Methodology: How We Test Real Estate CRMs

We don't rank CRMs by who pays us. Every verdict on this site has to pass five evidence standards first.

The five standards

1. Real accounts, real configuration

We log in, configure routing, and run automations in a live account — or we say so when we haven't yet. Screenshots are labeled by source: vendor-official images are marked as such until replaced by captures from a real logged-in backend. A screenshot without a label explaining what it proves doesn't ship.

2. True first-year cost

Headline monthly prices lie by omission. We price every CRM for 1, 5, and 10 seats over the first year: base subscription + setup/onboarding fees + dialer + required add-ons. If a vendor publishes no pricing (Lofty, BoldTrail (formerly kvCORE)), we say so in plain words and label any third-party figures as unverified — never as fact.

3. Routing and follow-up depth

For a real estate team, the CRM question is: a lead arrives at 11pm — who gets it, how fast, and what happens if nobody picks up? We test round-robin and first-to-claim routing, text/call automation, and what follow-up runs with no agent touching it.

4. Migration and exit risk

We document what it costs to leave: data export formats, contract terms, who owns the domain on an IDX website, and how many steps canceling takes. A CRM that's cheap to join and expensive to leave gets marked down.

5. Scenario fit — one winner per intent

Each search intent gets one winner. The runner-up stays a runner-up; we never crown a third product mid-page. Solo agents, portal-lead teams, and brokerages are different buyers and get different answers.

Why we don't do star ratings

A 4.7 vs. 4.5 tells a busy agent nothing. Our unit of judgment is the scenario verdict: who should pick this, and who shouldn't — backed by the five standards above.

Price update policy

Every price on this site carries a verification date and a source. When a vendor changes pricing, we update the number, the cost tables, the answer boxes, and the FAQs that cite it — and stamp a new date. A stale date is worse than no date.

Affiliate disclosure (summary)

Some links on this site may earn us a commission. Commissions never determine winners — the five standards do, and every page shows its evidence before its conclusions. Read the full disclosure →