Business broker fees: who pays, and whether the fee ends up in your price

The short answer

The Main Street Index is BigIdeasDB’s census of 84,900+ businesses-for-sale listings from 29 sources, captured September 20 to October 1, 2026. This page uses its 48,800+ de-duplicated US listings and, for multiples, the 27,500+ US-dollar listings that state a price and owner earnings (SDE). SDE is profit plus the owner’s pay and personal add-backs, as the seller states it. Every price is an asking price, not a sale.

Fee percentages are not in listing data. Those come from published fee guides and are labelled as such. What our data adds is what those percentages do to real listings, and to you.

How much do business brokers charge?

Most business brokers charge a success fee of 8% to 12% of the sale price on businesses under $1M, according to the Morgan & Westfield fee guide, with a minimum fee of $10,000 to $25,000 whatever the price. Above $1M most switch to a sliding scale. The common one is “Double Lehman”: 10% of the first million, 8% of the second, 6% of the third, 4% of the fourth and 2% after that.

Brokers themselves quote the same band. A seller interviewing brokers for a $1.3M business on r/businessbroker reported that every one “mentioned their cut is negotiable, and all started at 10%”. One broker in that thread asked for $5,000 to $10,000 upfront, credited against the success fee. Others quoted 7% and 5%.

“8%-12% is only what very, very small businesses pay as a success fee on completion. For businesses worth a few million, I’ve never come across a success fee of more than 5%.”r/smallbusiness

That M&A adviser, replying in the r/smallbusiness thread Google ranks first for this search, is describing the same sliding scale. A broker in the same thread put the tiers bluntly: “8% gets you a real estate agent trying to sell businesses, not a professional advisor, 10% gets you a cut rate broker, 12% gets you a professional that really knows what they’re doing.” Treat that as one broker’s pitch. It does tell you the percentage is a negotiation between seller and broker, not a fixed rate.

What the fee comes to on real listings (a fee calculator)

On the median brokered US-dollar listing in the $250K to $500K band, a 10% fee is $35,000, or 2.8 months of the seller’s stated owner earnings (Main Street Index, 22,700+ brokered listings with a price and SDE). The table applies the published schedule above to the median brokered listing in each asking-price band: 10% with a $10,000 floor under $1M, Double Lehman above.

Two numbers stand out. First, 31.6% of brokered listings ask under $250K. On those, a $25,000 minimum fee is 14% to 33% of the price, so a broker taking a small listing either charges the seller a far higher percentage or prices the listing up to make the fee work. Second, the fee in months of earnings is fairly flat, two to four months of SDE in every band. That is the seller’s cost of selling, and it frames how far a seller can move on price.

To run the sum for any listing: price under $1M, multiply by 0.10 and apply the minimum; price above $1M, add $100,000 for the first million, 8% of the next, 6%, 4%, then 2%. Divide by the listing’s SDE and multiply by 12 for months of earnings. Our guide on how to value a small business shows how that SDE should be checked before you trust it.

Who pays the broker when buying a business?

The seller pays. The seller signs the listing agreement, and the broker’s success fee is paid from the seller’s proceeds at closing, usually through escrow. Only 84 of 48,800+ US listings in the Main Street Index mention any fee charged to the buyer, and 8 mention a buyer’s agent commission.

A buyer guide from a former listing broker at Buy Then Build puts it plainly: in almost all cases the seller engages and pays the intermediary, and a buy-side adviser’s fees are 100% the buyer’s responsibility. Our sibling guide to the hidden costs of buying a business lists what the buyer does pay: legal, accounting and diligence fees, lender costs and, in some states, sales tax on equipment.

The fee a buyer actually meets in listings is a franchise transfer fee. It appears in 480+ US listings, 375 of them franchise resales, which is 7.2% of the 5,100+ US listings flagged as franchise resales. The franchisor sets it, and the listing often assigns it to the buyer. Our franchise vs independent business comparison covers the transfer and royalty costs.

A broker’s view on buy-side representation makes the key point for buyers: when the seller pays, “the source of the funds for that fee payment is the purchase price paid by the buyer.” So the real question is not who writes the cheque. It is whether the fee is built into the ask.

