BizBuySell Review 2026: Listings, Fees, Who It Is For, and What It Does Not Do

BizBuySell is the biggest open marketplace for small businesses in the US by its own account, and in our view it is the first place a buyer of a main street business should search. Browsing is free, and a free account saves searches and tracks the inquiries you send. BizBuySell earns its money from sellers and brokers. They pay $74.95 to $199.95 a month to advertise on a six-month term. It also sells Edge, an optional buyer membership at $24.95 a month or $239.95 a year. In Q2 2026 its active listings had a median asking price of $406,500 and median cash flow of $172,487. Three things it does not do: verify what sellers post, lend the money, or raise the equity.

This review is built from what BizBuySell publishes: its site, its listing FAQ, its terms of use and its Insight Report data, all read on September 22, 2026. The capital figures come from the Raises.com podcast capital markets episode with Tre Brown, Head of Capital Markets at Raises.com, and from published client transactions. Judgments are marked as ours. For a side-by-side with Raises.com, see BizBuySell vs Raises.com.

BizBuySell at a glance

How the marketplace works

A seller, or the seller's broker, buys a listing plan and publishes the business. BizBuySell's FAQ says most listings are established, operating businesses. Sellers can also advertise the assets of a closed business, or business real estate for sale or lease. Its terms reserve the label "established business" for one that has operated for at least a year. An internet business needs two. It also needs a customer base and a financial history it can share with qualified buyers.

Sellers control what they reveal. A blind listing can limit the location to a county or state and the details to the type of business and the high-level financials. Buyer replies reach the seller without exposing the seller's email address.

Buyers search by industry and location, save searches, and send inquiries through each listing. A broker-listed business puts a broker between you and the owner. An owner-listed one puts the owner on the other end of your first message.

One listing reaches three sites. BizBuySell's sell page says a listing also appears on BizQuest and LoopNet, its CoStar sister sites, and on national media partners. That is why the same business can turn up in several searches.

What the listings look like

BizBuySell publishes two data sets every quarter. One covers businesses listed for sale. The other covers businesses that sold, as reported by brokers. Read them side by side.

Two readings follow. The typical listing is a main street business, with about $737,000 of revenue and $172,000 of cash flow. And asking prices run ahead of sale prices. Listed businesses asked 3.13 times cash flow on average. The ones that sold went for 2.65 times, at 93% of asking. Anchor your offer to the second number.

Sectors differ. In the same quarter, service businesses made up 40% of reported sales at a median $350,000. Restaurants sold for a median $205,000. Manufacturing sold for a median $704,500 and took 247 days to close. For HVAC, BizBuySell's full-year 2025 table shows 123 reported sales at a median price of $800,000, on median cash flow of $315,225.

The sold data has a limit that BizBuySell states itself: brokers report closed transactions voluntarily. It describes broker-run sales. Each report covers 70+ US markets and 65 industries.

What buyers pay

Nothing, to search. A free account saves listings and searches and tracks the inquiries you send.

Edge is the paid layer. BizBuySell prices it at $24.95 a month, or $239.95 a year, which it rounds to $20 a month. It renews automatically until cancelled. Edge adds:

• a badge on every inquiry that marks you as a serious buyer
• up to four valuation reports a year
• which listings are popular and competitive
• local demographic data and commercial real estate data
• comparisons of saved listings against industry financial benchmarks
• personalized recommendations and extra filters, such as price reductions and recent updates

Two reports are sold on their own. The Financial Benchmarks report costs $149, with an introductory price of $99. The valuation report that comes with a seller's listing is described as normally a $179.95 value.

Is Edge worth it? This is our judgment, not BizBuySell's. For a buyer sending inquiries every week, the badge and the popularity data answer the two questions a seller asks first: is this person serious, and how many others want this business. For a buyer who searches once a month, the free account is enough.

What sellers and brokers pay

Sellers pay for advertising, never for the sale. On a six-month term, a Basic listing costs $74.95 a month, Showcase $99.95 and Diamond $199.95. Three-month terms cost more a month and 12-month terms less; the FAQ gives the direction but no rate. A term starts a week after purchase. When it ends, the listing continues month to month until the seller cancels.

