Flippa Review: The Largest Website Marketplace (But Is It Worth It?)

Flippa is the world's largest marketplace for buying and selling websites, apps, domains, and online businesses. Founded in 2009, they've facilitated over 450,000 transactions and claim a buyer pool exceeding 2 million users. If you're looking to flip a website or acquire an online business, Flippa is probably the first name you'll encounter.

But here's the thing: being the biggest doesn't automatically mean it's the best option for you. I've dug into the platform's fees, user experiences, scam issues, and alternatives so you can make an informed decision.

What Can You Buy and Sell on Flippa?

Flippa handles a wide variety of digital assets:

Listings range from a few hundred dollars for starter sites up to several million for established businesses. In 2022, a portfolio of Singapore-based mobile apps sold for $35 million - Flippa's largest transaction to date.

The platform attracts a diverse mix of buyers and sellers. According to similar web data, the most common age range for Flippa users is 25-34 years old, with 67.82% of visitors being male. The United States accounts for the largest percentage of traffic, though Flippa reports that 67% of deals involve buyers and sellers in different countries, making it truly a global marketplace.

Flippa Pricing: What It Actually Costs

This is where things get a bit complicated. Flippa has multiple fee types that add up.

Listing Fees (Paid Upfront)

You pay these regardless of whether your site sells:

Success Fees (Paid When You Sell)

Flippa takes a percentage of your sale price, and this is where it adds up:

So if you sell a $75,000 website, Flippa takes roughly $7,500 in success fees alone, plus whatever you paid for your listing package.

Brokered Service Fees

For listings above $100,000 (and required for listings over $1,000,000), Flippa offers a managed broker service. This comes with a $999 non-refundable fee for a 9-month term, plus the standard success fee. The brokers are CM&AA qualified (Certified Merger and Acquisition Advisor) and members of the International Business Broker Association.

Flippa has a global network of over 200 expert third-party brokers, plus 15 in-house M&A advisors located across five continents. These brokers help with everything from creating optimized listings to managing negotiations and closing deals. They also have access to Flippa's AI-driven matching engine that connects businesses with over 400,000 buyers weekly through proprietary recommendation algorithms.

Buyer Fees

Buyers get off easier, but it's not free:

How Flippa's Verification System Works

Flippa has implemented several verification measures to combat fraud and build trust on the platform. Understanding these is crucial whether you're buying or selling.

For listings priced under $50,000, Flippa does basic vetting but doesn't conduct comprehensive due diligence. Sellers can connect third-party integrations like Google Analytics, Shopify, Stripe, QuickBooks, and WooCommerce to receive a "Data Verified" badge, which shows that revenue and traffic data comes directly from these platforms.

For listings priced at $50,000 and above, Flippa's vetting team conducts manual reviews to verify revenue, primary expenses, and traffic. This "Vetted by Flippa" badge means the team has either gained direct platform access or conducted remote sessions with sellers to sight financial data in real-time. If a seller cannot provide verification data, their listing will be canceled and refunded.

Buyers can also verify their funds through Plaid (for instant verification of US and Canadian bank accounts) or by manually submitting documents to Flippa's team. Sellers listing businesses over $250,000 can choose to only engage with buyers who have verified their funds, adding another layer of seriousness to high-value transactions.

How Fast Do Sites Sell on Flippa?

Flippa publishes their median closing times:

Some businesses sell within 48 hours, but that's the exception. Expect lower-value deals to close fastest. Overall, more than 50% of successful listings close within 30 days from the listing date, though this statistic is somewhat skewed since smaller listings make up the majority of the marketplace.

Flippa processes approximately 100 new listings per day and performs 4,000 valuations each month. With such high volume, standing out as a seller requires careful listing optimization and potentially upgrading to premium packages for better visibility.

The Scam Problem (Let's Be Honest)

Here's what nobody at Flippa wants to talk about: the platform has a reputation for questionable listings. This isn't because Flippa itself is a scam - it's a legitimate company that's been around since 2009. The problem is their open marketplace model.

Flippa doesn't verify listings below $50,000. That means buyers are responsible for their own due diligence on the majority of listings. And with such a high volume of listings, there are plenty of:

Red flags to watch for: If a site is selling for 6x monthly profit when the standard is 20x-36x, something's wrong. Sites that look too good at unrealistically low prices are almost always a trap.

Flippa has improved verification in recent years, and listings over $50,000 do get due diligence from their team. But if you're buying anything under that threshold, assume nothing is verified and do your homework. The platform's open nature means anyone can list, which is both a strength and weakness depending on your experience level.

What Flippa Does Well

Massive audience: With over 1.5 million users and 600,000+ monthly searches on the platform, sellers get real exposure. If you're trying to sell a website, this is the largest pool of potential buyers you'll find. Flippa receives approximately 1.19 million visits per month, dwarfing most competitors.

Range of listings: Unlike brokers who only work with established businesses, Flippa accepts everything from $500 starter sites to multi-million dollar acquisitions. This makes it accessible regardless of your budget. When analyzing current listings, roughly half are e-commerce sites and over a quarter are content sites, giving buyers plenty of options in popular categories.

Escrow protection: Their integrated escrow service through Escrow.com protects both buyers and sellers. Money sits in escrow until the business transfer is complete. Flippa also offers FlippaPay with regulatory trust protection administered by AscendantFX and Trolley for international transactions.