Does the broker fee raise the price you pay?

Barely. Matched on industry and owner-earnings band, owner-listed businesses ask a median 97.2% of their brokered peers, so a brokered listing asks about 2.9% more (Main Street Index, 4,000+ owner-listed US-dollar listings matched to brokered cells of 10+). A 10% commission is three times that gap. Most of the fee comes out of the seller’s net, not your price.

In the $100K to $400K SDE range, where most first-time SBA buyers shop, there is no broker premium at all. At $100K to $200K the two groups ask within 0.6% of each other, and at $200K to $400K owner-listed businesses ask 4% more. Below $50K the brokered premium is about 20%, and below $100K about 7%. Those are the deals where a $10,000 to $25,000 minimum fee is 13% to 33% of the price. The data is consistent with brokers pricing small listings up to cover the minimum, though it cannot prove the cause. The $1M+ row rests on 71 listings and is the least reliable.

For the seller the arithmetic is simple. A seller paying 10% needs to sell for $389,000 to net $350,000. A seller listing on their own can accept $350,000 and walk away with the same. That is why owner-listed sellers do not ask less: they keep the fee. Our how-to-find guide shows owner-listed deals are also smaller and show earnings far less often, which is the real cost of going without a broker.

What it means for your offer: an ask a few percent above its size-matched peers is normal. One 20% above is the seller’s ambition, not the fee. Our data on mistakes when buying a business shows how often listings ask well above their industry, and how much a business is worth gives the size-adjusted ranges.

Small brokerages ask more than large ones

Brokerages with five or fewer US listings ask a median 2.88x owner earnings, against 2.52x to 2.65x at larger firms and 2.60x with no broker (Main Street Index, 27,400+ US listings with a price and SDE). Their businesses are about the same size: median SDE is $180K against $169K to $175K.

The pattern holds inside industries. In the 20 industries with at least 30 listings from both small firms and larger firms, small-firm listings ask more in 15, by a median 8.9%, on the same median SDE (ratio 0.99). It also holds on both big marketplaces: small firms ask 2.83x on the largest and 3.10x on the second-largest, the highest tier on each.

We do not claim the largest firms are cheapest. Their low 2.52x overall comes mostly from one marketplace, where large firms ask 2.32x; on the largest marketplace they ask 2.78x. The robust result is at the small end. A one-person brokerage competing for listings has a reason to quote the seller a high price to win the engagement, then cut it later. Forum buyers describe exactly this.

“Most listings start way too high and need to linger for 3+ months before the sellers come to their senses on value.”r/BizBuySell

The market is a long tail. The 3,100+ US brokerage firm records post a median of 4 listings each. 1,800+ of them post five or fewer and together hold 11.9% of brokered US listings, the same share as the 10 largest firms. 51 firms with 100+ listings hold 28.2%. The Main Street Index broker view shows every firm’s listing count by industry, so you can see whether you are dealing with a specialist or a part-timer before you call.

Bigger firms also show you more. On the largest marketplace alone, 79.4% of listings from firms with 100+ listings state SDE, against 51.2% from firms with five or fewer and 46.1% with no broker named.

Business broker fees by industry

Across the 16 industries with the most brokered US listings, the implied 10% commission on the median brokered ask runs from $15,000 for hair salons to $85,000 for general contractors, or 1.9 to 3.8 months of stated owner earnings (Main Street Index, US-dollar SDE listings, templated look-alikes removed).

Brokered listings ask a higher median multiple in 12 of these 16 industries. Part of that is size: brokered businesses are larger, and larger businesses ask higher multiples. Matched on size, the gap shrinks to the 2.9% above. The exceptions run the other way: owner-listed laundromats ask 3.40x against 2.88x, and owner-listed landscaping and HVAC also ask more. Our guides to buying a laundromat, buying an HVAC business and buying a restaurant break those industries down further.

Brokers list 78.6% (bakeries) to 90.3% (fuel stations) of the priced listings in these trades. In routes, the concentration is higher still and a handful of specialist firms hold most listings; see buying a FedEx route and buying a pool route. We left courier routes, home care and building maintenance out of this table because description-level look-alike listings move their medians.

