Empire Flippers Review: Worth 15% If You Qualify
Empire Flippers is a curated broker, not an open marketplace. It rejects most businesses, charges the highest commission of the big three, and does far more of the work. Here is when that trade is worth it.
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Table of contents
Empire Flippers is the opposite of an open marketplace. You cannot simply list a business. You apply, most applications are turned down, and the ones that get through are sold by Empire Flippers on your behalf.
That makes it the most expensive of the three big names for most sellers and the safest for most buyers. Whether it is right for you comes down to two questions: does your business qualify, and is a managed sale worth a 15% commission to you?
How this review was put together: Fees, requirements and process come from Empire Flippers’ own fees page, seller page, buyer guides and terms, checked on 13 November 2026. We have not sold a business through Empire Flippers for this review, so there is no score.
Empire Flippers at a glance
| What it is | Curated broker for established, profitable online businesses |
| Minimum to list | $24,000 a year in net profit and 12 months of history |
| Commission | Flat $10,000 up to $66,666, then 15% up to $700,000, 8% on the next slice to $5M, 2.5% above |
| Listing fee | None |
| Exclusivity | Two months |
| Buyer cost | Free. Identity check and proof of funds required to unlock listings |
| Who runs the sale | Empire Flippers: vetting, marketing, negotiation and migration |
| Business types | Content and affiliate sites, ecommerce, Amazon FBA, SaaS, apps, newsletters, YouTube channels, agencies |
What it costs to sell with Empire Flippers
There is no listing fee and nothing to pay unless the business sells. The commission is stacked in bands, a bit like income tax.
| Part of the sale price | Commission |
|---|---|
| Up to $66,666 | Flat $10,000 |
| $66,666 to $700,000 | 15% of the sale price |
| $700,000 to $5 million | 8% of the amount in this band |
| Above $5 million | 2.5% of the amount above $5 million |
What that means at different sizes:
| Sale price | Commission | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $10,000 | 20% |
| $200,000 | $30,000 | 15% |
| $700,000 | $105,000 | 15% |
| $1 million | $129,000 | 12.9% |
| $5 million | $449,000 | 9% |
The $1 million and $5 million figures are Empire Flippers’ own worked examples.
The $10,000 minimum matters most at the bottom. The smallest business Empire Flippers will accept makes $24,000 a year in profit. At the lowest multiple it quotes, 1.7 times annual profit, that business lists for about $41,000 and the commission takes roughly a quarter of it. Small sellers should run that number before applying.
Does your business qualify?
Empire Flippers publishes its requirements. The main ones:
- At least $24,000 in net profit over the last 12 months.
- At least 12 months of revenue and earnings history.
- For advertising and affiliate sites, the same domain for the previous 12 months.
- No sign of manipulated earnings or traffic, such as penalties, redirected domains or short spikes.
- For service businesses, more than half the income from multiple clients.
- No gambling, adult, payday loan or dubious health-claim businesses.
Most applicants do not get through. In the most recent figures Empire Flippers has published, covering 6,413 submissions between July 2020 and June 2021, 91% were rejected. Almost two thirds of all submissions fell at the first check, usually for not verifying identity or not meeting the minimums. Those numbers are several years old, so read them as a guide to how strict the process is, not as a current statistic.
How selling works
- Apply. You submit the business and verify your identity.
- Vetting. Empire Flippers asks for access to your revenue and traffic accounts, builds a profit and loss statement, and gives you a valuation. It typically prices a business at 12 months of net profit multiplied by somewhere between 1.7 and 5 or more.
- Listing. The business goes to its buyer list with the name and URL hidden.
- Buyer conversations. Empire Flippers screens enquiries and manages communication.
- Negotiation. Its team negotiates and structures the deal.
- Migration. After payment, Empire Flippers moves the domain, hosting, content and accounts to the buyer.
- Payout. Once the buyer has confirmed the business performs as described, you are paid, less commission.