BizBuySell's FAQ puts the average time to sell at six to nine months. At the same monthly rate, a Basic listing held for nine months costs $674.55 and a Diamond listing $1,799.55. Brokers list through BrokerWorks, which takes sign-ups through a form and shows no price. The full schedule, and how rival marketplaces charge, is on BizBuySell pricing and listing fees.

Strengths

Inventory. BizBuySell analyzed 39,864 active listings in one quarter, and it calls itself the internet's largest business-for-sale marketplace. Its listings also run on BizQuest and LoopNet, which widens the audience a seller pays for.

Free to search. A buyer with a defined buy box can run saved searches for a year and pay nothing.

Data it publishes. The Insight Report publishes what businesses actually sold for. Its tables break sales down by market and by subsector, with the median price, cash flow, multiples and days on market. BizBuySell calls the report a nationally recognized economic indicator, and it is free to read.

An SBA signal on listings. A seller can submit the business to a lending partner, or upload an SBA prequalification letter, and earn an "SBA Loan Eligible" badge. The terms say the badge is not a loan approval or a commitment to lend. It still tells a buyer that a lender has looked, or that a letter exists.

A lender directory. The Finance Center lists three SBA 7(a) lenders with their ranges: T Bank from $1M to $5M, iBusiness Funding from $100,000 to $5M, and Hanover Bank from $350,000 to $5M.

Limits

Nothing is verified. BizBuySell's terms say it has no obligation to monitor or verify the accuracy of what others post, and no obligation to confirm that a listed broker is licensed. They encourage buyers to do their own due diligence. Every number on a listing is the seller's until your accountant says otherwise.

"Cash flow" means seller's discretionary earnings. BizBuySell's own CPA guide says the two terms are used interchangeably as marketing shorthand, and that SDE leaves out capital expenditures, working capital and debt service. SDE also adds back the owner's pay. The same guide says to deduct a market-rate salary when a working owner has to be replaced. The number that services your debt is smaller than the one on the listing.

Competition for good businesses. BizBuySell's Q2 2026 report says demand continues to outpace the supply of quality businesses. Nearly half of brokers, 48%, report more acquisition entrepreneurs and search funds in the market. By the report's own account, buyers with proof of funds and SBA prequalification get the advantage.

Time. The FAQ puts the average sale at six to nine months. Businesses that closed in Q2 2026 sat a median 174 days on the market.

Size. The median listing asks $406,500 on $172,487 of cash flow. A sponsor who wants a company with $2M of EBITDA is shopping well above the typical listing. Advisor networks such as Axial publish a floor of $2.5M of revenue and $250K of EBITDA.

The gap it leaves: capital

BizBuySell's own buyers expect to borrow. In its Q2 2026 survey, 78% said they will use SBA financing, and 90% expect seller financing to be part of the deal. Only 29% of owners plan to offer it. Almost half say they will not, and 23% are undecided.

That mismatch lands on the buyer's equity. SBA's SOP 50 10 8.1 takes effect on October 1, 2026. An initial acquisition then needs a 10% equity injection that cannot be reduced, and a debt service coverage ratio of 1.25. Seller debt on full standby, other standby debt and passive minority investors can together provide no more than half of the injection. The rest has to be cash that is not borrowed, or a similar unlimited source.

Outside SBA the bar is higher. On lower middle market acquisitions in 2026, lenders asked buyers to show 10 to 20% of the purchase price in net worth or liquidity. Senior term loans ran about 3x EBITDA, and lenders wanted coverage of 1.0 at minimum with a buffer at 1.15. Junior loans from private credit ran 10 to 12% of yearly revenue, at 12 to 15% interest.

A buyer short of that raises the equity from investors. Investors need a vehicle to wire into: an SPV or fund, with a private placement memorandum, a subscription agreement and an operating agreement. On an SBA deal, a non-controlling investor has to hold less than 20% and exert no control. When that money counts toward the injection, SBA bars distributions beyond the investor's tax bill until the loan is repaid.

