Build a marketplace business
Get to market fast. Don't spend your time and money building marketplace infrastructure. Spend it on what makes your marketplace different, and on the people who use it.
Start with providers you already trust. Give customers a marketplace where they can discover what those providers offer, then enable bookings and payments when they fit your business.
Most marketplace ideas start with a few people you'd recommend yourself. Start there and learn from real customers before you decide what to expand.
Start with an idea or a business you already run
You have a marketplace idea
You might know local equipment owners who want to rent out their gear, or independent instructors who could run paid classes. Start with one provider and one offering. Share it with potential customers and use their questions to learn what they need.
You're changing how your business sells
A studio can invite outside instructors to offer classes. A rental shop can invite customers to rent out their own gear. A distributor can invite suppliers to sell directly, and a service firm can bring together independent professionals. Start with one part of the business so you can see how customers and providers respond.
Prove your idea before you build it
Great marketplace ideas still need validation. Suppliers want to see where their offerings will appear. Buyers want to try it before they rely on it. Investors want to see more than a pitch deck.
Talk to Exonome about building a proof of concept: a working marketplace with your categories, your first providers and sample offerings, that you can put in front of suppliers, buyers and investors to help you land the idea. When you're ready, swap in real providers and offerings and keep going.
Set up your first marketplace within an hour
With one provider and one offering ready, you can set up a marketplace yourself within an hour using the sign-up and admin tools. Standard setup requires no code.
With Marketplace, you can also accept bookings and payments that same hour if your provider's Stripe account is already connected.
Skip the infrastructure
Checkout, seller payouts, offering types, provider invites and approvals are the same in every marketplace, and they take months to build. They're ready on day one, so your budget goes to the features only your marketplace has, and to finding and serving your providers and customers.
- Create the right kind of offering. Providers can create links and inquiry forms, bookable sessions, classes with capacity limits, rentals with dates and pricing, products with variants and shipping, or subscriptions. Availability depends on the mode you choose. See offering types
- Curate who takes part. In Connection and Marketplace, you invite and approve providers and decide which offerings go live. The Seller Report Card gives you a way to review providers as you run the marketplace.
- Handle checkout and payouts. In Marketplace, customers can buy from several sellers in one checkout, and sellers receive payouts through Stripe Connect. Refunds and cancellations are supported.
- Keep your data. Your marketplace's data is yours to export. Providers see the details of their own customers.
Build your unique features on top
Put your development time into what only your marketplace does. Build on the Exonome APIs and on the providers Exonome already integrates with, instead of wiring each one up yourself:
Stripe
Payments, one checkout across sellers, and seller payouts through Stripe Connect.
Twilio
Messaging and text notifications between you, your providers and your customers.
Azure
Storage for the images and documents across your marketplaces and offerings.
Google APIs
Maps for finding providers nearby, and Google Analytics on your own brand domain.
Exonome Partner API
Set up marketplaces and publish offerings from your own systems. Available with a white-label setup. API documentation
MCP Early access
Connect AI agents to your marketplace's offerings through the Model Context Protocol.
Choose a mode for what you want to test
| Mode | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Discovery Free | Start with one provider and up to 10 offerings. Give customers a way to follow a link or express interest. |
| Connection $149 per month | Invite more providers and let customers send inquiries. See what people ask for and which offerings draw interest. |
| Marketplace $349 per month | Enable bookings and payments when customers are ready to buy through your marketplace. |
Choose the mode that fits the business you want to run. A marketplace can keep serving customers through links or inquiries for as long as that works for you. Compare plans
Decide how your marketplace earns
In Marketplace, you can set an optional operator commission per offering. Providers can also create subscription offerings when recurring payments fit what they sell.
A 5% Exonome platform fee applies to sales on non-white-label marketplaces hosted by Exonome. By default, sellers pay Stripe processing fees through their own Stripe accounts.
For marketplaces that already take payments, we can discuss a hybrid agreement with a monthly fee and an agreed share of sales, or a transaction-only agreement with no monthly subscription. Under either agreement, the negotiated share replaces the standard 5% platform fee.
Run more marketplaces under one brand
Start with one marketplace. If you later serve a new region or audience, a white-label setup lets you run several marketplaces under your own brand and domain. Platform Operator is $2,999 per month for running multiple marketplaces.
Providers use one catalog across the marketplaces they join. When another marketplace's operator approves an offering, that marketplace's audience can discover it too. White-label brands can also use the Partner API to set up marketplaces and publish offerings. Explore white-label
Built for agentic commerce
Exonome structures offerings, with prices, availability and booking rules, so AI agents can act on them. MCP, which connects AI agents to a marketplace's offerings, is in early access. Join the MCP waitlist
See marketplaces in use
LiveDinkSF
Paid pickleball programs in one city, including open play, drills and beginner bootcamps.
LiveTennis Machine Rentals
Players find and rent tennis ball machines from local owners.
LiveHighway One
Independent dealers and private owners bring specialty and classic cars together for enthusiasts to discover.
PilotStudio Beyond Us
A nonprofit student art studio is piloting a marketplace for its community.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a developer to build a marketplace?
No code is needed for standard setup. You can create and manage a marketplace yourself using the sign-up and admin tools. The Partner API is available with a white-label setup.
Can I use my own brand and domain?
Yes. A white-label setup lets you run marketplaces under your own brand and domain.
What does it cost to start?
Discovery is free for one provider and up to 10 offerings. Connection is $149 per month for multiple providers and inquiries. Marketplace is $349 per month for bookings and payments. See pricing and applicable fees
Who can access and export the data?
Your marketplace data is yours to export. Providers can see information about their own customers.
How do I find my first providers?
Start with people you'd recommend to a customer. Invite providers you trust and ask each to create an offering they're ready to deliver. Share those offerings with the customers you want to serve.
Can I move my existing business to a marketplace model?
Yes. Start with one part of your business, such as classes, rentals or services. Invite outside providers you trust, approve their offerings, and see how customers respond before expanding to other parts of the business.
Start with one provider and one offering
Have someone in mind? Set up a free marketplace on the Discovery plan and give customers a way to find what that provider offers. If you'd like to try the setup with guidance, build a sample marketplace in a free one-hour Lab.