What brokered listings disclose that owner-listed ones do not

Brokered US listings state both owner earnings and revenue 62.1% of the time, against 28.4% for owner-listed ones (Main Street Index, 37,900+ brokered and 10,900+ owner-listed US listings). That is the clearest thing a broker gives a buyer for the seller’s fee: a listing you can screen before the first call.

Brokered listings are more complete on almost every line: equipment value, real estate status, staff count, reason for selling. They are also seven times as likely to be marked SBA prequalified (2.3% vs 0.3%), which matters if you are borrowing. Owner-listed ads are as likely to state a price and slightly more likely to give lease terms.

One line favours owners. Where training is stated, owner-listed businesses offer a median of about four weeks against two for brokered ones (1,500+ and 9,000+ listings). An owner selling directly often has more time to give and more reason to make the handover work. Our guide to buying from a retiring owner covers how to get that transition in writing.

Disclosure in a listing is the start, not proof. The financials still need checking line by line, and our due diligence checklist sets out what to request.

What brokers ask of buyers, and the fees you might see

Brokered listings are more likely to put conditions on the buyer: 15.3% mention an NDA or confidentiality agreement and 6.1% ask for proof of funds or a prequalified buyer, against 11.0% and 3.3% of owner-listed ones (Main Street Index, US listings with a description). Expect both before you see the financials.

Brokers screen hard because they get far more inquiries than buyers. One broker on r/BizBuySell described it this way:

“A broker may get 100 inquiries on a good business. They will filter out 90 of them and focus on 10. If you’re not getting results in your search, you’re getting filtered out.”r/BizBuySell

Getting into the ten is cheap. Send a short buyer profile with your industry experience, a lender prequalification letter and a personal financial statement. Sign the NDA promptly. Ask specific questions about SDE add-backs and the lease, not “is it still available”.

Push back on one request. Some brokers ask for a letter of intent and a deposit before releasing financials.

“The broker is asking for an LOI and deposit before sharing the financials hoping that you psychologically commit.”r/buyingabusiness

You can sign a non-binding LOI without full financials, but make it subject to diligence and keep any deposit refundable. Our guide to the letter of intent to buy a business covers the clauses that protect you.

On fees: a buyer should not pay the seller’s broker anything. In our data 84 of 48,800+ US listings mention any buyer-paid fee, about 1 in 580. Where they do, it is usually a flat buyer fee or a buyer’s agent commission written into the listing. If you see one, ask what service it pays for and whether the seller’s fee is reduced by the same amount.

Buy-side business broker fees

A buy-side broker works for you and you pay them, usually by the hour, by monthly retainer plus success fee, or as 1% to 3% of the price for finding an off-market deal. One buyer guide cites about $5,000 a month for a full retained search (Buy Then Build). Forum quotes for smaller searches are lower.

“All of them will just point me to what they have listed online, or toss me into the pool of “we will let you know about our new listings, along with 100s of others like you who are interested, unless you want to pay me a $2-3K initial and ~$1K monthly retainer thereafter”.”r/smallbusiness

That first-time buyer, in the thread Google ranks for buy-side broker fees, got blunt answers. One buyer looking at low seven-figure deals said “brokers wanted at minimum 60k” to run outreach. Another reply was shorter: “No its not worth it. They look at publicly listed deals, just like you should be doing.” The most useful answer came from a broker who works for buyers: “Is a few paid hours of help worth it? Yes, for nearly all buyers.”

The worst case is paying a percentage for a deal you found yourself. A California buyer on r/businessbroker hired a broker after finding a listed business. The broker said “his fees are normally 15% but he would cut me a deal at 10%”, then split the seller’s 9% commission as well.

“Your broker is double dipping. The standard is the sell side broker splits the commission with the buy side broker out of the seller’s fee. You should not be paying on top of that.”r/businessbroker

Other replies in that buyer’s broker fees thread added that “a buyside broker or advisor that finds an off market deals might make 1-3%”, rarely more, and that “listing brokers are not required to split commission”. One buyer summed up the alternative: “I think you need your own attorney, not your own broker.”

