Everything about buying & selling on Vertos
Straight answers on escrow, fees, offers, payouts, and how Vertos compares to Flippa, Acquire, and Little Exits.
Last updated 2026-07-20
About Vertos
What the marketplace is, why it exists, and who runs it.
What is Vertos?
Vertos is a marketplace for buying and selling early-stage digital projects — AI apps, micro-SaaS, browser extensions, newsletters and communities, starter sites, mobile apps, developer tools, games, and datasets. Builders start more than they finish; buyers would rather skip the build and pick up something already made. Vertos connects the two, with source code held in escrow so the handoff is safe.
Why does Vertos exist? What's the mission?
Vertos exists because builders start far more than they finish — most side projects don't fail, they just get abandoned in a repo. But that shelved code is real: it still runs, it has users, and it's the exact head start someone else is hunting for. Vertos gives those projects a second owner instead of a slow fade, and pays the original builder for the road they already paved. The belief is simple — nothing good should go to waste; it just changes hands.
Who is behind Vertos?
Vertos is built and run by Vertos LLC — a small, independent team, not a big corporation. We don't sell your data or run third-party ad trackers. The fastest way to reach a real person is the Support form under Messages → Support.
Is Vertos legit and safe to use?
A few things keep it honest: every sale runs through Stripe-powered escrow, so no one can take both the code and the money; source code stays locked until payment clears; sellers build public reviews and can earn a verified badge; and you can report anything suspicious. Still, do your own due diligence on every listing before you buy.
Buying a project
How to find, evaluate, buy, and download a project.
How do I buy a project?
Browse or search for a project, open it, and dig into the metrics, screenshots, tech stack, and a free AI Analysis of the actual code. When you're ready, make an offer at the fixed price (or place a bid on an auction) and message the seller with any questions. Once the seller accepts, you pay through Stripe-backed escrow; the moment it clears, the source code unlocks for you to download and the sale completes.
How does escrow work?
Every sale runs through escrow. When an offer is accepted the buyer pays in; the moment payment clears, the source code unlocks for the buyer and the funds release to the seller automatically — there's no separate confirmation step. Neither side can walk off with both the code and the money.
What's included when I buy a project?
Each listing spells out exactly what transfers — typically the full source code (held in escrow until you pay), and often the domain, accounts, brand assets, and any mailing list. Once you've paid, it's fully yours: you own the code and IP outright and can run, change, or resell it. Buyer and seller arrange transfer of the domain and accounts directly. Check a listing's “Included Assets” section for the specifics.
What happens right after I buy?
Right after you pay, the source code unlocks for you to download, and the sale completes automatically — there's no separate release step. From there, the seller coordinates transferring the domain, accounts, and any other assets directly with you.
Where do I download what I bought?
Everything you've bought — with its source-code download — lives on your Purchases page. Sign in and open Purchases to grab the code any time after the sale completes.
Can I try or inspect a project before I buy?
There's no live trial and no automatic money-back guarantee — a sale is final once payment clears — so the protection happens up front. You're not buying blind, though: every listing shows real metrics, screenshots, and the tech stack; you can run a free AI Analysis of the actual source code; and you can message the seller with questions (or ask for a demo or walkthrough) before you make an offer.
How do I evaluate a project before buying?
Read the listing's honest account of where the project stands, check the metrics (users, revenue, traffic), review the tech stack and included assets, look at the seller's rating and reviews, and run the free AI Analysis, which checks the seller's claimed stack and assets against the actual uploaded code. Message the seller with questions before you make an offer — and remember you can always negotiate the price.
Selling a project
Listing, getting paid, and what makes a listing sell.
How do I list a project for sale?
Head to Seller Studio. You set up your storefront once, then a short wizard covers the story, metrics, source code (held in escrow), screenshots, price, and keywords. Listing is free — you only pay when a sale completes.
What can I sell on Vertos?
Vertos is for early-stage digital projects across nine categories: AI apps, micro-SaaS, browser extensions, newsletters & communities, starter sites, mobile apps, developer tools, games, and datasets. Every project includes its full source code, plus an honest account of where it stands.
Can I sell just an idea, or do I need working code?
