What real estate agents actually need from a CRM
Real estate is a follow-up business. The agent who responds fastest and stays in touch longest wins the deal. Your CRM needs to support that, not just store contacts.
Lead source tracking. You need to know where every lead came from: Zillow, Realtor.com, your IDX website, a referral, an open house sign-in sheet. If you're spending $500/mo on Zillow leads, you should know exactly how many of those turned into closings. A CRM that lumps all leads into one bucket is useless for this.
Automated drip campaigns. A buyer who inquires about a listing today might not purchase for 6 to 18 months. You can't manually follow up with 200 leads in various stages of readiness. The CRM needs to run long-term email and text sequences that keep you in front of people until they're ready to move.
Transaction management. Once a deal goes under contract, you're tracking inspection dates, appraisal deadlines, title work, and closing timelines. Some CRMs handle this natively. Others require a separate tool like Dotloop or SkySlope.
Text and call logging. Real estate runs on phone calls and texts. Your CRM should log these automatically so you have a record of every conversation with a client. If a lead called you three weeks ago and you forgot to follow up, that should be visible without digging through your phone history.
IDX website integration. Many agents want their CRM connected to an IDX-powered property search site. When someone saves a search or favorites a listing on your site, that activity should show up in their CRM contact record. This tells you what they're looking at and when they're getting active.
The number one reason agents churn through CRMs: they pick a tool with features they don't use and skip the one thing that matters, which is automated follow-up on leads they already have.
The 5 tools worth evaluating
Three of these are real estate-specific. Two are general CRMs that work well for agents with the right business model. Here's how they stack up.
| Feature | Follow Up Boss | kvCORE | LionDesk | HubSpot | Wise Agent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $58/mo per user | $499+/mo (team) | $25/mo | Free | $49/mo |
| Lead routing | Advanced | Advanced | Basic | Via workflows (paid) | Basic |
| Drip campaigns | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paid tiers only | Yes |
| Transaction mgmt | Via integrations | Built-in | Basic checklists | No | Built-in |
| IDX integration | Via partners | Built-in website | Via partners | No | Via partners |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Best for | Teams & brokerages | All-in-one with IDX | Budget solo agents | Flexibility seekers | Simplicity seekers |
Follow Up Boss
Pricing: $58/mo per user (Grow). $416/mo for teams up to 10 (Team). $833/mo for brokerages (Boss).
Follow Up Boss is the CRM that real estate teams talk about the most. It does one thing better than anything else on this list: pulling leads from any source into one system and making sure someone follows up immediately.
It integrates natively with over 200 lead sources including Zillow, Realtor.com, Homes.com, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and most IDX providers. When a lead comes in, it routes to the right agent based on rules you set (round robin, zip code, price range, lead source). Speed-to-lead reporting shows you which agents are responding fast and which ones are letting leads sit.
What it does well:
- 200+ lead source integrations with automatic routing
- Speed-to-lead tracking and agent accountability dashboards
- Smart Lists that surface leads based on activity and engagement
- Built-in calling and texting with automatic logging
- Action Plans for multi-step follow-up sequences
Where it falls short:
- No built-in transaction management. You'll need Dotloop, SkySlope, or similar.
- Expensive for solo agents. The per-user pricing adds up fast on small teams.
- No IDX website included. You bring your own site and connect it.
kvCORE
Pricing: Typically $499+/mo for teams. Single agent plans available through some brokerages. Pricing varies by MLS and market.
kvCORE (by Inside Real Estate) tries to be everything in one platform: IDX website, CRM, lead generation, marketing automation, and transaction management. If you're tired of paying five separate bills and duct-taping integrations together, that's the pitch.
The IDX website captures leads when visitors search listings, save favorites, or sign up for alerts. Those leads flow directly into the CRM with their search activity attached. You can see that a lead has been looking at 3-bedroom homes in a specific neighborhood for the past two weeks. That's useful context for your first call.
What it does well:
- IDX website with lead capture and behavioral tracking built in
- AI-powered lead follow-up (Kv AI) that responds to inquiries automatically
- Built-in transaction management with task checklists
- Marketing automation including listing alerts and market reports
- Team and brokerage management with lead routing
Where it falls short:
- Learning curve is steep. The platform does a lot and setup takes time to configure properly.
- IDX websites are functional but templated. Don't expect a custom design.
- Pricing is opaque and varies by market. Hard to comparison shop.
- Some features feel underdeveloped compared to dedicated point solutions.
LionDesk
Pricing: $25/mo (CRM). $83/mo (CRM Premier with enhanced texting and video).
LionDesk is the cheapest real estate-specific CRM worth using. At $25/mo, you get contact management, drip campaigns, email and text templates, and basic pipeline tracking. Nothing fancy. It works.
The texting is where LionDesk punches above its price. LionDesk includes bulk texting, text drip campaigns, and video texting (on the Premier plan). For agents whose follow-up strategy is primarily text-based, this is more capability than most competitors offer at the same price.
What it does well:
- Lowest price point for a real estate-specific CRM
- Text and video messaging built into drip campaigns
- Transaction tracking with basic checklists
- Integrates with Zillow, Realtor.com, and major lead sources
- Simple enough to learn in an afternoon
Where it falls short:
- Lead routing is basic. Not built for teams.