When a buy-side adviser earns their fee: you want off-market deals in a narrow niche, you have no time to run outreach, or you have never negotiated a purchase. When they do not: the deal is already listed and you have found it. Our step guide to finding a business to buy covers the outreach you can run yourself.

Whose side is the business broker on?

The listing broker works for the seller, but is paid only if the deal closes, which makes closing worth more to them than a higher price. On a $350,000 deal at 10%, $20,000 more in price earns the broker $2,000 and the seller $18,000. A failed deal earns the broker nothing.

“Brokers are incentivized to close quickly to get their commission. The higher price could prolong the listing and the commission on the higher price isn’t as impactful as it would be to a seller.”r/smallbusiness

That cuts both ways for a buyer. A good broker will steer a seller toward a price a bank will fund. A buyer in the same thread who had reviewed 100+ broker-led deals said the broker “offered it at a reasonable price, created demand, and I ended up paying above asking”, and thought the fee was earned because the broker “managed the process post-LOI to get the deal to close.”

The risk is the opposite: a broker who agreed to an inflated ask to win the listing. Buyers on r/buyingabusiness list it first when they complain about brokers: “Overinflated SDE, not normalized”, add-backs with no cash value, and headline multiples that leave out working capital and inventory. A broker is not your adviser. Check every figure as if the seller wrote it, because the seller did.

How to work with a seller’s broker as a buyer

Seven checks, in order. Each uses a number from this page or from the listing.

1. Read the fee as the seller’s cost. Estimate it with the table above. A seller who needs $350,000 net after a 10% fee is aiming at about $389,000.
2. Compare the multiple to size-matched peers. A brokered ask about 3% above owner-listed peers in the same industry and size band is normal; 20% above is not. The US listings view shows each listing against its industry and size.
3. Ask who the broker represents, in writing. Ask whether any buyer fee, split or dual role applies before you sign the NDA.
4. Arrive prequalified. A lender letter and personal financial statement get you into the broker’s short list. Our guide to the down payment to buy a business sizes the cash you will need.
5. Get the financials before you price. Three years of tax returns, the add-back schedule and the lease. See how to use AI to analyse a business for sale for a fast first read.
6. Hire your own people. An acquisition attorney and a CPA or quality-of-earnings review work for you; the broker does not.
7. Check the SBA paperwork. If anyone is paid for referral or broker services on an SBA loan, it appears on Form 159 (next section).

The terms you negotiate with a broker in the room are the usual ones: price, seller note, training and working capital. Our guide to seller financing a business shows how often sellers offer a note and on what terms, and how to buy a business puts these steps into the full process.

Broker fees, SBA loans and taxes

If a broker or referral agent is paid in connection with an SBA 7(a) or 504 loan, the payment is disclosed on SBA Form 159, the Fee Disclosure and Compensation Agreement. The form lists “Referral Agent/Broker” as an agent type and states that an agent may not be paid by both the applicant and the lender for the same service.

The rules sit in 13 CFR Part 103. It defines a referral agent as someone who refers an applicant to a lender, says fees must bear a reasonable relationship to the services provided, and treats an agent who acts as both referral agent and packager on one loan and takes pay from both applicant and lender as grounds for suspension. Form 159 covers services paid by the applicant or the lender, so a commission the seller pays the listing broker generally sits outside it. A broker who also arranges your loan and charges you for it does not, so ask to see the Form 159.

On taxes, the seller’s commission is the seller’s selling cost. A buyer’s own costs of acquiring a business, including any buy-side broker fee, are generally capitalised rather than deducted, under 26 CFR 1.263(a)-5. Ask your CPA how they are allocated across the assets you buy. None of this is tax or legal advice.

Do business brokers need a license?

It depends on the state. Some states treat a business sale as real estate brokerage and require a real estate license; Nevada requires a real estate license before it will issue a business broker permit. Other states have no specific business broker license at all, so anyone can use the title.

For a buyer, the licence matters less than the track record. Ask how many businesses the broker closed last year, in your industry, and at what share of the asking price. Our broker data gives the other half: how many listings the firm posts, in which industries, and whether it publishes earnings.

