Blurred Lines: Marketplaces vs Platforms vs Aggregators

How we talk about Middlemen

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As a business model dork, I’m fascinated by the labels we place on monetization structures characterized by network effects and middlemen.

The three most common labels thrown around for such businesses are Marketplaces, Platforms, and Aggregators.

All of them make money by collecting a fee, often called a take rate, for connecting multiple sides, which is determined by the level of value they provide across three vectors: payment responsibility, demand generation, and required resources.