Flippa vs MicroAcquire Compared: Which Marketplace Wins?
What Flippa Is And Who It Fits
Flippa is no doubt one of the largest marketplaces for all kinds of online businesses today.
This platform started in 2009 and acts as a broad marketplace that lets sellers list various digital assets, including sites, apps, domains, newsletters, and Amazon FBA brands.
Buyers can then browse the Flippa listings and bid or buy their desired businesses at a fixed price.
Flippa attracts first-time buyers and small investors. Many listings sell for under $50,000.
According to Flippa’s 2023 marketplace report, over 100,000 buyers browse the platform each month. (Source).
As you can easily guess, this volume creates speed, but it also creates noise.
Flippa works best if you want fast exposure and you do not mind filtering deals. It also fits sellers with smaller assets or early-stage projects.
Related: Best Flippa Alternatives for Buying and Selling Online Businesses
We Help You Buy / Build, Manage and Scale E-commerce Brands for an EXIT
E-commerce Simplified for Busy Individuals – We handle the buying, building, and scaling, so you can focus on what matters.
Growth-Focused Strategies – From sourcing to marketing, we drive growth and prepare you for a profitable exit.
Expertly Managed Exits – We build a high-value brand designed for a Lucrative exit.
What MicroAcquire (Acquire.com) Is And Who It Fits
MicroAcquire launched in 2020 and rebranded as Acquire.com in 2023.
This marketplace focuses on bootstrapped SaaS, content sites, and small tech businesses.
The platform targets serious buyers and founders who run real revenue.
Most deals you'll find on this platform fall between $100,000 and $5 million.
According to Acquire.com data shared in a 2023 founder update, buyers on the platform have completed over $500 million in total transactions since launch.
MicroAcquire is a suitable option for founders who want clean deals and fewer tire-kickers.
It also fits buyers who want verified revenue and direct access to sellers.
Listing Quality (and Deal Trust)
This is where the gap shows fast...
Flippa allows open listings with light checks. Sellers can verify revenue through Google Analytics or payment tools, but the burden stays on the buyer.
A 2022 study from Empire Flippers found that open marketplaces show higher variance in listing quality, which means more work for buyers.
MicroAcquire requires seller profiles, financial summaries, and identity checks.
Sellers also share profit and loss data before calls. The platform does not guarantee deals, but it filters harder upfront.
If you value speed and volume, Flippa works. If you value signal over noise, MicroAcquire wins.
Fees And Total Cost
Fees are a crucial consideration because they affect your outcome.
Flippa charges sellers a listing fee that ranges by asset type. THis this can range anywhere from $29 to $699 and higher.
It also charges a success fee based on the business's sale price (usually 3-10% of the final sale price)
Flippa lists these fees publicly on its pricing page at the time of publishing this post.
MicroAcquire also charges a listing fee for sellers (this ranges from $25 to $100, depending on the selling price).
Moreover, they have a closing fee (usually around 6 to 8% of the sale price).
Buyer Competition And Deal Speed
Flippa boasts massive traffic. And this single factor creates bidding wars on good deals.
Plus, it creates spam offers. As such, sellers must deal with the headache of managing multiple messages.
Acquire.com (MicroAcquire), on the other hand, limits outreach.
Buyers must unlock deals and message sellers directly. This slows the volume but also improves focus.
Most of the business owners who sell their digital assets through MicroAcquire usually report fewer calls but higher close rates compared to open marketplaces.
Overall, if you want many offers fast, Flippa helps. But if you want fewer but stronger offers, MicroAcquire is the way to go.
We Help You Buy / Build, Manage and Scale E-commerce Brands for an EXIT
E-commerce Simplified for Busy Individuals – We handle the buying, building, and scaling, so you can focus on what matters.
Growth-Focused Strategies – From sourcing to marketing, we drive growth and prepare you for a profitable exit.
Expertly Managed Exits – We build a high-value brand designed for a Lucrative exit.
Support and Process Control
Flippa offers you optional brokers and escrow help, but most deals stay DIY. This helps keep costs down but also raises risk for new buyers.
MicroAcquire gives you templates, guides, and deal rooms.
It does not broker deals, but it supports structure. This reduces errors in first-time transactions.
The U.S. Small Business Administration notes that poor due diligence is a top cause of failed acquisitions in small business deals.
Having structure helps significantly reduce this risk.
So, Which Platform Should You Choose?
From our in-depth comparison of the two marketplaces, Flippa vs Microacquire, you now have a good picture of what it’s like to work with each of them.
Now the BIG question is, which of the two should you choose?
We advise you to go with Flippa if:
You sell a small site, domain, or early project
You want fast exposure to many buyers
You accept higher screening work
Choose MicroAcquire if:
You sell a real business with steady revenue
You want serious buyers and clean data
You want to keep more of the sale price
Overall, there is no universal winner here... each platform serves a clear purpose.
You should be able to decide the best one for you based on your unique needs and expectations when selling or buying an online business
Buy/Sell E-commerce Business With TrendHijacking
If you're specifically looking to buy an e-commerce business (or even sell one), Flippa and MicroAcquire will only solve part of the problem.
They help you with listings, but they leave sourcing, vetting, and deal strategy mostly to you.
That gap is why many buyers and sellers look at TrendHijacking.
Unlike the typical platforms, TrendHijacking focuses only on e-commerce brands.
And NO, the platform does not act like an open marketplace.
Instead, it sources and screens stores with real sales data and clear growth angles. This saves buyers time and cuts down bad deals early.
What makes TrendHijacking stand out is its end-to-end approach.
The team helps you with deal sourcing, due diligence, acquisition structure, growth planning, and even exits.
This mirrors how professional buyers operate, not how listing sites work.
TrendHijacking also offers different paths for investors, operators, and passive partners. This flexibility helps match deals to real goals.
If you want guided e-commerce acquisitions instead of raw listings, TrendHijacking is worth serious consideration.
Final Takeaway
As a buyer or seller of an online business, you shouldn't view Flippa vs MicroAcquire as a battle of good vs bad, but rather as a choice between volume and focus.
While Flippa gives you reach and speed, MicroAcquire gives you quality and control.
If you match the platform to your deal size and goals, both can work. If you pick the wrong one, you will end up wasting your time and energy.
That choice matters more than any feature list.
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