List it yourself, or have it sold?
BizBuySell is a place to advertise your business. BizPort is the firm that runs the sale. Our deal size: $1M to $10M in EBITDA / $2M to $30M enterprise value.
Already listed on BizBuySell and getting tire-kickers instead of qualified buyers? That's the gap a managed process is built to close.
The short answer
BizBuySell is a self-serve listing marketplace; BizPort is a full-service sell-side M&A advisor. On BizBuySell you pay a monthly advertising fee, write your own listing, and field inbound inquiries yourself - it is a place to post your business, not a firm that represents you. BizPort runs the entire process on a success-fee-only basis: we value the business, build the materials, proactively approach a curated list of strategic and private-equity buyers, create competition, and negotiate the deal. BizBuySell suits small main-street businesses doing the sale themselves. BizPort is built for lower-middle-market owners who want a managed, competitive process and a premium outcome.
At a glance
Two different things entirely.
This isn't advisor versus advisor. It's a marketplace you operate yourself versus a process run on your behalf.
What it is
BizPort
A full-service advisory firm
A team that represents you and manages the sale end to end.
BizBuySell
An advertising platform
A listing site where you post your business. By their own description, not a brokerage.
Who runs the sale
BizPort
We do
Valuation, CIM, buyer outreach, diligence support, and negotiation are handled for you.
BizBuySell
You do
You write the listing, build the CIM and marketing materials, recast the financials, screen buyers, and negotiate - all while running the company.
How you pay
BizPort
3–8% success fee (tiered by deal size)
You pay when the transaction closes.
BizBuySell
Monthly listing fee, upfront
Roughly $60–$200/mo by tier, billed in advance for 3–12 months - paid whether or not it sells.
Who sees your business
BizPort
The right buyers, on purpose
300+ targeted acquirers per engagement. We map and approach strategic acquirers and PE firms that fit your specific company.
BizBuySell
Whoever browses
Inbound only - largely private individual investors, not the strategic and institutional buyers who pay the highest multiples.
Best fit
BizPort
$1M to $10M in EBITDA / $2M to $30M enterprise value
Staffing, SaaS, and consumer brands where a competitive process protects real value.
BizBuySell
Smaller, main-street businesses
Owners selling a modest business themselves who want low-cost exposure.
Why it matters
Three differences that move the number.
A listing waits. BizPort hunts.
A marketplace listing is passive: you post, then hope the right buyer happens to scroll past. With tens of thousands of businesses listed at any time, you're one tile in a very crowded feed - and the people browsing are largely private individual investors, not the strategic and institutional buyers who pay the highest multiples.
BizPort works the other direction. We identify every strategic and financial buyer who has a reason to want your business, approach them directly, and run them against each other. For a $1M+ EBITDA company, the buyer who pays a premium is almost never casually shopping a marketplace.
The fee is not the cost. The outcome is.
A ~$200/month listing looks almost free next to a success fee - until you compare it to the right benchmark. The real cost of selling isn't the advertising spend; it's the difference in sale price between an unmanaged listing and a competitive process.
Accepting the first individual buyer who answers your ad, with no competing offers and no advisor pushing terms, routinely leaves turns of EBITDA on the table. On a lower-middle-market deal, that gap dwarfs any fee. Cheap to list is not the same as cheap to sell.
On a listing site, you become the banker.
Selling yourself means doing the banker's job on top of your own: recasting financials, writing the confidential summary, qualifying strangers, controlling information, and negotiating the largest transaction of your life - all while keeping the business performing.
BizPort exists so you stay focused on operations while we run the deal. That protects the very performance the buyer is paying for, and it keeps you out of one-on-one negotiations where an experienced buyer holds the advantage.
I listed my business on BizBuySell, and out of the 100+ leads who inquired, only 2 of them were worth talking to. The rest was just noise and scams.
Where BizBuySell is the right call
We'll be straight with you.
If you own a smaller, main-street business - a single-location shop, a small franchise resale, something priced where advisory economics simply don't pencil - a self-serve listing is the sensible choice. For very small businesses, traditional broker minimums can swallow an outsized share of the price, and a low-cost listing lets you run a simple sale yourself.
That owner isn't who we're built for, and we'll tell you so. BizPort is worth it when the business is large enough that a managed, competitive process meaningfully changes the outcome. Deal size: $1M to $10M in EBITDA / $2M to $30M enterprise value. If you're below that line, list it and keep your fee. If you're above it, the gap between "advertised" and "represented" is where your money is.
Questions, answered
BizPort vs BizBuySell: FAQ
Talk to BizPort
Your exit deserves a process, not a posting.
Tell us about your business and we'll give you a straight read - what it's likely worth, who the real buyers are, and whether a managed sale beats listing it yourself. Confidential, with no obligation.
Success-fee only · $0 upfront · Nothing if it doesn't close