Business broker vs real estate agent vs M&A adviser

A business broker sells the operating business: earnings, staff, customers, equipment and usually a lease. A real estate agent sells property. An M&A adviser sells larger companies, typically with retainers plus a lower success fee, and the Morgan & Westfield guide puts their minimums at $50,000 to $250,000. Most US listings a first-time buyer sees are brokered: 77.7% of US listings in the Main Street Index name a brokerage, per our guide to finding a business to buy.

Where real estate is in the deal, the fee can split. Some brokers charge a lower rate on the building than on the business. If a listing includes property, our guides to buying a gas station and laundromat vs car wash show how much of the ask the building can be.

A “brokerage fee” and a “commission” are often the same thing: the success fee at closing. Some brokers also charge upfront retainers, valuation fees or marketing fees, and listing agreements often carry a tail. One seller in the r/smallbusiness thread warned that “if you sell with or without them you may owe them commission, one such broker I looked at the contract was 24 months.” That is the seller’s problem, but it explains why a seller who met you through a broker will not cut the broker out.

“I used a broker. So worth it. For reference, sold $225k plus inventory. Paid $20k. What they didn’t do was sell it for me. What they did do was manage the process so I was free to manage my business.”r/smallbusiness

A $20,000 fee on $225,000 is 8.9%, inside the published range. The other side of the same thread: “I sold 5 different companies in 2017 and never used a broker.”

Thinking of starting one instead?

Starting avoids the multiple, not just the fee. The median US-dollar listing asks 2.63x its owner earnings; a startup costs less up front but earns nothing at first, and the risk of reaching those earnings is yours. Our ranking of the best businesses to buy and the best business to start or buy at each budget show where buying beats building. If you are still choosing a field, what business should I start or buy and the most profitable small businesses compare industries on earnings and margin.

What this data cannot tell you

• No fee data in listings. Commission rates, minimums and retainers come from published guides and forum replies, not from transactions. The implied fees apply one schedule to median asks.
• Asking, not sold. Every price and multiple is what the seller asks. Whether brokered businesses close at a higher price than owner-listed ones is not in the data.
• Correlation, not cause. The small-deal premium and the small-firm premium fit a fee story but could reflect other differences between listings.
• “Owner-listed” means no broker named. A listing without a named brokerage may still be represented, and 97% of that group comes from one marketplace.
• Firm records, not firms. A firm on both marketplaces, or under two name variants, counts twice, so the long tail is slightly overstated and the top firms understated.
• Text flags are rough. NDA, proof-of-funds and buyer-fee mentions come from pattern matching on descriptions and include some false hits and misses.
• Templates. 570+ templated look-alike listings (same industry, SDE and revenue in 3+ copies across 2+ states) were removed from matched and industry figures; they moved the $200K to $400K brokered median from 2.58x to 2.63x and little else. Description-level clusters such as courier routes are not caught by this rule, so those industries are left out of the industry table.
• One snapshot. Listings were captured once between September 20 and October 1, 2026.

Population. 48,800+ de-duplicated US listings in the Main Street Index for disclosure and fee mentions. Multiples use 27,500+ US-dollar listings on an SDE basis that state a price and SDE (22,700+ brokered, 4,800+ owner-listed); the firm-size table uses the 27,400+ of those located in the US. The overall 2.63x vs 2.60x medians match our other guides. Medians throughout; cuts withheld below 30 listings except the labelled $1M+ matched row (71); counts rounded.

Matched comparison. Each owner-listed listing is divided by the median multiple of brokered listings in the same industry and SDE band (cells with 10+ brokered listings), and the median of those ratios is reported. Firm size. US listings per brokerage firm record. Implied fee. 10% with a $10,000 floor under $1M, Double Lehman above, applied to median asks.

For the practical side, our help guide to buying a business with the Main Street Index covers the listing screens, the due diligence guide covers what to verify, and the Main Street Index MCP tools run broker and peer comparisons inside Claude or another AI assistant. Every field is described in the Main Street Index documentation, and our guide to why owners sell their businesses covers the reasons brokers write into listings.

Frequently asked questions