For most solo agents and small teams we recommend Follow Up Boss. It imports leads from more than 200 sources, has a two way Zillow integration, routes leads by price, ZIP code or source, and starts at $58 per user a month billed yearly. Teams that want a website, CRM and marketing in one bill should get a quote from Lofty, and budget minded teams that text heavily can look at GoHighLevel, which charges a flat $97 a month for unlimited users plus usage.
Real estate CRMs with portal lead routing, texting and built in AI are standard tools today, though some AI features are still in beta and texting now requires carrier registration.Follow Up Boss: our pick
Best for solo agents and teams of up to about 20 who buy portal leads and need them answered fast.
Follow Up Boss is built around speed to lead. Zillow leads arrive in it as soon as they land in your Premier Agent dashboard, and it can send an automatic text the moment a lead comes in Follow Up Boss Zillow ↗. It imports leads from more than 200 sources and connects to more than 250 other tools, with unlimited contacts and lead sources on every plan Follow Up Boss pricing ↗. Zillow bought Follow Up Boss in December 2023, and Zillow says it remains an independent brand that anyone can use, whatever their Zillow affiliation Zillow on Follow Up Boss ↗.
Lead routing is where it beats general CRMs. You can set rules per lead source and route by price, city, state, ZIP code, MLS number or tags, with rules processed top to bottom and a default rule for everything else Follow Up Boss routing ↗. Leads can go to agents by round robin or first to claim Follow Up Boss Zillow ↗. Zillow Premier Agents can use a two way integration that syncs stages, agent assignments, notes and closed deals back to Zillow, while agents with only a Zillow profile use a one way connection Follow Up Boss Zillow sync ↗.
Grow costs $58 per user a month billed yearly, or $69 monthly, and calling and texting is an add on at $33 per user yearly or $39 monthly Follow Up Boss pricing ↗. Follow Up Boss pitches Grow at solo agents and teams of five or fewer Follow Up Boss plans ↗. Pro is $416 a month billed yearly for 10 users with unlimited calling and texting, and extra users cost $41 Follow Up Boss pricing ↗. The pricing page lists smart summaries, smart messages, suggested tasks and predictive lead prioritization on Pro and Platform Follow Up Boss pricing ↗. One caution: Follow Up Boss's help center says Smart Summary has been temporarily turned off for all users and is in closed beta, as of its April 29, 2026 update Follow Up Boss Smart Summary ↗. Ask which AI features are live in your account before you count on them.
Why we like Follow Up Boss
- Two way Zillow Premier Agent sync
- Routing rules by source, price, ZIP code and MLS number
- 200+ lead sources and 250+ integrations
- No contract and no setup fee
- Pro includes unlimited calling and texting for 10 users
Where Follow Up Boss falls short
- Calling and texting cost extra on Grow
- Some AI features are paused or in beta
- No built in IDX website
Lofty: upgrade pick
Best for teams that want the website, CRM, texting and AI agents from one vendor.
Lofty bundles a fully customizable IDX website, mass and automatic texting, advanced lead routing and its AI tools on every plan, from Agent up to Enterprise Lofty pricing ↗. The AI list includes Lofty Cowork, custom AI agents, AI lead scoring and an AI agent library, and a Sales Agent virtual assistant is an add on Lofty pricing ↗. For a team that would otherwise pay separately for a website, a CRM and a texting tool, that is a simpler setup.
Lofty also has a two way Zillow Premier Agent integration that syncs lead details, assignments, call and text logs and property inquiries, with a delay of up to one minute Lofty Zillow ↗. Read the fine print: it only creates and maps company or team leads, those leads skip Lofty's own routing, and every agent in the Zillow rotation needs an active Lofty account Lofty Zillow ↗. It pulls in contacts from the past two years Lofty Zillow ↗.
The catch is price transparency. Every plan says Request Pricing Lofty pricing ↗. The Close, an independent real estate publication, reports Core at $449 a month with a $500 one time fee and Premier at $700 a month for 15 users with a $1,000 fee, and says those figures are not on Lofty's site The Close on Lofty ↗. Treat those as a starting point for negotiation, not a quote.
Why we like Lofty
- IDX website, CRM and texting in one platform
- AI lead scoring and custom AI agents on every plan
- Two way Zillow integration
- Advanced lead routing on every plan
Where Lofty falls short
- No published prices
- Reported setup fees
- Zillow two way sync skips Lofty routing
GoHighLevel: budget pick
Best for cost conscious teams that text a lot and have someone who enjoys building automations.
GoHighLevel charges per account, not per agent. Starter is $97 a month, or $970 a year, with unlimited contacts and unlimited users and a 14 day trial GoHighLevel pricing ↗. It covers texting, email, calls, voicemail drops and appointment reminders that run automatically, and its AI can answer calls, reply to texts and chat with website visitors GoHighLevel real estate ↗.