That is where Raises.com works. It does not list or broker businesses. It sets up the fund or SPV, writes the offering documents, builds a CFA-reviewed model and the data room, and then makes debt and equity introductions. On a July 2026 Texas HVAC close, a seller note and seller rollover equity covered the gap, and a lender that quoted three weeks needed two months. The sequence behind a purchase like that is on funding a business found on BizBuySell, and the service is on how Raises.com funds business acquisitions.

Verdict by buyer type

Buyers weighing other marketplaces will find nine of them, with published pricing, in BizBuySell alternatives. For the larger end of the market, see Axial vs Raises.com and the Axial alternatives.

Frequently asked questions

Is BizBuySell legit?

BizBuySell was founded in 1996, has been a division of CoStar Group, a Nasdaq-listed company, since 2012, and publishes its terms of use and its listing prices. Its listings are another matter. Its terms put no obligation on it to verify them, so the diligence on any business you find there is yours.

Is BizBuySell free for buyers?

Yes, to search, save listings and send inquiries. Edge, the optional buyer membership, costs $24.95 a month or $239.95 a year and adds a serious-buyer badge, valuation reports and benchmark data.

Does BizBuySell take a fee when a business sells?

No. Its FAQ says it charges advertising fees only and is not a brokerage firm. Sellers pay for listing plans. If a broker represents the seller, the broker's fee is agreed between the two of them.

Are BizBuySell listings verified?

No. BizBuySell's terms say it has no obligation to monitor or verify the accuracy of what others post. Treat every figure as the seller's claim until the tax returns, bank statements and a quality of earnings review say otherwise.

What does "cash flow" mean on a BizBuySell listing?

Seller's discretionary earnings. BizBuySell's own CPA guide says the two terms are used interchangeably as marketing shorthand. SDE adds back the owner's pay and leaves out capital expenditures, working capital and debt service, so the cash left to service a loan is lower.

Does BizBuySell help finance the purchase?

Its Finance Center lists three SBA 7(a) lenders, and a listing can carry an SBA Loan Eligible badge. Its terms say it is not a lender, loan broker, financial advisor or agent. It does not form a buyer's fund or SPV or raise equity. The lender benchmarks that shape the capital stack are collected on acquisition financing benchmarks 2026. To work through a specific business, book a strategy call.

Sources

All read on September 22, 2026.

• BizBuySell homepage: https://www.bizbuysell.com/
• BizBuySell About: https://www.bizbuysell.com/about/
• BizBuySell listing FAQ: https://www.bizbuysell.com/create-an-ad-FAQ/
• BizBuySell sell page: https://www.bizbuysell.com/sell/
• BizBuySell Edge: https://www.bizbuysell.com/Membership/BizBuySellEdge/ and sign-up prices: https://www.bizbuysell.com/mybbs/Edge/Upgrade.aspx
• BizBuySell Financial Benchmarks report: https://www.bizbuysell.com/financial-benchmarks-report/
• BizBuySell broker program: https://www.bizbuysell.com/brokers/
• BizBuySell Finance Center: https://www.bizbuysell.com/finance-center/
• BizBuySell terms of use: https://www.bizbuysell.com/terms-of-use/
• BizBuySell Insight Report, Q2 2026: https://www.bizbuysell.com/insight-report/
• BizBuySell Insight Report interactive data, active and closed: https://www.bizbuysell.com/news/insight-interactive
• BizBuySell Insight Report data tables, full-year 2025 by sector: https://www.bizbuysell.com/insight-report-data-tables
• BizBuySell, a CPA's guide to seller's discretionary earnings: https://www.bizbuysell.com/learning-center/article/cpa-guide-sellers-discretionary-earnings/
• Axial homepage, published range: https://www.axial.net/
• SBA Information Notice 5000-880695, Issuance of SOP 50 10 8.1: https://legacy.sba.gov/document/information-notice-5000-880695-issuance-sop-50-10-81 and SOP 50 10: https://legacy.sba.gov/document/sop-50-10-lender-development-company-loan-programs
• Lender figures: the Raises.com podcast capital markets episode with Tre Brown, Head of Capital Markets at Raises.com; the Texas HVAC transaction