Acquire has become one of the leading marketplaces for buying and selling online businesses over the past few years. The company stands out by branding itself as a marketplace specifically for startups, while most other marketplaces take a more general approach.
This article highlights some key statistics and figures related to Acquire, its users, and the deals listed and completed on the marketplace.
Acquire.com Basics
- Founded in 2020 (originally known as MicroAcquire)
- Rebranded to Acquire.com in 2023
- Based in San Francisco, California
- Founder and CEO: Andrew Gazdecki
Acquire.com Statistics
Here are stats and figures found through various sources.
1. The Marketplace Has 2,200+ Live Listings
Acquire is one of the most active marketplaces for buying and selling online businesses, with a few thousand active listings. The platform’s open nature attracts many sellers, creating a wide range of business types, prices, and quality of listings.
Acquire’s size and openness to many online businesses can be a pro or a con, depending on how you view it. On the one hand, businesses that wouldn’t qualify with some marketplaces and brokers are eligible at Acquire. On the other hand, the large number of listings makes it cumbersome for buyers to browse and also makes it difficult for sellers to stand out.
If you’re looking for a curated marketplace that focuses on each individual listing, consider Investors Club.
2. Acquire Has Closed $500+ Million in Transactions
According to Acquire, they have closed more than 1,000 transactions since the company launched in 2020, for a total volume of more than $500 million.
3. The Platform Has Over 350,000 Registered Buyers
Acquire claims to have more than 350,000 registered buyers, including free and premium accounts. For comparison’s sake, our Flippa statistics article showed that Flippa claims to have more than 2 million buyers. While Flippa leads in overall size, Acquire is a viable Flippa alternative.
See how the two platforms compare in our Flippa vs. Acquire article.
4. Buyers and Sellers Come from 78 Different Countries
Acquire has established a strong global presence, with buyers and sellers worldwide.
5. SaaS Businesses Sold Below $100K in 2023 Went for an Average of 4.11x Annual Profit
Acquire reported the following average multiples for SaaS businesses that sold in their marketplace during 2023:
- Below $100K: 4.11x
- $100K – $1M: 4.97x
- $1M+: 5.65
The company only reported this data for SaaS businesses, so no data is available for the average multiples of other business types.
6. The Average Multiple for SaaS Businesses Sold in 2023 Was 4.3x Profit, Down from 5.4x in 2022
This statistic covers SaaS businesses sold in all price ranges. As you can see, the average multiple dropped by just over 20% in 2023. For businesses with profit over $1,000 in the last 12 months, the lowest multiple was 0.63x, and the highest was 34x.
7. 55.7% of Listings Are SaaS Businesses
Although startup owners can list and sell other business types on Acquire, SaaS is by far the most popular business model on the platform. The table below shows the breakdown of business types as a percentage of listings when we analyzed the marketplace. We’ve also included the same details for our listings at Investors Club for comparison.
Business Type | Acquire | Investors Club |
SaaS | 55.7% | 0% |
Content Sites | 1.2% | 87.5% |
E-Commerce | 31.8% | 12.5% |
Other | 11.3% | 0% |
Read Investors Club vs. Acquire for more details about how we compare.
8. 42.4% of Listings Are Below $100,000
Acquire’s marketplace includes listings in a wide price range. They suggest that businesses should generate revenue before listing, but currently there are no firm income requirements.
The table below shows the percentage of listings in various price ranges when we analyzed the marketplace. We’ve also included the same data for our own listings at Investors Club for comparison.
Please note that sellers determine their own asking price at Acquire, which results in some inflated prices. The percentages in this table represent the asking price, not the selling price.
Price Range | Acquire | Investors Club |
Less than $1K | 0.4% | 0% |
$1K-$5K | 3.5% | 0% |
$5K-$10K | 2.8% | 3.1% |
$10K-$50K | 19.9% | 46.8% |
$50K-$100K | 15.7% | 18.8% |
$100K-$250K | 20.1% | 15.6% |
$250K-$500K | 12.8% | 6.3% |
$500K-$1M | 8.9% | 3.1% |
Over $1M | 15.9% | 6.3% |
9. The Average SaaS Listing That Sold in 2023 Spent 81 Days on the Market
The number of days on the market measures the time from listing until completed sale, not from listing until accepted offer. The median number of days on the market, 97, was slightly higher than the average (mean).
10. SaaS Listings Average 67% Profit Margins
Profit margin is one of several important details impacting valuations. Businesses with higher profit margins tend to sell for higher multiples, all other factors being equal. If you want to know how your SaaS business stacks up, you can compare your profit margin to this average.
11. 13% of SaaS Offers Involved Seller Financing, 12% Had Holdbacks, and 34% Had Other Conditions
Of course, most buyers prefer 100% cash upfront. However, that’s not always possible, especially in a buyer’s market. Sellers who are open to seller financing, holdbacks, earnouts, and other conditions have a better chance of reaching an agreement with a buyer.
12. Acquire’s Premium and Platinum Plans for Buyers Cost $390 and $780 Per Year
Acquire offers a free buyer’s account, but the functionality is extremely limited. Buyers with free accounts can browse some listings but cannot contact sellers, make offers, or move forward with deals. To buy through Acquire, you’ll need a Premium or Platinum membership.
At Investors Club, buyers with a free account can contact sellers, place offers, and complete acquisitions.
13. Acquire Raised $6.3 Million in 2021
In July 2021, Acquire announced a seed round of funding ($2.8 million), followed by a second round of an additional $3.5 million. Investors came from more than 70 influential tech entrepreneurs, including Dharmesh Shah of HubSpot, Sam Parr of The Hustle, Alex Lieberman and Austin Rief of Morning Brew, Noah Kagan of AppSumo, Neil Patel of Neil Patel Digital, Ryan Hoover of Product Hunt, and many others.
According to the announcement blog post, this funding was to allow Acquire to “build the Zillow of M&A.”
14. The Company Paid $240,020.16 for the Acquire.com Domain
After launching as MicroAcquire in 2020, the platform moved away from focusing exclusively on very small businesses. With “micro” becoming less relevant, the company purchased the Acquire.com domain name and rebranded.
15. The Website Gets 665,500 Visits Per Month
According to Similarweb.com, the Acquire website attracts more than 600,000 visits per month.
The top countries in terms of the percentage of visitors are:
- US (43.59%)
- India (12.37%)
- Canada (5.2%)
- UK (4.07%)
- Netherlands (3.8%)
Also according to Similarweb, 71.53% of Acquire’s website visitors are male, and 28.47% are female.
The table below shows the breakdown of website visitors by age range.
Age Range | Percentage of Website Visitors |
18-24 | 11.83% |
25-34 | 38.27% |
35-44 | 18.01% |
45-54 | 15.62% |
55-64 | 10.38% |
65+ | 5.9% |
16. Acquire Earns $7.3+ Million in Annual Revenue
As a private company, Acquire doesn’t publicly disclose its revenue numbers. According to getlatka.com, Acquire’s revenue was $13.9 million in 2021. Since the platform has grown significantly over the past few years, that number likely increased. However, Growjo.com estimates its annual revenue at $7.3 million.
17. The Company Has 50 Employees
According to Pitchbook, Acquire has about 50 employees. The company’s LinkedIn page, which may or may not be up to date, lists the number of employees as 11-50.
Sources
- https://blog.acquire.com/acquire-biannual-acquisition-multiples-report-2024/
- https://blog.acquire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/image-3-1024×576.png
- https://blog.acquire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/image-4-1024×576.png
- https://blog.acquire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/image-7-1024×576.png
- https://blog.acquire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/image-11-1024×576.png
- https://blog.acquire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/image-12-1024×576.png
- https://blog.acquire.com/acquire-raises-additional-6-3-million/
- https://acquire.com/guided-by-acquire/
- https://acquire.com/pricing/
- https://domainnamewire.com/2022/11/15/microacquire-paid-2-million-for-acquire-com/
- https://www.similarweb.com/website/acquire.com/
- https://getlatka.com/companies/acquire
- https://growjo.com/company/acquire.com
- https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/437493-34
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom/
Online Business Builder & Content Strategist
Marc has been building websites and online businesses since 2007. He’s built successful businesses in several industries, including web/graphic design, photography, travel, and personal finance. Marc is the founder of Flip My Site, where he writes about buying and selling websites.
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