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 vs MicroAcquire Comparison Guide

Microns Overview

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:

• To help first-time founders and non-technical founders looking to have their first shot at building a tech startup do so risk-freely.
• To help indie makers who don’t have the time, finances, and resources to continue growing a project have quick and easy exits.
• To cut the time sellers spend searching for buyers and buyers spend searching for profitable projects.
• To reduce the friction in buying and selling online businesses and streamline the deal to 30 days or less.
• To provide a platform where people can safely buy genuine businesses, not scam businesses.

If you’re a marketer with a micro-business 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.

Acquire Overview

Acquire (formerly called 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

Who’s Microns designed for?

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.

Who’s Acquire designed for?

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.

READ: Expectations vs Reality of Running a Micro-SaaS Business

Microns' transaction fee

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.

Acquire's transaction fee

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 a micro-SaaS startup for sale

How long does it take to buy micro-SaaS startups for sale on Microns?

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.

How long does it take to buy SaaS startups for sale on Acquire?

Deals on Acquire 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.

Types of online businesses listed on Microns

On Microns, most of the listings are micro-SaaS startups for sale. Other popular micro-businesses you can buy on our marketplace include;

• Ecommerce stores
• Web and mobile apps
• Shopify apps
• Google add-on
• Bots,
• Content websites‍
• Extensions
• Newsletters‍
• Alternative assets
• Databases
• Directories, etc.

READ: How to Evaluate Newsletters

Types of online businesses listed on Acquire

You can buy and sell the following startups on MicroAcquire:

• Shopify apps‍
• SaaS startups
• Agencies‍
• Ecommerce brands
• Web apps
• Mobile apps
• and communities.

The list goes on.

READ: How to Evaluate Micro-SaaS Startups

What are some of the perks of buying/selling a startup on Microns?

Buying or selling an online business on Microns comes with the following benefits:

• Sellers can list and exit pre-revenue projects
• Speedy exit - indie makers can sell their projects within 1 to 30 days
• Buyers with very tiny budgets can easily find profitable ideas that fit their budget
• Buyers can buy low-risk businesses to learn what it takes to build and scale businesses
• Easily acquire complementary apps and tools to grow your business, practice, SaaS startup, or ecommerce store
• Access to tools to streamline the acquisition process
• Get one month of free support from the seller
• Access to a pool of other experienced entrepreneurs, marketers, designers, and software developers who can collaborate with you on a project or serve as your co-founder
• Simple and easy-to-use UI
• Responsive customer support - we answer all our customer questions as fast as we can
• The pre-vetting process is intense so only genuine businesses are listed on the platform – suspicious listings can be reported by our premium buyers, so we can double-check and punish the seller
• No commission on the sale or purchase of any business ever
• Pay a tiny subscription fee to get the best and most profitable startups handpicked for you
• Direct access to the founder who can offer insights about growing tech startups

What are some of the perks of buying/selling a startup on Acquire?

Buying or selling an online business on Acquire comes with the following benefits:

• Exit big businesses and make bank
• A library of legal, negotiation, accounting, and M&A professionals
• Lots of educational content to help you buy, sell, market, and grow your startup
• Access to big profitable businesses worth millions of dollars
• Access to special services to aid your startup sale (this comes with a commission, though

READ: Microns vs Tiny Acquisitions

What are the cons of buying/selling a startup on Microns?

The disadvantages of buying and selling a micro-startup on Microns are:

• Doesn’t support the sale of big acquisitions worth over $100,000
• Deals and conversations with buyers could exceed 30 days
• There are so many listings on the platform, so buyers may have to sift through a huge list of products and businesses
• The due diligence report offered by the platform is thin – you’ll have to do most of the vetting by yourself
• A few educational content pieces
• No access to M&A professionals

What are the cons of buying a startup on Acquire?

The disadvantages of buying and selling a startup on MicroAcquire are:

• You can't sell pre-revenue projects on the platform
• You’ll have to do most of the due diligence on your own as the report provided by the platform is thin for multi-million dollar acquisitions
• MicroAcquire isn’t a brokerage, so there’s no post-sale support from the seller unless agreed upon in the contract
• The subscription price is very expensive
• Customers have reported a few scam listings on the platform

READ: Negotiation Guide for Buying Online Businesses

Is Microns legit?

Yes, Microns is a free, legit marketplace that connects buyers and sellers looking for deals involving the sale of small online businesses.

Is Acquire legit?

Yes, MicroAcquire is a legit marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of tech startups and other online businesses.

Is Microns the best alternative to Acquire?

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.

Conclusion

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.