Vertos is for projects with actual source code — that's the core of what transfers through escrow, so an idea or a pitch deck on its own isn't enough to list. But it doesn't need to be finished or profitable: half-built, pre-launch, and pre-revenue projects are welcome, as long as there's real, working code a buyer can pick up and run with.
Do I need a company or LLC to sell?
No — you don't need a company, an LLC, or a registered business to sell on Vertos. Individuals sell here all the time. To get paid you connect a Stripe account (which handles the identity and tax details), and you're responsible for reporting your own income. If you do have a business you can use it, but it's not required.
How do I get paid as a seller?
Sellers connect a Stripe account (Set up payouts from your seller dashboard). When a buyer completes a purchase and the funds release, Stripe pays out your share — the sale price minus the 5% platform fee — to your bank.
How do I get the verified badge?
The verified badge is automatic: a seller earns it with 5+ completed sales, a 4.0+ average rating, and 5+ reviews. It's removed automatically if their rating falls below 4.
What makes a listing stand out?
A listing stands out when it's honest and complete: clear screenshots, a straight account of where the project stands, real metrics (users, revenue, traffic), the tech stack, and what's included. Sellers with reviews and the verified badge earn more trust, and boosting puts you in a top slot on Browse for a few days. Strong keywords help buyers — and the assistant — find you.
Fees & payments
What Vertos costs, how you pay, and taxes.
What fees does Vertos charge?
Listing is free. Vertos takes a flat 5% platform fee on completed sales — the lowest cut of any marketplace like it. Optional extras: boosting a listing starts around $8/day, and website ad slots run $11–$15/day depending on the page. Both are flat rates with no surge pricing.
Is Vertos free to use?
Browsing and listing are both free — you only ever pay the flat 5% when a sale actually closes. There's no subscription and no upfront listing cost. Optional paid extras (boosting your own listing, or buying a website ad slot) are the only other charges, and they're always opt-in.
What payment methods can I use?
Payments are handled securely by Stripe at checkout, which supports major cards and other methods depending on your region. Your payment is held in escrow and releases to the seller once it clears — the source code unlocks for you at the same moment.
What about taxes?
You're responsible for any taxes on your own transactions — Vertos doesn't calculate or withhold them. Your Purchases and Offers pages have the transaction records you'll need. Prices are in US dollars, and Vertos is open worldwide wherever Stripe operates.
Offers & auctions
Making offers, negotiating, and how auctions work.
How do offers and counters work?
On a fixed-price listing you make an offer at whatever price you think is fair, and the seller can accept, decline, or counter. Offers are valid for 3 days, and a counter resets the clock. If your offer is accepted, you then have 3 days to pay before it's cancelled. Open a project and use “Make Offer” to start.
Can I negotiate the asking price?
Yes — on fixed-price listings you offer whatever price you think is fair, and the seller can accept, decline, or counter. Open a project and use “Make Offer.” On auctions you compete by bidding instead.
How do live auctions work?
Some sellers run a live auction instead of a fixed price: you place bids, and the highest bid wins when the seller settles the auction. Either way the sale finishes through escrow. You can filter Browse to just Buy Now or just Auction listings from the filters on the left.
Can a seller extend an auction?
Yes — sellers can extend an auction from Manage Listings. Each auction listing shows its countdown with an “Extend” button to add 1, 3, 7, or 14 days so buyers get more time to bid. If an auction already lapsed but hasn't been settled, extending revives it from now.
Trust & safety
Escrow, refunds, reviews, and the code-check tool.
How do refunds and disputes work?
Your payment runs through escrow via Stripe, so always keep the deal on-platform — off-platform there's no escrow or recourse. Here's the key thing: once your payment clears, the code unlocks and the sale completes automatically, and a completed sale is final — there's no automatic refund. So the protection that matters happens up front: review the listing, ask the seller questions, and run the AI Analysis before you buy. If something looks wrong, contact Support right away.
How do reviews and ratings work?
After a sale, the buyer can leave a star rating and review on the seller. Those build the seller's public reputation and feed the automatic verified badge (5+ reviews at 4.0+).
How does the AI Analysis work?