- Reporting is minimal. Hard to track ROI by lead source with any detail.
- The interface feels dated compared to Follow Up Boss or kvCORE.
- No IDX website. You'll need a separate provider.
HubSpot CRM
Pricing: Free tier available. Paid plans from $20-$1,600+/mo.
HubSpot is not a real estate CRM. No IDX, no MLS connection, no transaction management. It's a general-purpose CRM with a free tier that actually works and paid tiers with good marketing automation.
It makes sense for agents whose business is mostly referral-based. If your pipeline comes from your network, past clients, and community involvement rather than Zillow, you don't need real estate-specific features. You need solid contact management, email tracking, and follow-up sequences. HubSpot does that well.
The free tier gives you contact management, deal tracking, email logging, meeting scheduling, and basic reporting. That's enough for many solo agents. If you later want email sequences and marketing automation, those come with paid plans.
What it does well:
- Free tier with real functionality, not a trial
- Clean interface that's easy to customize
- Strong email tracking and meeting scheduling
- Integrates with almost everything via Zapier or native connectors
- Scales with you if your business grows into a team
Where it falls short:
- No real estate-specific features. No IDX, no MLS, no transaction management.
- Paid tiers get expensive once you add marketing automation
- Zillow and Realtor.com integration requires Zapier or a third-party connector
Compare options: HubSpot vs Zoho CRM
Wise Agent
Pricing: $49/mo (includes up to 5 users).
Wise Agent has been around since 2002. It's not the newest or most polished option here, but agents who use it tend to stick with it. At $49/mo with up to 5 users included, the pricing is hard to argue with for a small team.
It covers contact management, drip campaigns, transaction management with task checklists, a landing page builder, and integration with major lead sources. Nothing is cutting-edge. That's partly the point. It works, it's stable, and their support team picks up the phone when you call.
What it does well:
- Transaction management with deadline tracking and task lists
- Up to 5 users included at $49/mo (good value for small teams)
- Drip campaigns with pre-built real estate templates
- 24/7 phone and chat support with fast response times
- Landing page builder for lead capture
Where it falls short:
- The interface looks and feels dated
- Lead routing and team management are basic
- Reporting is limited compared to Follow Up Boss or kvCORE
- No IDX website. You'll need a separate provider.
How to decide
Pick based on how you actually get business, not based on features lists.
Solo agent, mostly referrals, tight budget: Start with HubSpot (free) or LionDesk ($25/mo). You don't need team routing or IDX. You need contact tracking and automated follow-up.
Solo agent buying portal leads (Zillow, Realtor.com): LionDesk or Wise Agent. Both integrate with major portals and include drip campaigns to work those leads over time. Follow Up Boss works too, but costs more than it's worth for one person.
Team of 3-10 agents with shared lead flow: Follow Up Boss. The lead routing, speed-to-lead tracking, and accountability features are built for this exact use case.
Agent or team wanting one platform for everything: kvCORE. IDX website, CRM, marketing, and transaction management in one bill. Budget for a setup period.
Brokerage providing CRM to agents: kvCORE (enterprise pricing available) or Follow Up Boss (Boss plan). Both handle brokerage-level lead distribution and reporting.
The pattern we see most: Solo agents start with LionDesk or Wise Agent. Once they build a team and lead volume increases, they move to Follow Up Boss. Agents who want their website and CRM in one place go with kvCORE from the start.
Connecting your CRM to your lead sources
A CRM is only useful if leads actually land in it. Most agents have leads trickling in from Zillow, Realtor.com, their website, Facebook Ads, open house sign-in apps, and referrals. If any of those require you to manually type in contacts, you will forget. Leads will rot in your email.
Follow Up Boss and kvCORE handle most of these connections natively. For the other CRMs, you'll need an automation tool like n8n, Make, or Zapier to bridge the gaps.
Common automations we build for real estate agents:
- Zillow lead routing: New Zillow inquiry hits your CRM within 60 seconds, triggers a text response, and creates a follow-up task if no reply within 2 hours.
- Showing feedback follow-up: After a showing, an automated text asks the buyer for feedback. If they respond positively, the agent gets a notification to call. If no response, a drip sequence starts.
- Listing status updates: When a listing goes from active to pending in your MLS, your CRM tags interested buyers and sends them a notification. When a listing expires, the seller gets added to a re-listing drip campaign.
- Open house to CRM: Sign-in app (Curb Hero, Spacio, etc.) captures attendee info and pushes it to your CRM with the listing address as the lead source. A thank-you text goes out within 5 minutes.
Leads coming from multiple sources with no automated follow-up? We'll map your lead flow and show you what to connect first.
Get a Free Automation Audit →HubSpot vs Zoho CRM — if you're considering a general-purpose CRM for real estate.
Pipedrive vs HubSpot — another general CRM comparison for pipeline-focused agents.
GoHighLevel vs HubSpot — if you want marketing automation bundled with your CRM.
Not sure which CRM fits your real estate business?
We work with real estate agents and teams to connect their CRM to every lead source and automate follow-up. We'll tell you which setup makes sense for your deal volume and team size.
Get a Free Automation Audit →Prefer to talk it through? Book a free call →