From Microns to MicroAcquire to Flippa and FE International, there are several online startup acquisition marketplaces. These platforms do the same thing - connecting buyers and sellers resulting in the sale of an (online) business.
While they’re all unique and have different features, Microns and MicroAcquire rank among the best online startup marketplaces. But both platforms are designed for different types of buyers and offer varying services.
In this article, we’ll compare Microns vs MicroAcquire to know if it’s a great alternative marketplace to buy or sell online businesses.
READ: Microns vs Empire Flippers
Microns is an online marketplace for buying and selling micro startups (small online businesses), unlike most other online marketplaces which were set up for big acquisitions. By having pre-vetted business listings costing as low as $400, anyone can flex their entrepreneurship muscle with a low-risk business.
We developed our marketplace for a couple of reasons:
If you’re a marketer with an idea for an app, plugin, or software to serve your clients better, you can find a ready-made product or MVP on our marketplace. Our platform has also proven to be a valuable startup library for designers, project managers, and creators with no technical skills who’d like to become tech bosses. Also, developers, engineers, and other techy people who don’t want to spend so much time and resources building and validating a product can find awesome software products.
But the platform isn’t only for buyers. Startup sellers with ideas for the next big thing in tech who need money to fund their new projects can sell their small projects on our platform. Sellers with so many projects who have become bored or lack the resources to grow some can also list their smaller products or businesses on Microns.
MicroAcquire is one of the largest marketplaces. The platform describes itself as the place for buyers and sellers to start conversations. So far, they’ve overseen the acquisition of $600 million worth of businesses, according to their website. The startup acquisition platform has over 120,000 entrepreneurs.
Another reason why they're a good online startup marketplace is that they have a couple of tools for users to conduct due diligence. They also have a directory of legal, accounting, and M&A advisors.
MicroAcquire has one of the largest networks of buyers and sellers so you can find lots of online businesses on the platform.
READ: Microns vs Flippa
Microns is a marketplace designed for entrepreneurs looking to buy micro startups for sale ranging from $300 to $100,000.
Most buyers that come to our platform are usually first-time founders, UI/UX designers, project managers, marketers, software engineers, indie makers, creators, serial entrepreneurs, and other small-scale entrepreneurs.
And most micro-SaaS or small online business sellers on our platform are looking for quick exits of their projects. While some sellers believe their smaller projects can do better in the hands of entrepreneurs with better skills or more resources.
MicroAcquire is designed for entrepreneurs interested in buying startups ranging from $6,000 to millions of dollars.
Usually, established and serial entrepreneurs that have run one or more businesses or have access to PE funds, VC funds, and other investment syndicates are more drawn to using MicroAcquire. Larger companies also buy complementary apps or tools to serve their clients better.
The sellers are founders with larger projects who want to cash out big. There are also founders with large businesses who have difficulty monetizing their projects and can’t get funding to continue growing the business.
First, it’s free for sellers to list their products on the Microns marketplace.
Microns never charges a commission for the acquisition of any business. However, we charge our premium members (buyers) a subscription fee: $49 per month or $159 per 6 months, or $199 per year as we send them a weekly list of newly added startups to our platform.
Premium buyers first get access to these micro-startups for sale before they’re listed on the marketplace. Another perk of being premium members is that they receive revenue and traffic metrics. Premium members also get invited to our community of micro-startup founders. Plus they can easily filter and discover all the existing projects on the site.
It's free to list and buy startups on MicroAcquire. However, if you want the platform to take care of the acquisition process, they'll charge you a 5% commission for the additional services.
The platform also charges two subscription fees: $390 per year and $780 per year for buyers to access the platform.
READ: How to buy your first side project
One of the benefits of using a micro-SaaS marketplace like Microns is that listed startups and other online businesses typically take 1 to 30 days to complete the acquisition.
Deals on MicroAcquire are usually large acquisitions (with some reaching millions), so a lot of due diligence is required. This slows the acquisition process, causing most deals to take between 30 and 60 days.
On Microns, most of the listings are micro-SaaS startups for sale. Other popular businesses on our platform are ecommerce stores, web and mobile apps, Shopify apps, bots, content websites, extensions, newsletters, databases, alternative assets, Web3 startups, directories, etc.
You can buy and sell the following startups on MicroAcquire: SaaS startups, Shopify apps, agencies, ecommerce brands, web apps, mobile apps, and communities. The list goes on.
READ: How to Evaluate Micro-SaaS Startups
Buying or selling an online business on Microns comes with the following benefits:
Buying or selling an online business on MicroAcquire comes with the following benefits:
READ: Microns vs Tiny Acquisitions
The disadvantages of buying and selling a micro-startup on Microns are:
The disadvantages of buying and selling a startup on MicroAcquire are:
READ: Negotiation Guide for Buying Online Businesses
Yes, Microns is a free, legit marketplace that connects buyers and sellers looking for deals involving the sale of small online businesses.
Yes, MicroAcquire is a legit marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of tech startups and other online businesses.
Microns is one of MicroAcquire’s best alternative marketplaces for buying and selling online businesses. However, Microns is more than a MicroAcquire alternative. It’s a marketplace that appeals to a different audience of online business buyers and sellers. While MicroAcquire services are designed for big SaaS acquisitions, Microns serve entrepreneurs interested in micro-SaaS startups for sale.
Now we’ve put the MicroAcquire vs Microns debate to bed, you can list your micro-startup on our marketplace for free. And if you’re looking to buy some of the most profitable startups, sign up today.
Join 5,000+ entrepreneurs and investors looking for their next micro-startup acquisition opportunity.