How to buy a Micro SaaS or indie app without getting burned
A practical guide to evaluating, valuing, and acquiring small software — whether it is a profitable SaaS or a scrappy indie app. Written for builders, not flippers.
- → A Micro SaaS earns recurring revenue. An indie app can be an extension, mobile app, or tool that earns one-time, ad, or no revenue at all. They are valued differently.
- → Don't pay for a "great idea." Pay for revenue, retention, users, and a clean codebase.
- → SaaS prices at 2.5×–4× annual profit. Indie apps lean on users and assets, not just MRR.
- → Verify everything — Stripe, analytics, ownership of code, domains, and store accounts — before sending money.
- → Platform risk is the silent killer for indie apps. Chrome, Apple, and Google can change the rules overnight.
- → The best deals come from sellers who are tired, not sellers who are desperate.
Micro SaaS vs indie app: know what you're buying
Both are small software products run solo or by a tiny team. The difference is how they make money, and that changes everything about how you value and vet them.
A Micro SaaS is a focused subscription product — a Chrome extension with a Pro tier, a niche productivity tool, an API that solves one problem well. Predictable recurring revenue, usually $500–$10K/mo. An indie app is the wider category: mobile apps, desktop tools, browser games, utilities, and starter projects, often with one-time, ad, or zero revenue. There you buy the users, the SEO, the store ranking, or the codebase.
Micro SaaS
- • Recurring revenue (MRR)
- • Valued on profit multiples
- • $500 – $10K/mo typical
- • Diligence centers on churn and Stripe
Indie app
- • One-time, ad, or no revenue
- • Valued on users, assets, or rebuild cost
- • Extensions, mobile, desktop, tools
- • Diligence centers on usage and platform risk
Why people buy instead of build
Building from zero is brutal. Most apps die in the first year — not because the idea was bad, but because the founder ran out of energy before traction kicked in. Buying lets you skip that part.
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Skip the cold-start problem
You inherit users, revenue, SEO history, and a working product. The hardest part is already done.
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Cash flow from day one
Unlike a side project that might earn money someday, a profitable acquisition pays from the moment the keys change hands.
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Cheaper than a real business
You can buy a profitable, validated software product for the price of a used car. Try doing that with a coffee shop.
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A real-world classroom
Inheriting someone else's codebase, customer base, and metrics teaches you more in a month than a year of side projects.
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Optionality
Run it as a cash-flowing side project, grow it aggressively, or bundle it into something bigger. Your call.
What to check before buying
A short checklist that will save you from 90% of bad deals. The first block applies to revenue-generating SaaS; the second is specific to indie apps.
For a Micro SaaS
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Verifiable revenue
Ask for live Stripe / Paddle dashboard access — not screenshots. Screenshots can be edited in two minutes.
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Customer concentration
If 80% of revenue comes from one customer, that is not a SaaS. That is a freelance contract.
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Churn rate
Healthy SaaS churn is under 5–7% monthly. Above that, you are buying a leaky bucket.
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Clean ownership of assets
Domain, hosting, repository, payment processor, email lists, analytics, social accounts — get a written list before money moves.
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Why they're selling
A boring answer ("I am moving on, want to focus elsewhere") is much better than a dramatic one. Drama hides problems.
For an indie app
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Real users, not vanity metrics
Active users matter more than total installs. A 5-year-old app with 10K installs and 12 weekly users is not what you want.
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Store account transferability
Check if the seller can transfer the developer account, or if you will need to relist (which resets ratings and history).
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App store / extension store ratings
A 4.6★ rating with 200 reviews is a real asset. A 3.1★ rating is a liability you cannot easily fix.
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Platform compliance
Make sure the app passes current Chrome / Apple / Google policies. A compliance issue can pull the app overnight.
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Codebase health
Open the repo. Check the last commit date, dependency versions, and whether you can build and ship it without rewriting everything.
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Monetization potential
If it is not currently monetized, can it be? Some apps are gold mines waiting for a Pro tier. Others can never charge.
How to value it
For a Micro SaaS, valuation comes down to profit, stability, and how hands-off it is. For an indie app it is messier — the right framework depends on whether it has revenue, users, or just code.
Micro SaaS: profit multiples
New, unstable, high churn, or heavily founder-dependent. Be cautious.
The honest middle. Working product, modest traction, some risk.
Stable revenue, low churn, clean code, easy handover. Most fair deals land here.
Fast growth, defensible niche, or strategic value. Justified — but rare.
Indie app: pick the framework that fits
If it has revenue
Price ≈ Annual Profit × 2 to 3
Lower than SaaS multiples because indie app revenue is usually less predictable and more platform-dependent.
If it has users but no revenue
Price ≈ Active Users × $1 to $5
Higher end for engaged audiences with monetization potential. Lower end for one-shot installs.
If it has neither
Price ≈ Replacement Cost ÷ 2
What would it cost you (in time + money) to build something equivalent? Pay roughly half — you skip months of work but inherit nothing.
Note: revenue multiples (vs. profit multiples) only make sense when the business has explosive growth or near-zero margins. For most small software, profit and users are the right anchors.
Common mistakes
Almost every bad deal comes from one of these.
Falling in love with the idea
If you find yourself excited about what the product could be, slow down. You are paying for what it is today, not your roadmap fantasy.
Treating an indie app like a SaaS
Applying SaaS valuation rules to a non-recurring app produces nonsense numbers. Use the right framework for the asset.
Ignoring platform risk
If a single Chrome or App Store policy update can kill your acquisition, you are buying a lottery ticket, not a business.
Trusting screenshots
If the seller cannot grant you read-only Stripe or analytics access, walk away. Politely. But walk.
Overpaying for traffic
Traffic without conversion is just cost. A site with 50K visitors earning $80 is a worse buy than 500 visitors and $800 in MRR.
Ignoring transition risk
Even a great codebase needs a real handover. Bake in 30–60 days of seller support. Get it in writing.
Where to start
Start small and pick a niche you actually understand. Your first acquisition shouldn't be a five-figure all-in bet — it should be a learning experience that happens to make money.
On DealMyApp, every listing is reviewed by a human before it goes live. You can filter by stage, niche, project type, and revenue range, then reach out to sellers directly. Start by browsing what's available and getting a feel for fair pricing in your space.
A reasonable first move:
- 1. Spend 30 minutes browsing listings in a niche you understand.
- 2. Bookmark 3–5 that look interesting — and if it is an indie app, install and use it.
- 3. Reach out to sellers — ask about revenue verification, usage, and reasons for selling.
- 4. Compare what you hear back. Patterns will emerge fast.
Browse real listings or list your own
Every listing on DealMyApp is reviewed by humans. Free to browse, free to list.