What do brokers charge to sell an online business?
Written by Christopher Krassnig - Founder - Kairos Exchange and ZenoX Media. Reviewed 2026-07-19.
Brokers and marketplaces charge success fees from around 5 to 15 percent on online-business sales. Brokers' own resources quote 8 to 12 percent for smaller companies, Empire Flippers takes 15 percent up to 700,000 dollars (a flat 10,000 dollars on the smallest deals), Flippa takes 10 percent plus listing fees, and Kairos's self-serve lane is 5% at close. Firms that publish no rate negotiate it per deal.
The stack behind the headline rate
The commission is rarely the whole bill. Open marketplaces add listing fees that are non-refundable whether or not you sell, paid upgrades, and escrow costs. Buyer-side subscriptions gate who even sees your listing on some venues. When you compare venues, compare the all-in cost of a completed sale, not the headline percentage.
Why the ranges differ
Curation costs money: a brokerage that vets, negotiates, and hand-holds charges accordingly, and a self-serve marketplace that automates those steps can charge a fraction. The mistake is paying full-service rates for self-serve value. Match the fee to the work you actually need done, not to what feels prestigious.
The unpublished rates
Some traditional brokers publish industry ranges on their own fee explainers without ever stating their own commission; the real number arrives in a private proposal. That is not a scandal, but it is information: a fee that varies by negotiation rewards the seller who asks for it in writing before signing anything.
Related questions
Last reviewed 2026-07-19.
Asked and answered.
When the doors open, the listings go to the waitlist first. Reading up is step one - being in line is step two.