | $0 | A reply within 1 hour; about 14 days to a closed deal | Only me; NDA on request |
| TrustMRR | 1.5% + half the escrow fee (fees page); 4–6% + $29 listing (seller page) | $750–$3,029 | 23 days average (own figure) | Verified revenue is public |
| Microns | 10% / 8% / 6% by price; no listing fee (source) | $4,000 | Not published | Buyers on the marketplace |
| Acquire.com | 6–8% + $25–$100/month (source) | $4,000 + $25/month | 81 days on market, SaaS deals (January 2026) | Buyers on the marketplace |
| Flippa | $49–$699 listing + 10% for $10K–$99.9K (source) | $5,129–$5,699 | Not published | Public listing; NDA is +$199 on the cheaper packages |
| Empire Flippers | $10,000 minimum; 15% up to $700K (source) | $10,000 | Not published | Buyers on its marketplace |
| FE International (broker) | Closing fee: 5% under $250K, 4% from $250K to $1M, 3% above $1M (source) | $2,500 | Not published | Buyers the broker approaches; confidential by default, buyers sign an NDA |
Fees checked September 2026, before escrow and tax. Acquire.com covers escrow; TrustMRR splits it 50/50; with me, I pay the escrow fee.
Compare one platform with selling directly
- Empire Flippers alternative: selling your app to a direct buyer instead: An Empire Flippers alternative for app founders: its $10,000 minimum and 15% commission vs selling directly with no fees. Net on a $25K–$100K sale.
- Acquire.com alternative: selling your app to a direct buyer instead: An Acquire.com (MicroAcquire) alternative for app founders: 8% + $25/month and an 81-day average listing vs a direct sale with no fees in about 14 days.
- Microns alternative: selling your app to a direct buyer instead: A Microns alternative for app founders: it charges 6–10% with no listing fee; a direct buyer charges nothing. Net on a $25K–$100K sale and who each fits.
- TrustMRR alternative: selling your app to a direct buyer instead: A TrustMRR alternative for app founders: a 1.5–6% seller fee and public verified revenue, or no fees and a private offer. Costs, speed and privacy compared.
- Flippa alternatives and Flippa fees, for Flippa, which has its own two guides.
Why sell directly to me?
- No fees: no listing fee and no commission.
- Fast: a reply within 1 hour, and about 14 days from first message to a closed deal, everything included.
- Private: no listing. Your numbers are never published or shown to other buyers, and I sign an NDA on request.
- One person: one named buyer from start to finish. I build apps myself and keep growing the ones I buy.
- Safe: payment in full, in cash, at closing, through escrow (I pay the escrow fee), with no instalments, no earn-out and no holdback, and the official App Store or Google Play transfer.
- What I buy: iOS apps (and Android apps when the fit is right) with steady revenue or 5K+ monthly downloads, no minimum age, deals up to $1M+. I don’t buy games, SaaS, or web-only products.
I price apps at around 12–60x monthly profit (average of the last 3 months). Growing, organic, low-maintenance apps reach 50–60x. See where yours lands with the app valuation calculator, then compare what each route would leave you with in the app sale fee calculator.
Which apps don’t I buy?
Games, SaaS, or web-only products. For those, a marketplace is the place to start, and the pages above say which one fits. There’s no minimum deal size or app age, and apps with little or no revenue are a fit too if they get 5K+ downloads a month. An app that doesn’t match every criterion is still worth a message. The full picture is in where to sell your app, and the direct route is set out in selling your app privately.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the cheapest way to sell an app?
Selling directly to a buyer: no listing fee and no commission, and when you sell to me, I pay the escrow fee too. Among marketplaces, TrustMRR quotes the lowest seller fee (1.5% plus half of the escrow fee on its fees page, though its seller page says 4–6%), followed by Microns (6–10%) and Acquire.com (6–8% plus a monthly fee); among brokers, FE International publishes 3–5%, as of September 2026.
Do marketplaces get a higher price than a direct buyer?
Only if its price beats a direct offer by more than the fees. A marketplace or broker has to find a buyer paying roughly 1.5–17.6% more (more on small deals with a fixed minimum) just to match a direct offer, you usually wait months, and there’s no guarantee of a sale. Compare what you’d net, not headline prices; try the app sale fee calculator.
Can I get a direct offer and still list on a marketplace?
Yes. A direct offer costs nothing and gives you a benchmark. You’re free to decide afterwards. Check each platform’s terms on exclusivity before you sign anything.
Who are you, and why should I trust this comparison?
I’m Samet Teke, an app publisher and private buyer of iOS apps, so I’m one of the options here, and my row is highlighted. Every competitor figure links to that platform’s own page, checked September 2026. More about me.