How to sell my SaaS business: what it's worth, where to list and how the sale works (2026)

The short answer

To sell a small SaaS business, you clean up 12 to 24 months of monthly financials, pick a marketplace or broker that fits your deal size, list it, take buyer calls, accept a letter of intent (LOI), get through due diligence, sign a purchase agreement and close through escrow, then hand over over a few weeks. Acquire.com says a typical SaaS sale takes 60 to 120 days from listing to close.

What it's worth depends mostly on profit, growth, churn, how much the business depends on you and whether a few customers carry the revenue. Published multiples vary widely. Acquire.com's January 2026 report gives a median of 3.9x profit for SaaS sold on its marketplace, while FE International's 2026 benchmarks span roughly 2x to 7x ARR across all sizes.

Fees matter more than most founders expect. On the pages we checked on 26 October 2026, the seller's cut runs from 3% to 15% of the price depending on the platform and deal size. This guide compares them, walks through the process, and lists what buyers check first.

What drives the price of a small SaaS

The price is a multiple of one number (usually profit for small businesses), and the multiple rises or falls with risk and growth. Five things move it most:

• Profit or revenue. Small, founder-run SaaS is mostly valued on seller's discretionary earnings (SDE): net profit with your own pay and one-off costs added back. FE International says businesses valued under roughly US$5 million are typically priced on SDE, with EBITDA taking over above that.
• Growth. Faster, profitable growth earns a higher multiple. Growth bought with heavy spending is worth less.
• Churn and retention. FE International's guide to selling says buyers look at retention before anything else.
• Owner dependence. Acquire.com asks sellers: can the business operate for 90 days without you? If not, expect a lower offer or a longer handover.
• Customer concentration. The same Acquire.com guide says that if one client accounts for more than 20% of your MRR, buyers will discount their offer or tie an earn-out to that risk.

When a SaaS gets a revenue multiple instead

A revenue multiple usually needs scale, growth and a team. Quiet Light's guide to selling a SaaS business describes four tests buyers use to decide: ARR of US$1 million or more, year-on-year revenue growth of 40% or more, monthly churn under 4%, and dedicated customer success and development staff. It calls these guidelines, not hard rules. Most micro SaaS businesses fail at least two of them, which is why they sell on profit.

What published multiples say (checked 26 October 2026)

The multiples below come only from marketplaces' and brokers' own pages. Each measures something different, so don't mix them.

Acquire.com notes that its figures show where most deals close, not a cap, and that some deals close above or below them. FE International sells advisory services, and Acquire.com and Empire Flippers earn fees on sales, so read all three as market guidance, not independent data.

Acquire.com vs Flippa vs Empire Flippers vs Microns vs FE International vs Quiet Light

The right platform depends mostly on your deal size and how much help you want. All fees below are seller fees from each company's own page, checked on 26 October 2026, in US dollars.

To see what those rates mean, here's the arithmetic for a US$300,000 sale, using the tiers above: Acquire.com 7% is US$21,000 plus US$50 a month while listed; Flippa 10% is US$30,000 plus a US$499 broker fee at that size; Empire Flippers 15% is US$45,000; Microns 6% is US$18,000; FE International's platform at 4% is US$12,000. Escrow and legal costs come on top.

The cheapest fee isn't automatically the best deal. Empire Flippers and the broker-led options do more of the work (vetting, negotiation, migration) and may reach buyers who pay more. A marketplace with a lower fee leaves the negotiating to you.

Which one fits your deal

• Under US$10k: Microns or Flippa's entry listings. Empire Flippers won't take it.
• US$10k to US$250k: Acquire.com, Microns, Flippa, or FE International's platform. Empire Flippers if you clear US$24,000 a year in profit.
• US$250k to US$1m: any of the six. This is where a broker's negotiation can pay for its fee.
• US$1m and up: a broker or advisory firm. FE International says that above US$5 million, advisory representation pays for itself through the competitive process.

How to sell your SaaS: the process and timeline

The process runs in the same order on almost every platform: prepare, list, negotiate an LOI, diligence, sign, close through escrow, hand over. Acquire.com's help centre lays out that sequence for its own marketplace.

1. Prepare your financials

Start with a month-by-month profit and loss statement. Acquire.com calls a clean monthly P&L the most important document, alongside revenue split by product, segment and pricing tier, year-on-year and month-on-month growth, and churn, retention and lifetime value. Quiet Light asks for at least 24 months of monthly P&L and says most buyers won't buy a SaaS business under two years old, though there are exceptions.

Work out your SDE by adding back your own pay and one-off costs, and be ready to justify every add-back. Make sure your MRR dashboard matches your bank statements: Acquire.com warns that if they don't match, buyers walk.

2. List, take calls and accept an LOI

Once listed, buyers sign an NDA to see private details, then ask questions and make offers. On Acquire.com an LOI is typically valid for a week or more, and exclusivity starts when you accept it. Acquire.com's selling guide suggests a 30-day maximum exclusivity period in the LOI. Empire Flippers asks for a two-month exclusive listing before you list anywhere else.

3. Due diligence

Due diligence is where the buyer checks everything you've claimed. FE International says well-prepared sellers finish it in about five to seven weeks, against ten to twelve for unprepared ones, and calls the late stage "where deals die". Acquire.com recommends replying to buyer requests within 24 hours.

