TrustMRR alternative: selling your app to a direct buyer instead

TrustMRR vs selling directly: how do they compare?

Both are fast and cheap compared with a broker. The real difference is visibility: TrustMRR puts verified revenue in front of a public audience of buyers; a direct sale keeps everything between you and one buyer.

TrustMRR: fees, why sell on TrustMRR, llms.txt, checked September 2026.

What does TrustMRR charge app sellers?

It depends which TrustMRR page you read, so here are both, as published in September 2026:

• Fees page and FAQ: a flat 3% closing fee split equally between buyer and seller, so 1.5% for you. Escrow.com’s fee comes on top and is also split 50/50. TrustMRR says total fees typically come to 3.7–5.6% of the deal for both sides combined, highest on the smallest deals (fees, FAQ).
• Seller page: a “4-6%” seller success fee, plus a listing fee “from $29 one-time” and no monthly billing (why sell on TrustMRR).

Ask TrustMRR which applies before you list. Either way, it’s among the lowest seller fees of the platforms I compare: at 1.5% it’s well below Flippa (10%), Acquire.com (8%) and Microns (6–10%); at 4–6% it’s close to Microns. All of them side by side: Flippa, Empire Flippers and Acquire.com fees.

What would you net on a $25K, $50K and $100K sale?

TrustMRR figures are before your half of the Escrow.com fee, which it splits 50/50; with me, I pay the escrow fee. 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.

Even at 1.5%, that’s $750 on a $50,000 sale; at 4–6% it’s $2,000–$3,000. Beyond fees, what differs is price, privacy and process. TrustMRR reports a 1.6x average acquired multiple across its sales (the page doesn’t say whether that’s a multiple of revenue or profit). 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.

Is my revenue public on TrustMRR?

Verified revenue is the point of TrustMRR. Its own documentation says revenue summaries are available publicly, and startup pages include verified revenue and recent metric snapshots. That’s great for credibility, but it also means anyone, competitors included, can see what your app earns.

When you sell directly, nothing is listed. You share the numbers with me alone, under an NDA if you want one. Revenue is checked by screen-share or screenshots during due diligence, never with your Apple Account password. If you use RevenueCat, its overview covers most of the subscription questions. More on that in selling a subscription app, and on keeping the whole sale quiet in how to sell your app confidentially.

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. Payment goes through escrow, 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 closing fee, and I pay the escrow fee.
• Private: no public revenue, no listing.
• One buyer: no buyer messages to sort through.
• 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.

Which route fits your situation?

More routes compared in where to sell your app, what each buyer requires and direct buyer vs marketplaces.