Open any project and hit “AI Analysis.” It checks the seller's claimed tech stack and included assets against the actual uploaded source code and tells you, item by item, whether each was verified in the code — plus a breakdown of the codebase languages. It's a free head start on due diligence (sign in to view the full report). It's automated and best-effort, so still do your own review before buying.
How do I message a seller?
Open any project and use “Message Seller” to ask questions before buying, or “Visit storefront” to see everything they've listed. You can also message a seller directly from an offer.
Boosting & advertising
Promoting your own listing vs. advertising an outside product.
How does boosting a listing work?
Boosting features your listing in one of the top 3 slots on Browse with a “Boosted” badge. If more than 3 are boosted, the slots rotate every 20 seconds so each gets front-page time — and when it's not in a slot, your listing stays in its normal spot. Boosts are a flat rate starting around $8/day, with no surge pricing.
Do I get free boosts?
Yes — every few listings you post, one is boosted for free, automatically. Your 3rd listing earns a free 24-hour boost, then your 5th, 7th, 9th, and so on. You don't do anything; the boost just appears on that listing.
How do I advertise an outside product on Vertos?
To promote an outside product or website, run a website ad in the Browse sidebar — pick a page and duration on the Sponsor page. Slots are a flat rate of $11–$15/day depending on the page (page 1 is seen by the most people, so it costs the most), for 3, 4, or 5 days, with no bidding. That's separate from boosting, which pushes one of your own listings up Browse.
How Vertos compares
Vertos next to Flippa, Acquire.com, and Little Exits.
How is Vertos different from other marketplaces?
The fee is the lowest of any marketplace like it — a flat 5% when you sell, and nothing to list — next to Flippa's listing fee plus up to 10%, Acquire's 8% closing fee plus a monthly listing fee and $390–$780/yr buyer paywalls, or Little Exits, where buyers pay $249/yr just to reach you. Every sale runs through Stripe-powered escrow, buyer access is open and free, and Vertos is built specifically for early-stage, half-finished, and AI projects — not just polished, profitable businesses.
Why is Vertos better than Flippa?
Flippa charges a listing fee up front — from $29 up to $699, non-refundable whether you sell or not — then up to 10% when you sell, and your project competes with 30,000+ listings, including sites with padded traffic. On a $10,000 sale that's about $1,000 plus the listing fee you already paid. Vertos is free to list and a flat 5% only when your deal closes, with Stripe escrow built in, verified sellers, and both auctions and Buy Now.
How does Vertos compare to Acquire.com?
Vertos is built for early-stage projects; Acquire.com isn't anymore. Acquire has moved upmarket toward $200k+ SaaS — no monthly revenue means no priority — and on top of an 8% closing fee (under $250k) plus a $25/month listing fee, buyers there pay $390–$780 a year just to message you. Vertos has no MRR requirement, buyer access is open and free, it's a flat 5% only when you close, and every deal runs through Stripe escrow with both auctions and Buy Now.
Vertos vs Little Exits — what's the difference?
Little Exits has real community energy — but its buyers pay to reach you. Full access, including messaging and making an offer, sits behind a $249/year membership (or a $9.99 one-time peek), which quietly shrinks the pool of people who'll actually contact you about your project. Its seller-side fee isn't posted publicly. Vertos keeps buyer access free and open, is free to list, takes a flat 5% only when you close, and runs every deal through Stripe escrow.
Account & support
Signing up, managing your data, and reaching a human.
How do I sign up?
Hit “Sign up” to create a free account. A quick welcome flow collects your name and username, and if you plan to sell you can set up your storefront then or later. Browsing is open to everyone.
How do I manage my listings?
You can edit, boost, set the status of, and track all your projects from your My Listings page — including changing the price or story any time, even after a listing is live.
How do I delete my account or data?
You can request account deletion through the Support form (Messages → Support). We remove your personal data, aside from records we're required to keep for legal, tax, and fraud-prevention reasons. Vertos doesn't sell your data or use third-party ad trackers.
Where can I read the legal terms and privacy policy?
Vertos's Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and the rest of its policies live on the Legal page, linked in the footer. If a specific concern isn't covered there, the Support form (Messages → Support) reaches the team directly.
How do I contact support?
The fastest way to reach the Vertos team — for questions, disputes, or to report a listing or user that looks wrong — is the Support form under Messages → Support.