How to Buy a SaaS or App on Startup Index

Browse verified listings on Startup Index, compare ROI and payback period, and click Contact Seller on any listing you like. You negotiate directly with the seller — Startup Index does not broker the deal or take a fee.

Confirm MRR and churn from the seller's Stripe or Paddle dashboard, review the last 12 months of revenue, check the tech stack and any recurring third-party costs, and read the terms of any hosting, domain, or API contracts you'll inherit.

ROI = (monthly net profit × 12) ÷ asking price × 100. Monthly net profit is monthly revenue times the seller's stated margin (defaulting to 80% when unspecified). Higher ROI means a faster theoretical return relative to what you'd pay.

Payback months = asking price ÷ monthly net profit. It's a rough answer to "how many months of profit would it take to earn back what I paid?" — lower is better.

Buyers and sellers typically use Escrow.com or a similar service to hold funds while the seller transfers the codebase, domain, payment provider account, and app-store listings. Startup Index is not part of the transfer flow.

For sub-$100k deals the timeline is usually two to four weeks from first contact to signed asset-purchase agreement, plus another week for the actual asset transfer. Larger deals with due diligence can run six to twelve weeks.

The seller replies via the contact link, shares any additional data-room material (usage stats, cost breakdown, source access), and you agree on price and terms. Once both sides sign an APA, funds go into escrow and the assets transfer.

Strongly recommended for anything above $25k. A lawyer drafts or reviews the Asset Purchase Agreement, checks IP assignment, and flags contract risks (customer terms, third-party licenses, employment). Expect $500–$2,500 in legal for a straightforward sub-$100k SaaS deal, more for larger transactions.

Escrow is a neutral third party (Escrow.com is the standard for online-business deals) that holds the buyer's funds until the seller transfers all assets. It protects both sides — the buyer can't get code without paying, and the seller can't disappear with the money. Escrow fees are typically 0.89%–3.25% of deal size.

Full source-code repository, domain name, all customer data, the Stripe/Paddle account (or a fresh account with subscriptions migrated), hosting and third-party service accounts, social handles, documentation, and any registered trademarks. The APA should list every asset explicitly — anything missing from the list won't transfer.

Standard handover is 2–4 weeks of email or Slack support after closing, covering deployment, on-call triage, and answers to customer or codebase questions. Longer transition support (1–3 months, paid) is negotiable and worth asking for on any deal you can't fully operate on day one.

Yes — seller financing is common on Startup Index. Typical structure is 40–60% cash at close plus 12–36 monthly payments for the rest, sometimes with a small performance-based holdback. This lowers the buyer's capital requirement and gives the seller ongoing skin in the game during transition.

A well-drafted APA includes reps and warranties on financials, so material misstatements are actionable. In practice, the strongest protection is a proper diligence week before signing — screen-share Stripe, export the cohort report, and reconcile against bank deposits. Trust the process, not the story.