Usage is billed on top. In the US, a text costs $0.00747 per segment in or out, a local number is $1.15 a month, and outbound calls are $0.0166 a minute GoHighLevel phone rates ↗. An AI Employee add on costs $50 or $97 a month per sub account GoHighLevel pricing ↗.
The weak spot for agents is portal leads. GoHighLevel's real estate page does not mention Zillow or Realtor.com GoHighLevel real estate ↗. On its own feature request board, a request for an email parser like Follow Up Boss's has been open since April 2023 with 283 votes, and a brokerage wrote that it could not get its Zillow and Realtor.com leads into the CRM GoHighLevel ideas board ↗. If you buy portal leads, test the connection during the trial before you move your database.
Why we like GoHighLevel
- Flat price with unlimited users
- Low published texting rates
- AI that answers calls, texts and web chat
- 14 day trial
Where GoHighLevel falls short
- No native Zillow or Realtor.com connection named
- Usage fees add up and are billed separately
- Built for agencies, so setup takes time
Compare them
| Tool | Starting price | Cost for 5 agents | Zillow integration | Lead routing | Texting | AI features | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Follow Up BossOur pick | $58/user/mo yearly ($69 monthly) | $416/mo on Pro (10 users, calling included) | Yes, one way or two way | Rules by source, price, ZIP, MLS; round robin | Add on for Grow; included on Pro | Listed on Pro; Smart Summary paused | Portal lead buyers |
| LoftyUpgrade pick | Quote only | Not published | Yes, two way for team leads | Advanced routing on all plans | Mass and auto texting included | AI agents, lead scoring | All in one teams |
| GoHighLevelBudget pick | $97/mo, unlimited users | About $125/mo with usage | Not named | Build with workflows | Yes, $0.00747 per segment | AI for calls, texts and chat | Text heavy budget teams |
| HubSpot | Free; Starter $20/seat regular price | Free for 2 users, then per seat | Not named | General CRM rules | Needs Marketing Hub Professional | Breeze Assistant | Referral based agents |
Prices and features from each vendor’s site, checked Oct 9, 2026. Prices change often.
Who this is for
This guide is for solo agents and small teams of roughly 2 to 20 agents who need a system of record for their leads: one place where Zillow, Realtor.com, website and open house leads land, get assigned and get followed up by text, call and email.
It answers a different question from our guide to AI tools for real estate agents. That guide is about saving time on writing, photos and social posts. This one is about the CRM itself, so we judged on lead routing, portal integrations, texting and the true cost per agent, and treated AI as a bonus rather than the reason to buy.
If you work almost entirely from referrals and have fewer than a few hundred contacts, a free CRM may be enough for now. HubSpot's free CRM covers two users and 1,000 contacts HubSpot free CRM ↗. Move up when leads start slipping.
Why you should trust us
We read each vendor's pricing page and help center articles on Zillow integrations, lead routing and texting, checked every price on October 12, 2026, and read legal analysis of the federal rules on texting consent Kelley Drye on TCPA ↗. Where a vendor does not publish prices, we say so and label any third party figure as reported.
No vendor paid for placement, and our picks were chosen on merit.
How we picked
We started with CRMs built for real estate and added the two general CRMs agents most often consider instead. We weighed the things that decide whether a portal lead turns into a client.
Lead routing came first: how leads get in from Zillow and other portals, and whether you can assign them by price, area or source. Texting came second, because most buyers answer a text before a call. Then cost per agent at published prices, and finally AI features that are actually live.
- Native Zillow integration, ideally two way
- Routing rules by source, price and area, plus round robin
- Texting built in, with A2P 10DLC registration handled
- Published per agent pricing
- AI summaries, scoring or drafting that work today
- No long contract
What each CRM costs per agent
Solo agent who wants calling and texting: Follow Up Boss Grow is $58 plus $33 for calling, or $91 a month billed yearly, which is $1,092 a year Follow Up Boss pricing ↗. On monthly billing it is $69 plus $39, or $108 a month Follow Up Boss pricing ↗.
Team of five with calling: five Grow seats with the calling add on cost $455 a month billed yearly, while Follow Up Boss Pro costs $416 a month for up to 10 users with unlimited calling and texting Follow Up Boss pricing ↗. From about five agents, Pro is the cheaper plan, and a 12 agent team on Pro pays $416 plus two extra users at $41, or $498 a month Follow Up Boss pricing ↗.
The same team of five on GoHighLevel Starter pays $97 a month, about $19 per agent, before usage GoHighLevel pricing ↗. If the team sends 3,000 text segments a month on five local numbers, add about $22 for texts and $6 for numbers at published rates GoHighLevel phone rates ↗, for roughly $125 a month. Carrier registration fees for texting are extra; Lofty's help center lists The Campaign Registry fees of $19 to $59 one time and $1.50 to $30 a month depending on the campaign type Lofty A2P 10DLC ↗.