Two timing points. You give Empire Flippers two months of exclusivity. If the business has not sold by then, you can remove it or list it elsewhere. And you are not paid when the deal is agreed. Migration usually takes several weeks and is followed by a verification period, typically two weeks, before funds are released.
How buying works
Creating an account is free, but listings do not show the business name or URL until you unlock them. To unlock, you have to do two things:
- Verify your identity with a government ID and a short video check.
- Prove you have the money, either by connecting a bank account for a one-off balance snapshot or by uploading a recent bank statement, brokerage statement, accountant’s letter or credit line.
Empire Flippers says document reviews take up to 24 hours and that it rejects more than a third of uploaded documents for being the wrong type, so read the instructions first.
Once a listing is unlocked you see the full earnings and traffic data and can ask the seller questions. On listings above $100,000 you can book a call with the seller. You then either buy at the listed price by bank wire or make an offer on your own terms. After payment, Empire Flippers handles the transfer, and you get a period to confirm the business earns what the listing said before the seller is paid.
What Empire Flippers does well
- Real vetting. Earnings and traffic are checked through account access before a business is listed. This is the main thing you are paying for.
- A managed handover. The migration is done for you, which removes the riskiest step for first-time buyers.
- Buyers are verified. Sellers deal with people who have shown ID and funds.
- No upfront cost. You pay only on a completed sale.
- Short exclusivity. Two months is brief by broker standards.
- A long record. Empire Flippers reports more than $600 million in total sales across more than 2,600 sellers.
Where Empire Flippers falls down
- It is the most expensive option below $700,000. 15% against 10% on a Flippa self-service listing and 7% to 8% on Acquire.com.
- The $10,000 minimum punishes small sales. Under about $66,000 the effective rate is above 15%, and it climbs fast below that.
- Most businesses are rejected. If you make under $2,000 a month in profit, do not apply.
- You wait for your money. Payout comes after migration and verification, not at agreement.
- Buyers cannot browse properly without verification. Fine if you are serious. Friction if you are still learning what is out there.
On Trustpilot, Empire Flippers held a 4.2 out of 5 from a little over 100 reviews when we checked. That is a small sample for a company with this many completed sales.
Who should use Empire Flippers
Use it if you are selling an established content, affiliate, ecommerce or Amazon business making at least a few thousand dollars a month in profit, and you would rather pay more than run the sale yourself. Buyers who are new to this and spending real money should start here, because someone has already checked the numbers.
Look elsewhere if your business is small or young. Flippa will list it for $29. If you are selling a SaaS product and are happy to negotiate yourself, Acquire.com will cost you roughly half as much.
Verdict: Empire Flippers charges the most and does the most. For a profitable business and a seller who values their time, 15% for vetting, negotiation and a managed handover is a fair trade. For a small or early business it is the wrong tool.
If your business meets the requirements, you can apply or browse listings at Empire Flippers.
How Empire Flippers compares
- Flippa vs Empire Flippers: the head-to-head.
- Marketplace fees compared: what you keep at four different sale prices.
- Every marketplace we cover.
FAQ
How much commission does Empire Flippers charge?
A flat $10,000 on sales up to $66,666, then 15% of the sale price up to $700,000. Above that the rate is 8% on the portion between $700,000 and $5 million, and 2.5% on anything over $5 million. There is no listing fee.
What is the minimum to sell on Empire Flippers?
Your business needs at least $24,000 in net profit over the past 12 months and at least 12 months of earnings history. It also has to pass vetting, which most submissions do not.
Is Empire Flippers legit?
Yes. It is an established broker that verifies earnings and traffic before listing a business and handles the transfer after a sale. It reports more than $600 million in completed sales.
Do buyers pay a fee on Empire Flippers?
No. The commission is paid by the seller. Buyers do have to verify their identity and show proof of funds before they can see a listing’s URL.
How long does it take to get paid after selling?
Not immediately. After the buyer pays, Empire Flippers migrates the business, which usually takes several weeks, and the buyer then has a verification period, typically two weeks. The seller is paid after the buyer signs off.
