Comparison
Microns alternative: selling your app to a direct buyer instead
Short answer
Microns charges sellers a success fee of 10% from $1K, 8% from $10K and 6% from $100K, with no listing fee. It lists profitable projects at least 5 months old, priced $1K–$1M. Selling your app directly to a buyer like me costs $0 in fees, so on a $50,000 sale you’d net $46,000 through Microns vs $50,000 direct. Compare offers by what you’d net, not by the headline price. Microns only takes profitable projects 5+ months old; I have no minimum age or deal size, and apps with little revenue but 5K+ downloads a month are a fit too. Microns lists small profitable projects, mobile apps included, and you screen the buyers yourself; selling directly gets you one offer from one buyer, with no success fee.
Disclosure: I’m the direct buyer in this comparison. Microns’ figures come from its own pricing page, checked September 2026.
Thinking of selling? Send me the store link and rough numbers; I reply within 1 hour, with no fees for you. Send me your app
Microns vs selling directly: how do they compare?
Microns is a marketplace for small, profitable online projects, and many of its listings are mobile apps. You list, buyers get in touch, and you pick one. A direct buyer makes you one offer without a listing.
| Seller fee | Who it accepts | Who sees your numbers | Who you deal with | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selling directly to me | $0: no listing fee, no commission, and I pay the escrow fee | iOS apps (and Android apps when the fit is right) with steady revenue or 5K+ monthly downloads, no minimum age, deals up to $1M+ | Your numbers are never published or shown to other buyers; NDA on request | One named buyer, start to finish |
| Microns | 10% / 8% / 6% by price; no listing fee | Profitable projects 5+ months old, priced $1K–$1M | Buyers on the marketplace | Several buyers; you pick one |
Microns: pricing, checked September 2026. Microns doesn’t publish an average time to sell.
What does Microns charge app sellers?
A success fee only, set by the sale price:
| Sale price | Success fee |
|---|---|
| From $1,000 | 10% |
| From $10,000 | 8% |
| From $100,000 | 6% |
Source: microns.io/pricing, checked September 2026. Buyers can pay for a premium subscription; listing is free for sellers.
That’s among the lowest marketplace fees for small apps: cheaper than Flippa and far cheaper than Empire Flippers’ $10,000 minimum. All platforms side by side: Flippa, Empire Flippers and Acquire.com fees.
What would you net on a $25K, $50K and $100K sale?
| Route | $25,000 sale | $50,000 sale | $100,000 sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selling directly to me | $25,000 | $50,000 | $100,000 |
| Microns | $23,000 | $46,000 | $94,000 |
Before escrow and tax. The same app won’t necessarily sell for the same price on every route, so compare what you’d net, not headline prices. Try your own number in the app sale fee calculator.
What does a direct sale look like instead?
You send the store link and your monthly numbers (average of the last 3 months). I reply within 1 hour and, if the app fits, make a direct offer after checking what buyers verify. Payment goes through escrow (I pay the escrow fee), in full and in cash at closing, and the app moves through Apple’s official App Store transfer. From first message to a closed deal usually takes about 14 days, everything included.
- No fees: no success fee, no listing fee.
- Private: no listing. Your numbers are never published or shown to other buyers, and I sign an NDA on request.
- One conversation: no inbox of buyer questions to answer, and no negotiating with several people at once.
- A buyer who builds apps: I run my own iOS apps and keep growing the ones I buy.
I price apps at around 12–60x monthly profit (average of the last 3 months). Growing, organic, low-maintenance apps reach 50–60x. Apps with little or no profit but 5K+ downloads a month are priced on their downloads, up to 120x monthly profit. Try the app valuation calculator to see where yours lands.
What does Microns accept?
From its pricing FAQ: only profitable projects, at least 5 months old with paying customers, asking $1K to $1M, and no pre-revenue projects. It publishes no average time to sell (“some startups sell within hours, while others take months”). I have no minimum age, and apps with little revenue but 5K+ downloads a month are a fit too.
Which route fits your situation?
| Your situation | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| An app younger than 5 months, or not profitable yet | A direct offer | Microns doesn’t list it; I have no minimum age and look at apps with 5K+ monthly downloads even with little revenue. |
| A profitable iOS app under $10K | A direct offer | Microns’ fee is 10% below $10K; a direct sale costs nothing and has no minimum deal size. |
| A profitable iOS app between $10K and $1M | A direct offer first | At 8% or 6% the fee is smaller, but you still wait for buyers and screen them; a direct offer takes days and tells you what a listing has to beat. |
| A small SaaS, web-only product or game | Microns | I don’t buy those, and Microns takes profitable projects of every kind. |
More routes in where to sell your app, selling a small app and what each buyer requires.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Microns charge to sell an app?
10% of the sale price from $1,000, 8% from $10,000 and 6% from $100,000, with no listing fee, as of September 2026 (Microns).
What are Microns’ requirements for sellers?
It only accepts profitable projects at least 5 months old, with asking prices from $1K to $1M (Microns).
Is Microns a good place to sell a small iOS app?
It can work: Microns has no listing fee, but it charges a 10% success fee under $10K and only accepts profitable projects at least 5 months old. A direct buyer like me has no minimum deal size or app age and charges no fee, so get a direct offer to compare first.
Is Microns the same as Tiny Acquisitions?
No, they were separate marketplaces for small online projects. Tiny Acquisitions’ site (tinyacquisitions.com) didn’t load in September 2026; the closest small-project alternatives are Microns and TrustMRR.