Baton vs BizScout: Fees, Terms, and Which to Choose When Selling
Chat Joglekar
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7 min read
BizScout is a small business marketplace founded by Codie Sanchez and built mainly for buyers. It is a reasonable place to list if you want free exposure to a large buyer audience and will run the sale yourself or through a broker. Baton is the better fit for most Main Street and lower-middle-market sellers who want a dedicated advisor to run the sale through close, for a published fee: 6% at close, no retainer.
This comparison is for owners. Most of what BizScout sells, including its paid plans, the BizScout Score, and its calculators, is for buyers. Owners usually meet it in one of three ways: a broker lists the business there, the owner lists it for free, or a buyer using its off-market tools reaches out first. We compare cost and who does the work, and say where BizScout is the better call.
What BizScout is
Founder: Codie Sanchez, who also founded Contrarian Thinking. BizScout’s January 2026 press release names her CEO. Bobby Graham has been president since July 2025.
Headquarters: Austin, Texas.
Model: a marketplace that aggregates listings from brokers, direct sellers, and off-market sources. It reports more than 16,000 listings, each graded 0 to 100 by its BizScout Score (multiple, margin, debt service, cash-on-cash return), plus free buyer calculators.
Buyer pricing: Basic is free. Pro is $199 a month, or $129 a month billed annually, as of October 2026. Contrarian Academy and Private Client (for acquisitions of about $5 million and up) are by application.
Seller pricing: free to list, with optional paid promotion. BizScout’s terms add a seller “Marketing Fee” at closing, set by a schedule it does not publish.
Funding and scale: a $5 million seed round in April 2026 from investors including Valor Equity Partners, reported by Inc., and 150,000+ registered users and 220 closed deals in its first 18 months. All active Transworld listings appear on BizScout.
Baton vs BizScout
Baton | BizScout | |
|---|---|---|
Upfront cost to the owner | None. No retainer or listing fee. | Free to list. Optional paid promotion. |
Fee when you sell | 6% of the total purchase price, paid at close | A seller Marketing Fee at closing, amount not published |
Who runs the sale | Your Baton advisor, through diligence and close | You or your broker, with its DealOS tools. It does not negotiate for you. |
Buyers | 30,000 vetted buyers, major business-for-sale sites, and direct outreach to strategic buyers | More than 150,000 active buyers on its own platform, according to BizScout |
Valuation | Free, data-driven valuation before you list | Free valuation tool that gives a market-comp range |
Confidentiality | Free anonymous listing to test buyer interest privately | Teaser hides identifying details. NDA before the full deal package. |
Contract term | Three-month exclusive, then month to month | 12-month exclusive under its seller terms. Early delisting is at BizScout’s discretion. |
Time to close | Offers in about 6 weeks. About 6 months from listing to close on average. | Not published. Its FAQ says Main Street businesses typically close in 4 to 9 months. |
Pricing and features checked October 2026. Baton figures are from baton.com/pricing and baton.com/sell-your-business. BizScout figures are from its seller page, buyer pricing, FAQ, and terms of service (updated June 5, 2026).
Where the difference shows up
The fee is hard to compare because BizScout does not publish it, and its pages describe it differently. Its seller page says you pay a success fee only when the business sells, priced on your asking price. Its terms call this a Marketing Fee, set by a schedule it can change with notice. Its general FAQ says it takes no transaction commission. On a $1.5 million sale, Baton’s 6% is $90,000, known before you start. Ask BizScout for its current schedule in writing and run the same $1.5 million through it.
The commitment matters as much as the fee. If you list directly, BizScout’s terms set a 12-month exclusive: you may not market the business elsewhere, including through a broker, and any sale in that window owes the fee, whoever found the buyer. After the listing comes down, the fee still applies to a sale to any buyer within 60 days, and with no time limit to a buyer who viewed or asked about it on BizScout. Baton’s Seller Plan is a three-month exclusive, then month to month.
The last difference is who does the work. BizScout gives sellers a listing, buyer matching, NDAs, a deal pipeline, and an optional consultation with Exit Factor on sale preparation. You run buyer conversations, negotiation, and closing yourself. Baton’s 6% includes a dedicated advisor who prepares your marketing materials and data room, contacts strategic buyers, helps buyers line up SBA and bank financing, negotiates with you through the LOI, and manages diligence through close.
Which should you use?
Choose BizScout if your broker already lists there (all active Transworld listings do), you want a free listing in front of a large audience of individual buyers and are comfortable running the sale yourself, your business is below Baton’s $100K profit minimum, or you are selling in Canada, where BizScout operates and Baton does not yet.
Choose Baton if you want one advisor accountable from listing to close, a fee you know up front, a shorter commitment, and buyers beyond one platform, including strategic acquirers. You can test the market privately for free first.
Start with a number
Whichever route you take, know what your business is worth before a buyer or a platform tells you. Get a free Baton valuation.
FAQ
Is BizScout legit? Yes. BizScout is an Austin-based marketplace founded by Codie Sanchez, backed by a $5 million seed round in April 2026, and it carries Transworld Business Advisors listings. Its terms say it does not verify listings or act as anyone’s broker, so do your own diligence.
Is BizScout owned by Codie Sanchez? Codie Sanchez founded BizScout, according to its site, and its January 2026 press release names her CEO. She also founded Contrarian Thinking, and BizScout sells the Contrarian Academy as one of its buyer plans.
How much does BizScout charge sellers? Listing is free, and promotion is optional and paid. BizScout’s terms say sellers owe a Marketing Fee at closing under a schedule it does not publish, while its FAQ page says it takes no transaction commission, so get the current schedule in writing before you list.
How much does BizScout cost for buyers? As of October 2026, Basic is free and Pro is $199 a month, or $129 a month billed annually. Contrarian Academy and Private Client, for acquisitions of about $5 million and up, are by application.
What are the best BizScout alternatives for selling a business? For owners who want an advisor to run the sale for a 6% fee at close, Baton. To compare listing sites and other routes, see our guide to the best websites to sell a small business and every way to sell, compared.
More comparisons
See every option side by side on Compare Baton, or read another comparison:
Sources
Baton pricing, checked October 2026
BizScout buyer pricing, checked October 2026
BizScout terms of service, updated June 5, 2026
Transworld and BizScout partnership, January 2026
Inc.: Codie Sanchez raises $5M for BizScout, April 2026