Variety of deal structures: You can run auctions, set Buy It Now prices, or accept offers. This flexibility lets sellers find their ideal approach. Flippa's auction system prevents last-minute sniping by extending the auction for an hour whenever there's a bid in the final hour.

Free valuation tool: Sellers can get a ballpark valuation using Flippa's data-driven tool before committing to a listing. The AI-driven valuation tool compares your business against thousands of similar sales, analyzing business model, category, age, and buyer interest patterns across 100,000+ comparable business sales.

AI-powered matching: Flippa's proprietary recommendation engine uses hidden buyer behavior patterns to predict future acquisitions and match sellers with the right buyers. This technology helps accelerate deal-making by analyzing latent buyer intent.

What Flippa Gets Wrong

Fees add up fast: Between listing fees, success fees, and escrow fees, selling a $50,000 site could cost you $5,000+ in total fees. Traditional brokers charge 8-12%, but they also do more of the work.

No migration help: Unlike Empire Flippers or Motion Invest, Flippa doesn't help transfer websites from seller to buyer. You're on your own for the technical handoff, which increases risk. Buyers and sellers must coordinate the migration independently or hire third-party services.

Tire-kicker central: Sellers report dealing with a lot of non-serious buyers. With free buyer accounts and minimal barriers, you'll field plenty of lowball offers and time-wasters. The sheer volume of users means quality varies significantly.

Limited support for smaller listings: Unless you're selling something over $100,000 and using their broker service, don't expect hand-holding. Support is basic. Self-service sellers need to manage everything from listing creation to negotiations on their own.

Quality inconsistency: The volume of listings means quality varies wildly. Buyers need to invest serious time vetting opportunities. Some experienced buyers compare Flippa to Craigslist - an open marketplace where anyone can list without stringent curation.

Flippa vs Empire Flippers: Understanding the Difference

The comparison between Flippa and Empire Flippers comes up constantly, so it's worth understanding the key differences.

Empire Flippers operates as a curated marketplace with strict entry requirements. They only accept businesses earning at least $2,000 per month in profit with 12 months of history. Every listing undergoes a 2-4 week vetting process where they verify revenue, expenses, and traffic sources. They also handle migration as part of their service.

The trade-off? Empire Flippers charges higher commission rates (15% for most deals) and you won't find starter sites or smaller businesses on their platform. Almost all listings are in the six-to-seven-figure range.

Flippa, by contrast, is an open marketplace where anyone can list. You'll find everything from $500 starter sites to multi-million dollar businesses. Sellers have more control but also more responsibility. The lower fees (10% or less for most deals) come with the expectation that you'll do more work yourself.

Think of it this way: Empire Flippers is a full-service brokerage with a curated selection and white-glove treatment. Flippa is a DIY marketplace with maximum exposure and flexibility. Empire Flippers claims 6x fewer buyers than Flippa, but those buyers tend to be more serious and better capitalized.

Flippa Alternatives Worth Considering

Empire Flippers: The main Flippa competitor for higher-value businesses. They vet listings more thoroughly and help with transfers, but require deposits just to see full listing details. Better for established businesses; not ideal for starter sites.

Motion Invest: A newer player that verifies every listing's earnings. They also buy sites directly. No seller fees. Good for content sites in the $10K-$100K range.

Acquire (formerly MicroAcquire): Better for SaaS businesses and startups. More curated than Flippa but less variety.

Exchange Marketplace: Shopify's own marketplace for e-commerce businesses. If you're specifically buying or selling Shopify stores, worth checking out.

Investors Club: A curated marketplace with no listing fees and no success fees for sellers. They also act as brokers and can list your site on Flippa with their established reputation, which helps build buyer confidence.

Who Should Use Flippa?

Flippa makes sense for:

Skip Flippa if:

Tips for Success on Flippa

If you decide to use Flippa, here are some insider tips to maximize your chances of success:

For sellers: Complete all verification steps including phone verification, ID verification, and connecting third-party integrations. Listings with verified badges sell faster and at higher prices. Consider upgrading to at least the Standard package for better visibility. Write a detailed, honest listing description and be responsive to buyer questions.

For buyers: Never skip due diligence, even on verified listings. Request access to Google Analytics, revenue platforms, and expense documentation. Check the site's backlink profile using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush. Verify traffic sources are sustainable and not manipulated. Use Flippa's escrow service or FlippaPay - never wire money directly to sellers.

Watch for these specific red flags: sellers who rush the process, revenue that's too consistent (real businesses fluctuate), traffic spikes without clear explanations, and reluctance to provide detailed documentation.

The Bottom Line

Flippa is legit, and it's the biggest game in town for buying and selling online businesses. The sheer volume of buyers and sellers means opportunities exist on both sides of the transaction.

But it's not a hands-off experience. Sellers will deal with lots of unqualified buyers. Buyers need to be vigilant about scams, especially on listings under $50K. And the fees, while competitive with brokers, aren't exactly cheap.

If you go in with realistic expectations and a willingness to put in the work, Flippa can be valuable. Just don't expect the platform to do the heavy lifting for you. For experienced entrepreneurs who know how to vet opportunities and negotiate effectively, Flippa offers unmatched reach and variety. For beginners, consider starting with a more curated marketplace or working with a broker until you develop the skills to navigate Flippa's open ecosystem.

Try Flippa and browse current listings to see what's available in your niche and price range.

Related Resources

If you're building an online business to eventually sell, or looking for tools to run an acquired business, check out these related guides: