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I have been covering the online business world since before “website flipping” was a phrase anyone said out loud, and Empire Flippers is the marketplace I get asked about most. The pitch is simple: a curated marketplace that rejects most of the businesses that apply, verifies the numbers on the rest, and handles the money and the migration. After digging through their current terms, live marketplace data, and a stack of buyer and seller experiences for this 2026 review, here is my honest take on where Empire Flippers shines and where it will frustrate you.
Quick company snapshot
Selling a larger or offline business?
Empire Flippers is online-only and rejects most applicants. Our #1 rated broker, Earned Exits, values traditional and online US businesses free of charge.
How Empire Flippers actually works
Sellers apply, submit verified profit and loss data, and roughly nine out of ten get rejected. That sounds brutal, and for sellers it sometimes is, but it is precisely why buyers trust the marketplace. Accepted businesses get valued at a multiple of the trailing 6 to 12 months of net profit, typically somewhere between 20x and 60x monthly profit depending on the model, and you sign a two-month exclusivity agreement. When a buyer commits, Empire Flippers handles the funds and their in-house team runs the migration, which typically takes three to eight weeks. You get paid once the transfer is verified.
For buyers, the old 5 percent refundable deposit is gone. You now verify your identity and proof of funds once, then unlock listings to see the URL and full financials. Purchases run through a buy-it-now and wire process where the first wire wins.
What it costs
The commission structure is marginal, like tax brackets. Small deals pay a flat $10,000, sales up to $700,000 pay 15 percent, and the rates step down to 8 percent and then 2.5 percent on the portions above $700,000 and $5 million. On a $300,000 content site that is $45,000, which is real money, but you are buying vetting, escrow-style fund handling, a large verified buyer pool with over $15 billion in stated liquidity, and a migration team. Doing all of that yourself is where deals get stolen or botched, and I say that having watched both happen. For context on how these fees compare to traditional brokers, see my guide to selling a business.
Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Genuinely curated: roughly 90% of applicant businesses are rejected, so listings carry verified financials
- No listing fees and no upfront costs; you pay only when your business sells
- Strong track record: about $595M in closed deals, 89% of list price achieved, 124-day average sale
- In-house migration team and structured fund handling protect both sides
👎 Cons
- 15% commission on the core $67K to $700K range is among the highest in the space
- Two-month exclusivity and a controlled process mean less seller autonomy over pricing
- High bar to entry: under $1,500/month net profit or under 12 months old and you cannot list
- Recurring complaints about communication delays during deals and migrations
What real users say
Empire Flippers holds ★★★★★ 4.4/5 on Trustpilot, rated Excellent, with praise concentrated on the vetting quality and smooth closings. The complaints that repeat are worth knowing: sellers who feel the company controls pricing decisions, buyers frustrated by slow responses mid-transaction, and occasional friction during longer migrations. Notably, I found no lawsuits or regulatory actions in my research, which after 15 years of operation and half a billion in transactions is a genuinely clean record for this industry.
Who Empire Flippers is right for
If you own a profitable online business earning $1,500 a month or more with a year of history, Empire Flippers gives you the most trusted buyer pool in the curated marketplace category. Buyers with verified funds who want pre-vetted deals will save enormous diligence time versus open marketplaces like Flippa. If your business is smaller, younger, or offline, you will need a different route: my business broker rankings map the options, including Earned Exits for traditional US businesses and Website Closers for larger tech companies. And whatever route you choose, nail your timing first; my piece on exit strategy explains why the best time to sell is before you need to.
Empire Flippers review: frequently asked questions
Is Empire Flippers legit?
What are Empire Flippers’ fees?
What are the requirements to sell on Empire Flippers?
How long does it take to sell on Empire Flippers?
Do buyers still need a 5% deposit on Empire Flippers?
Figures verified July 2026 from Empire Flippers’ published scoreboard and Trustpilot.
Amine Rahal is an entrepreneur and investor. He is passionate about alternative investments, Bitcoin, precious metals and startups. He enjoys covering US politics, retirement investing, alternative investing and geopolitics.
