How to Sell a Small SaaS Project With Zero Commission

Intro

How to Sell a Small SaaS Project With Zero Commission

Selling a small SaaS project is very different from selling a mature software company.

You may have no employees, limited revenue and only a small number of customers.

Maybe you built the product on evenings and weekends.

Maybe it never became the business you originally imagined.

Or maybe you simply discovered that someone else could do a better job growing it.

That does not mean the project has no value.

A small SaaS can still contain valuable code, a domain, a brand, a working product, infrastructure, documentation and an existing audience.

The challenge is presenting all of that clearly to potential buyers.

What does "zero commission" actually mean?

A zero-commission marketplace means the marketplace itself does not take a percentage of the final sale price.

For example, if you sell a SaaS project for $5,000 and the marketplace commission is 0%, the marketplace commission is:

$0

That does not necessarily mean the entire transaction is free.

You may still have costs related to:

• payment processing,
• escrow,
• legal documentation,
• domain transfer,
• accounting,
• third-party services.

Those costs are separate from the marketplace commission.

Step 1: Decide what you are actually selling

Before creating your listing, define the asset.

A small SaaS sale could include:

• source code,
• production application,
• domain,
• brand,
• database structure,
• documentation,
• deployment configuration,
• design assets,
• social accounts,
• customer base,
• intellectual property.

Do not simply write:

> "Selling my SaaS."

Explain exactly what the buyer receives.

Step 2: Be honest about revenue

One of the biggest mistakes small founders make is trying to make a pre-revenue project look like an established company.

If revenue is $0, say $0.

If you have three customers, say three customers.

If monthly recurring revenue is $250, show $250.

Transparency can make a listing more credible.

A buyer understands that a pre-revenue SaaS is different from a profitable SaaS.

They are evaluating potential rather than proven cash flow.

Step 3: Explain why you are selling

This is often one of the first things a serious buyer wants to know.

A simple explanation is enough.

For example:

> "I built the product as an indie project but no longer have enough time to develop it."

That is much more useful than saying:

> "Selling because of personal reasons."

The buyer wants to understand whether there is a problem with the product or simply a change in the seller's priorities.

Step 4: Prepare the product before listing

A buyer should be able to understand what they are buying.

Prepare:

• a working demo,
• screenshots,
• feature list,
• technical stack,
• deployment instructions,
• analytics data,
• revenue information,
• customer information where legally appropriate,
• known limitations.

You don't need a huge pitch deck.

You need evidence.

Step 5: Price the project realistically

There is no universal formula for valuing a small SaaS.

Revenue, growth, customers and retention matter enormously.

But for an early-stage project, buyers may also consider:

• development time saved,
• quality of the code,
• existing functionality,
• domain and brand value,
• traffic,
• customer acquisition potential,
• competitive landscape,
• ease of takeover.

A $2,000 project with no revenue can still be attractive if rebuilding it would cost considerably more.

But the price needs to make sense relative to the buyer's alternatives.

Step 6: Find the right marketplace

Different marketplaces attract different types of buyers.

Some focus heavily on established businesses.

Others cover websites, domains and smaller Online Business in 2026">digital assets.

For an indie SaaS, the important thing is finding buyers who understand what they are looking at.

DigiMarket is designed for digital businesses and assets ranging from early-stage projects to more established online businesses.

The platform uses a 0% marketplace commission model, allowing sellers to avoid giving up a percentage of the final sale price to the marketplace.

Step 7: Make the listing easy to evaluate

A good listing should answer the buyer's basic questions quickly.

Product

What does it do?

Customers

Who uses it?

Revenue

How much does it generate?

Costs

What does it cost to operate?

Technology

What is it built with?

Traffic

Where do users come from?

Assets

What exactly is included?

Reason for sale

Why are you selling?

Asking price

How much are you asking?

If the buyer has to ask ten basic questions before understanding the project, the listing needs more information.

Step 8: Don't oversell

Avoid phrases like:

• "guaranteed income"
• "easy passive income"
• "will definitely make money"
• "next billion-dollar startup"

unless you have evidence that supports them.

A serious buyer is looking for facts.

A transparent listing can say:

> "Pre-revenue SaaS with a working product and no current customers."

That is not a weakness.

It tells the buyer exactly what they are evaluating.

Step 9: Protect the transaction

Even when the marketplace itself charges no commission, the transaction still needs to be handled carefully.

For larger transactions, consider using an appropriate licensed escrow or payment provider.

Clarify:

• what is being transferred,
• when access is transferred,
• what happens if something is missing,
• who pays transaction costs,
• how the domain is transferred,
• how source code is delivered.

Never send sensitive credentials before the transaction structure is clear.

Final checklist

Before publishing your SaaS listing, make sure you have:

• [ ] Working demo
• [ ] Clear description
• [ ] Honest revenue numbers
• [ ] Customer information
• [ ] Traffic information
• [ ] Technology stack
• [ ] Asset list
• [ ] Reason for sale
• [ ] Asking price
• [ ] Transfer plan
• [ ] Appropriate payment/escrow method

Final thought

Selling a small SaaS does not have to be complicated.

The goal is not to convince everyone that your project is amazing.

The goal is to help the right buyer understand exactly what they are buying.

And if you can sell through a marketplace without giving up a percentage of the final sale price, more of the transaction value stays with the seller.

That's especially relevant for smaller deals, where a 5–10% commission can represent a meaningful part of the seller's return.

Build clearly. List honestly. Price realistically. Let the buyer decide.