This page does not give you an average, and the reason is not coyness. A commission rate separated from its base, its minimum and its retainer treatment is not a fee, and an average of such rates is an average of numbers that were not comparable to begin with. Owners who arrive at a broker meeting holding one tend to use it as a test of fairness, which is exactly the use it cannot support. What can be compared is the money, and getting to that takes minutes.
Why the average is not comparable
The same rate produces different fees depending on what it is applied to, whether a minimum overrides it, and whether an up-front payment is credited. Averages collected across firms flatten all three. They also mix sizes and sectors, and since the effective cost of selling a small business is structurally higher than a large one, an average across both describes neither.
What to do instead, in ten minutes
Get two or three full fee schedules in writing. Put your own expected price through each, including the minimum and the retainer treatment. Read out two numbers per quote: what the broker is paid, and what reaches you. That is a comparison, it is exact for your situation, and it regularly reorders quotes that looked similar as rates.
The judgement the numbers do not settle
The cheapest engagement is worth nothing if the broker cannot find the buyers, and the fee comparison says nothing about that. Ask who specifically they would approach and what has sold in your sector recently. Owners who negotiate hard on fee and never ask that question frequently end up paying a small fee for no result, which is the most expensive outcome available.
Questions people ask about what is the average commission for a business broker
Are there published figures?
Various figures circulate. They rarely state the base, the minimum or the size band, and without those they cannot be compared with a quote in front of you, which is why this site does not repeat them.
How do I know if my quote is fair?
By comparing it, in money, with two others at your own expected price. Fairness against your alternatives is answerable; fairness against a national average is not.
Does a higher fee buy a better outcome?
Not reliably, and it is not the thing to test. Test reach: who they would approach and what they have sold. That correlates with outcome in a way the rate does not.