4. Asset sale or share sale

In an asset sale the buyer buys the product, code, domain, customers and accounts; in a share sale they buy the company that owns them. FE International notes that buyers usually prefer an asset purchase because they choose what they take and leave unknown liabilities behind, while sellers usually prefer a share sale because it's cleaner. Most small marketplace deals are asset sales: Acquire.com's process has you sign an asset purchase agreement (APA) after diligence. Raise the structure early, because it changes tax and contracts.

5. Escrow and closing

Escrow holds the buyer's money until the assets have moved and been checked. Acquire.com includes escrow through Escrow.com, which verifies the buyer's funds before you transfer anything. If you're paying for it yourself, Escrow.com's standard fee is 1.9% for US$50,000 to US$200,000 (minimum US$1,200), 1.5% for US$200,000 to US$500,000 and 1.2% for US$500,000 to US$1 million, checked on 26 October 2026. Buyer and seller agree who pays.

6. Transition period

Expect to stay involved after closing. Acquire.com says most buyers require 60 to 90 days of founder involvement, and FE International gives 30 to 90 days of active handover for smaller deals, or six to 24 months where a buyer wants continuity. Write SOPs before you list so the handover is a checklist, not a memory test.

7. Earn-outs and holdbacks

An earn-out pays part of the price later if the business hits agreed targets; a holdback keeps part of it in escrow against claims. Acquire.com suggests getting at least 70% to 80% of proceeds at closing, capping earn-outs at 20% to 30%, and expecting 10% to 15% to be held for 12 to 18 months. Once you've handed over control, you can't steer the numbers an earn-out depends on, so define them tightly.

How long it takes overall

For a small marketplace sale, plan on two to four months. Acquire.com's report found an average of 81 days on the market, with smaller businesses closing faster. Add preparation time before listing: FE International says eight weeks for a clean business and six months or more otherwise, and puts larger advised deals at eight to sixteen months end to end.

What buyers check first

Buyers check whether the revenue is real and whether it will stay after you leave. Pulling together the marketplace and broker guidance above, the order is usually:

1. Retention. FE International puts it first, ahead of everything else.
2. Revenue quality. Recurring revenue that ties to the bank, split by plan and customer segment.
3. Customer concentration. Above 20% of MRR from one client gets discounted, per Acquire.com.
4. Gross margin. FE International says businesses above roughly 75% gross margin are treated as software, and buyers question how much is services below 70%.
5. Owner dependence. Whether sales, support and development run without you.
6. Documentation. SOPs, contractor agreements and who does what, as Acquire.com's buyer checklist asks.

Empire Flippers adds that it doesn't produce due diligence reports for buyers: each buyer is responsible for their own. So expect detailed questions even on a vetted marketplace.

Selling a micro SaaS

A micro SaaS can sell, but the pool of platforms is smaller and the multiple is usually lower. Microns takes asking prices from US$1,000 to US$1 million, but only profitable businesses at least five months old with paying customers, and no pre-revenue projects. Empire Flippers requires at least US$24,000 a year in net profit and 12 months of track record. Flippa's entry listing starts at US$29 for assets under US$10,000.

On very small deals, the fixed costs bite. Empire Flippers' flat US$10,000 commission below US$66,666 would take most of a US$20,000 sale. A percentage-only marketplace keeps more in your pocket.

A note on tax

The sale may be taxed where you live, and asset and share sales can be treated differently. See our guide to tax residency for remote founders and get advice from a qualified adviser before you sign; this guide isn't tax advice.

Common mistakes

• Listing before your books are clean. Mixed personal expenses and missing months slow diligence and invite price cuts.
• Quoting a revenue multiple for a profit-sized business. Unless you clear tests like US$1 million ARR, strong growth and low churn, buyers will price on SDE.
• Ignoring the fee tiers. On a US$300,000 sale, the gap between the cheapest and dearest published fee above is US$33,000.
• Accepting a long exclusivity period. A buyer who goes quiet during 60 days of exclusivity costs you two months of other offers.
• Leaving it all in your head. No SOPs means a longer handover, a lower price or an earn-out you didn't want.
• Taking a big earn-out without control. If the buyer controls pricing, marketing and the roadmap, you can't influence whether the target is met.
• Letting the business slide during the sale. Buyers watch the most recent months closely. A dip during diligence can reopen the price.
• Leaving tax to the end. Asset or share sale, and where you're resident, can change what you keep.

Your checklist for selling a small SaaS

1. Pull 24 months of monthly P&L and reconcile MRR to your bank statements.
2. Calculate SDE and write down the evidence for every add-back.
3. Measure monthly churn, retention and your largest customer's share of MRR.
4. Write SOPs for support, billing, deployments and marketing.
5. Check which platforms accept your size and compare their fees at your expected price.
6. Benchmark your price against a dated published report, not a blog's summary.
7. Set a clear asking price and the deal terms you'll accept, including cash at close.
8. Require an NDA before sharing private details.
9. Cap LOI exclusivity, and agree the deal structure (asset or share) in the LOI.
10. Prepare a data room so you can answer diligence requests within a day.
11. Get legal and tax advice on the purchase agreement before you sign.
12. Close through escrow and transfer assets only after funds are verified.
13. Plan the handover week by week for at least 60 to 90 days.

If you're weighing an exit and want other founders to talk it through with, request an invite to Remote Builders: it's free, a person reads every request, and builder dinners run in Bali and Australia. If you've already sold a SaaS business, you can suggest yourself as a guest on the podcast.