Acquire.com alternative built for AI businesses
Acquire.com, Flippa and Empire Flippers are established places to buy and sell online businesses, and each suits a different kind of deal. Acquisitions focuses on one thing, AI businesses with metrics verified at the source. This page compares the models in general terms so you can choose the right place for your deal, including where the others are the better fit.
The short version
Choose Acquisitions when you buy or sell an AI SaaS, AI agent, AI-built app or website, micro SaaS or .ai domain and want numbers pulled from the source, filters built for AI products and a self-serve route from NDA to escrow. Choose a generalist marketplace when your asset is outside AI, for example an ecommerce store or a content site. Choose a curated broker when you want someone else to run the sale for you and your business meets their size requirements.
How the four models compare
The table describes publicly known differences in how each platform works. Competitor prices are per third-party reports, approximate, and may change, so check each platform directly before you decide.
| Acquisitions | Acquire.com | Flippa | Empire Flippers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | AI businesses only | Startups and SaaS of all kinds | Broad mix of online businesses, sites, apps and domains | Established online businesses |
| Model | Self-serve marketplace with deal workflow | Self-serve marketplace | Open marketplace and auctions | Curated broker |
| Seller pricing | 49, 149 or 399 USD per month, half price billed annually | Monthly fee about 25 to 100 USD plus closing fee about 6 to 8%, per third-party reports, approximate | Listing about 29 to 699 USD, success fee about 5 to 15%, per third-party reports, approximate | No listing fee, commission up to about 15%, per third-party reports, approximate |
| Seller success fee | 3% on List, 1.5% on Featured, no success fee on Portfolio, only on the escrow route | Yes, see above | Yes, see above | Yes, see above |
| Buyer pricing | 49, 149 or 399 USD per month, half price billed annually | About 390 to 780 USD per year, per third-party reports, approximate | Membership about 49 USD per month, per third-party reports, approximate | Varies by deal, check the platform |
| Metric verification | Read-only connections to payment processor and analytics, source badge on each metric | Seller data with platform verification options | Varies by listing | Vetting by the broker team |
| AI-specific filters | Model provider, inference cost share, stack, plus MRR, growth, churn, multiple | General startup filters | General filters | General filters |
| NDA and LOI in app | Yes, NDA gate and LOI builder | Yes | Varies | Handled by the broker |
| Escrow | Independent licensed escrow provider | Escrow options available | Escrow options available | Handled through the broker process |
| Who runs the sale | You | You | You | The broker |
Where the alternatives are stronger
An honest comparison includes the cases where another platform is the better choice.
- Acquire.com has a long track record, a large and established buyer base and coverage of startups well beyond AI. If your company is not an AI business, a generalist marketplace gives you a wider audience.
- Flippa covers a very broad range of assets, from content sites and ecommerce stores to apps and domains, and offers auctions. For a non-AI website or a quick, low-priced sale, its breadth is an advantage.
- Empire Flippers runs the sale for you, with a team that vets, markets and negotiates. If you do not want to manage buyers yourself and your business meets their requirements, a broker saves you time.
Where Acquisitions is the better fit
Acquisitions is narrower on purpose. That focus is the advantage for AI deals.
- Only AI businesses. Buyers who search here want AI SaaS, agents, AI-built apps and sites, micro SaaS and .ai domains, not dropshipping stores.
- Numbers from the source. Revenue, subscriptions, churn and traffic come through read-only connections, with a source badge on each metric. See Revenue verification.
- Filters that matter for AI. Model provider, stack and inference cost share sit next to MRR, growth, churn, price and revenue multiple.
- One route to close. NDA requests, messages, offers, LOI builder, due diligence checklists, escrow with an independent licensed provider and a handover checklist.
- Predictable cost. A subscription with half price on annual billing, and the Portfolio plan has no success fee.
Switching as a buyer
If you already search on a generalist marketplace, you can add Acquisitions to your sourcing for AI deals without changing your process. Save your thesis as a deal alert, request NDAs in the app and use the SaaS due diligence checklist for AI-specific checks. The step by step route is on Buy an online business.
Switching as a seller
If your AI business is listed elsewhere, check that platform's terms on exclusivity before listing again. On Acquisitions you connect your payment processor and analytics with read-only access, write an anonymous listing and approve NDAs yourself. Read more on Sell online business, and compare plans on Pricing for buyers and sellers.
FAQ
For AI businesses, yes. Acquisitions covers only AI assets, verifies metrics through read-only connections and keeps the deal route in one place. For startups outside AI, a generalist marketplace such as Acquire.com reaches a wider audience.
Acquisitions does not require exclusivity for a listing. Other platforms have their own rules, so read their terms before listing in two places.
No. They are approximate, per third-party reports, and platforms change their pricing. Check each platform directly before you decide.
No. Acquisitions is a listing and deal-workflow platform. It is not a broker-dealer, it does not run the sale for you and it does not give investment advice.
Acquisitions never holds funds. Deals on the escrow route close through an independent licensed escrow provider.
Only when a seller closes through the escrow route. The fee is 3% on List and 1.5% on Featured. Portfolio has no success fee. Buyers pay no success fee.
See AI listings with verified numbers
Browse listings or get an indicative value for a business you want to buy or sell.