Answers
How long does it take to buy a website or small online business?
Short answer: A small website can change hands in two to four weeks once you agree a price; a business above about $50,000 usually takes one to three months, mostly verification and account transfers. Acquire.com reports an average of 81 days on market for SaaS sold there. Delays come from slow access, legal review and accounts that need approval.
How long does each stage take?
Most of the time goes into verification and moving accounts, not finding a listing. A typical timeline for a business between about $25,000 and $150,000, once you have found one you like:
| Stage | Typical time | What slows it down |
|---|---|---|
| Screen and first questions | 1 to 3 days | Slow seller replies |
| Read-only access and verification | 1 to 3 weeks | Access not granted, missing records |
| Price and letter of intent | A few days to 2 weeks | Price changes after findings |
| Purchase agreement and legal review | 1 to 2 weeks | Lawyer availability, unusual terms |
| Escrow funding and transfer | 1 to 3 weeks | International wires, account approvals |
Small sites under about $10,000 on a curated marketplace can close in days: Motion Invest's buying page, for example, says it emails the purchase agreement within 24 hours of a deposit. Larger or more complex deals, especially SaaS with Stripe transfers, take longer.
What do published figures say about time to close?
Acquire.com's Biannual Acquisition Multiples Report gives an average of 81 days on market for SaaS businesses sold there, with most selling within 90 days, and says smaller businesses tended to close faster. That is time from listing to sale, so a buyer who arrives late in the listing sees less of it. Escrow.com's fee calculator says the seller is paid the same or next business day once the terms are completed and verified, so the escrow step itself is rarely the bottleneck.
What does a two-month close cost you?
A composite business asks $75,000 on $2,600 a month of profit. With $2,400 of one-time costs (an escrow fee of $1,425 at Escrow.com's standard 1.9% rate plus an assumed $975 for legal review) and 6 hours a week of work at $30 an hour, the true payback calculator gives 42.5 months, against 28.8 as listed.
Composite example, run through the true payback calculator
| Asking price | $75,000 |
|---|---|
| Stated monthly profit | $2,600 |
| Owner hours a week | 6 |
| Hourly cost of that time | $30 |
| One-time deal costs | $2,400 |
| Payback as listed | 28.8 months |
| Multiple as listed | 2.40× |
| Owner time per month | $780 |
| Profit you keep | $1,820 |
| True payback | 42.5 months |
| True annual multiple | 3.54× |
A slow close does not change those figures, but income the seller earns while you wait is theirs. Agree in the purchase agreement which date profit passes to you.
How can you speed up a purchase?
- Send the questions that can change the price on day one (question list).
- Ask for read-only access, not screenshots, in your first message.
- Line up a lawyer and proof of funds before the letter of intent.
- List every account that needs to move, and start approvals (AdSense, affiliate programmes, Stripe) early.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to buy a website on Flippa?
It depends mostly on how quickly the seller grants access and how many accounts must move. A small site can close in a couple of weeks; larger businesses usually take one to three months.
How long does escrow take when buying a website?
Funding depends on your payment method; international wires take longest. Escrow.com says it pays the seller the same or next business day once both sides confirm the terms are complete.
How long do SaaS businesses take to sell?
Acquire.com reports an average of 81 days on market for SaaS businesses sold on its platform, with most selling within 90 days.
Sources
- Acquire.com, Biannual Acquisition Multiples Report (11 February 2026, updated 1 September 2026), read 7 October 2026
- Escrow.com, Fee calculator, US dollar transactions, read 7 October 2026
- Motion Invest, Buy profitable digital assets (how buying works), read 15 October 2026
- FirstPass Memo, free buyer calculators, our own calculators; the formulas are on each page
Related
- How to buy an online business
- How escrow works
- Hidden costs of buying a website
- Questions to ask a seller
- How to buy a SaaS business
- Glossary of listing terms
- More questions buyers ask
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Composite examples are invented and labelled. Figures from other sites are quoted with a link and the date we read them; FirstPass figures are asking prices and seller-stated profit, not sale prices. Informational screening only, not investment, legal or tax advice.