Lofty does not publish prices Lofty pricing ↗. Using The Close's reported Premier price of $700 a month for 15 users, a full team works out to about $47 per agent before setup fees The Close on Lofty ↗.
Texting rules every agent should know
Business texting to US numbers now runs through carrier registration called A2P 10DLC. Lofty, for example, requires every user or AI assistant that texts US numbers to be linked to a verified campaign, and fees go to The Campaign Registry and are not refundable if registration fails Lofty A2P 10DLC ↗. HubSpot says 10DLC approval can take six to eight business days, and it does not support SMS for sole proprietors HubSpot SMS ↗.
Consent still matters. In January 2025 a federal appeals court struck down the FCC's one to one consent rule, which would have limited a consent form to a single seller Kelley Drye on TCPA ↗. The older requirement for prior express written consent for marketing calls and texts made with an autodialer or prerecorded voice remains in effect Kelley Drye on TCPA ↗. Keep your lead forms clear about who will text the person, and honor stop requests right away.
- Register your texting campaign before you import leads
- Keep consent language on every lead form
- Turn on automatic opt out handling
- Ask the vendor who pays registration fees and who handles rejections
Before you sign up
Use the trial on real leads, not demo data. Connect your Zillow account and one other lead source, send yourself a test inquiry and time how long it takes to land, get assigned and get a text.
Ask these questions in any demo: Is the Zillow integration one way or two way, and does it go through your routing rules? Which AI features are live today for my plan? Who handles A2P 10DLC registration? Can I export all contacts, notes and texts if I leave?
- Test portal lead delivery during the trial
- Confirm which AI features are live, not in beta
- Price the plan for the team you will have next year
- Check the export process before you import
The competition
HubSpotFree; Service Hub Starter from $20/seat/month
HubSpot's free CRM gives two users and 1,000 contacts with email tracking, meeting links and the Breeze AI assistant HubSpot free CRM ↗. Starter normally costs $20 per seat a month and includes 500 AI credits a month HubSpot Starter ↗. It is a good general CRM, but texting requires Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise plus an SMS add on and is not supported for sole proprietors HubSpot SMS ↗, and it has no real estate portal integrations named on these pages.
ChatGPTFree; paid plans start at $8/month (Go, US)
ChatGPT is not a CRM and will not route or store leads. If writing listing descriptions and emails is your bigger time sink, see our guide to AI tools for real estate agents, which covers writing tools alongside CRMs.
Questions people ask
What is the best CRM for a new real estate agent?
If you buy online leads, start with Follow Up Boss Grow at $58 per user a month billed yearly, with a free trial and no contract Follow Up Boss pricing ↗. If you work mostly from referrals, HubSpot's free CRM covers two users and 1,000 contacts at no cost HubSpot free CRM ↗.
Which real estate CRMs integrate with Zillow?
Follow Up Boss offers one way and two way Zillow integrations, with the two way version recommended for Premier Agents Follow Up Boss Zillow sync ↗. Lofty offers a two way integration for company and team leads Lofty Zillow ↗. GoHighLevel and HubSpot do not name a Zillow integration on the pages we checked GoHighLevel real estate ↗ HubSpot free CRM ↗.
How much does a real estate CRM cost per agent?
Follow Up Boss Grow is $58 per user a month billed yearly, and Pro is $416 a month for 10 users, about $42 each Follow Up Boss pricing ↗. GoHighLevel is a flat $97 a month for unlimited users plus usage GoHighLevel pricing ↗. Lofty does not publish prices; an independent review reports $449 a month and up The Close on Lofty ↗.
Does Follow Up Boss have AI?
Yes. Its pricing page lists smart summaries, smart messages, suggested tasks and predictive lead prioritization on Pro and Platform Follow Up Boss pricing ↗. Its help center says Smart Summary is temporarily turned off for all users and in closed beta, as of April 2026 Follow Up Boss Smart Summary ↗, so confirm what is live in your account.
Do I need to register to text leads from my CRM?
Yes, for business texting to US numbers on standard local numbers. Lofty requires a verified A2P 10DLC campaign, with fees paid to The Campaign Registry Lofty A2P 10DLC ↗, and HubSpot says approval can take six to eight business days HubSpot SMS ↗. You also need consent that meets federal rules for marketing texts Kelley Drye on TCPA ↗.
Is GoHighLevel good for real estate agents?
It can be for teams that text heavily and want one flat price, since Starter is $97 a month for unlimited users GoHighLevel pricing ↗. The risk is portal leads: its real estate page does not mention Zillow or Realtor.com, and users have asked for an email lead parser since 2023 GoHighLevel real estate ↗ GoHighLevel ideas board ↗.
Where this comes from
Checked Oct 9, 2026. Vendor pages describe their own products; independent sources add outside views. Built from 19 sources: the makers' own pages plus independent reviews and user reports. We have not run our own hands on test yet; if we do, the results will appear here.
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