Baton vs Empire Flippers: Fees, Buyers, and Which to Choose
Chat Joglekar
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6 min read
Empire Flippers is a legitimate, curated marketplace and brokerage for online businesses, and it is the right choice if you are selling a content site, an Amazon FBA brand, an ecommerce store, or a SaaS product. Baton is the better fit for most Main Street and lower-middle-market owners: it is built for physical, local, and service businesses and charges a flat 6% at close with no retainer.
This comparison is for owners choosing between the two, and the honest answer is that they serve different sellers. If your business runs online, Empire Flippers may serve you better. If you own a shop, a practice, a trade business, or another company with local customers and staff, that is Baton’s focus.
What Empire Flippers is
Started: 2011, by Justin Cooke and Joe Magnotti, who built and sold their own niche websites before brokering other people’s. Andy Allaway is now CEO.
Model: a curated marketplace for online businesses, including content sites, Amazon FBA and KDP brands, ecommerce, and SaaS, with buyers and sellers worldwide.
Vetting: it rejects most submissions. In its July 2020 to June 2021 data, only 9% of submissions made it to listing.
Size: more than $600 million in online businesses sold, according to its About page.
Pricing, as of October 2026: no listing fee, and a blended commission of $10,000 on the first $66,666, 15% up to $700,000, 8% from $700,000 to $5 million, and 2.5% above $5 million.
Recognition: a six-time Inc. 5000 honoree, according to its About page.
Baton vs Empire Flippers
Baton | Empire Flippers | |
|---|---|---|
Built for | U.S. Main Street and lower-middle-market businesses, focused on $500K to $100M in value | Online businesses (content sites, Amazon FBA, ecommerce, SaaS), sold worldwide |
Upfront cost | None. No retainer or listing fee. | None. No listing fee. |
Success fee | 6% of the total purchase price, paid at close | Blended: $10,000 minimum, 15% up to $700K, 8% from $700K to $5M, 2.5% above $5M |
Who runs the sale | A dedicated Baton advisor, through diligence and close | Empire Flippers’ vetting, sales, and migration teams, which also transfer the business to the buyer |
Who can list | Free valuation and anonymous listing for any U.S. owner. The Seller Plan requires $100K+ in annual profit. | Businesses that pass vetting, with $24,000+ a year in net profit and 12 months of history. Most are rejected. |
Buyers | 30,000 vetted buyers, major business-for-sale sites, and direct outreach to strategic buyers | Online business buyers worldwide, who verify identity and funds to unlock a listing |
Off-market option | Yes. Test buyer interest privately with a free anonymous listing. | No. Listings hide the website until a verified buyer unlocks it. |
Contract term | Three-month exclusive, then month to month | Two-month exclusive, continuing while listed. Commission is owed on a sale to a buyer it introduced for a year after. |
Pricing and features checked October 2026. Baton figures are from baton.com/pricing. Empire Flippers figures are from its commission calculator, its Terms of Use (effective November 8, 2025), its seller pages, and its changelog, which raised the minimum commission to $10,000 in February 2026.
Where the difference shows up
On a $1.5 million sale, Baton’s 6% success fee is $90,000. Empire Flippers’ blended commission is $169,000: 15% of the first $700,000 ($105,000) plus 8% of the next $800,000 ($64,000). That is $79,000 more. The gap closes on very large deals because the rate falls to 2.5% above $5 million, and above roughly $9.3 million its total is less than 6%.
The bigger difference is the kind of business each is built to sell. Empire Flippers’ process is designed for assets that transfer online: it verifies revenue and traffic, holds the buyer’s payment, and has a migration team move the accounts to the buyer before paying the seller. A plumbing company, a clinic, or a manufacturer sells differently. The buyer is often a regional operator or a competitor, and the deal often depends on an SBA or bank loan. Baton is built for that sale, with an advisor through close, outreach to strategic buyers, and financing pre-qualification.
Which should you use?
Choose Empire Flippers if your business runs online (a content site, Amazon brand, ecommerce store, or SaaS product), it clears the vetting bar, you want a team to handle the account transfer, or you are selling from outside the U.S. Its commission is also lower than Baton’s above about $9.3 million.
Choose Baton if you own a physical, local, or service business in the U.S. and want a flat 6% fee with no retainer, an advisor through close, a free valuation, and a private way to test buyer interest.
Start with a number
Whichever route you take, know what your business is worth before you list it anywhere. Get a free Baton valuation.
FAQ
Is Empire Flippers legit? Yes. Empire Flippers has operated since 2011, reports more than $600 million in online business sales, and vets businesses before listing them. It holds the buyer’s payment until the business has transferred.
How much does Empire Flippers charge to sell a business? As of October 2026, Empire Flippers charges no listing fee and a blended commission: $10,000 on the first $66,666, 15% up to $700,000, 8% from $700,000 to $5 million, and 2.5% above that. On a $1.5 million sale, that is $169,000, compared with $90,000 on Baton.
Can I sell a brick-and-mortar business on Empire Flippers? Empire Flippers is built for online businesses, and its requirements and process reflect that. Owners of physical, local, or service businesses will usually do better with a broker or with Baton, which focuses on Main Street and lower-middle-market companies.
How hard is it to get accepted by Empire Flippers? It rejects most submissions. In its July 2020 to June 2021 data, only 9% of 6,413 submissions were listed. It asks for at least $24,000 a year in net profit and 12 months of history.
What are the best Empire Flippers alternatives? For online businesses, see Baton vs Flippa and Baton vs Acquire. For physical, local, and service businesses in the U.S., Baton.
More comparisons
See every option side by side on Compare Baton, or read another comparison:
Sources
Baton pricing, checked October 2026
Empire Flippers commission calculator, checked October 2026
Empire Flippers Terms of Use, effective November 8, 2025
Empire Flippers changelog, February 2026 commission update
Why 91% of businesses don’t pass our vetting process, December 2022