Softwr

Real Estate · head to head

Chime vs CoStar

Chime logo

Chime

Real Estate

Boost Your Business with Just One Tool

From
On request
Rated
-
CoStar logo

CoStar

Real Estate

Commercial real estate data subscription with strict per-seat licensing, sold on multi-year contracts and enforced through active anti-piracy litigation against password sharing

From
On request
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Chime waiving the setup fee and contract deposit requires paying the annual plan in one lump sum rather than monthly; CoStar per-seat licensing with no published rate makes budgeting for headcount growth unpredictable, since adding users typically requires a new negotiation rather than a self-service upgrade.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chime and CoStar actually diverge.

Attributes where Chime and CoStar differ
AttributeChimeCoStar
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Real Estate).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Chime

Nothing recorded that CoStar does not also cover.

Only in CoStar

  • Property and ownership records
  • Lease and sales comparables
  • Tenant and space data
  • Market analytics
  • STR hospitality data
  • CoStar Real Estate Manager

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Chime

  • real estate team CRM and lead managementnot CoStar
  • sales pipeline managementnot CoStar
  • marketing automation for agentsnot CoStar

CoStar

  • A commercial brokerage needing lease and sales comparables to support underwriting and pitch materialsnot Chime
  • An institutional investor or lender wanting standardised market analytics across submarkets for portfolio decisionsnot Chime
  • A corporate real estate team needing lease administration through CoStar Real Estate Managernot Chime
  • An appraiser needing sourced, defensible comparable transaction data for valuation reportsnot Chime

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Chime

  • Waiving the setup fee and contract deposit requires paying the annual plan in one lump sum rather than monthly
  • Exceeding the monthly outgoing email limit costs $1 per additional 5,000 emails
  • Lead generation ads carry a 20 percent ad management fee, and branding ads carry a 15 percent fee and require the CRM Professional plan or above

CoStar

  • Per-seat licensing with no published rate makes budgeting for headcount growth unpredictable, since adding users typically requires a new negotiation rather than a self-service upgrade.
  • CoStar actively pursues legal action against password sharing and unauthorised access, which is a genuine compliance and litigation risk for a firm that is loose about login discipline, intentionally or not.
  • A June 2026 antitrust lawsuit names CoStar alongside major brokerages over an alleged price-fixing scheme, a live legal matter that could affect the company standing or practices during a long-term contract.
  • Multi-year contract structures reduce a buyer flexibility to switch providers even if a cheaper or better data source emerges during the term.
  • The breadth of the platform (property, hospitality via STR, lease admin) means a firm often pays for modules it does not use just to access the specific data set it needs.

Pricing, plan by plan

Chime

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Chime review.

CoStar

On request
  • CoStar$undefined/year
    • Per named user licensing, no published rate
    • Multi-year contracts standard
    • Terms explicitly prohibit password or login sharing

Which should you pick?

Choose Chime if

Nothing in the data separates Chime from CoStar on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Choose CoStar if

  • You need property and ownership records.
  • You also want lease and sales comparables.

Questions people ask

Is Chime or CoStar better?
Neither clearly leads. Chime starts at On request and CoStar at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chime or CoStar?
Chime starts at On request and CoStar at On request.
Does Chime or CoStar run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Chime best used for?
Chime is most often used for real estate team crm and lead management, sales pipeline management, marketing automation for agents. Of those, real estate team crm and lead management and sales pipeline management are not what CoStar is typically brought in for.
What can Chime do that CoStar cannot?
CoStar covers Property and ownership records, Lease and sales comparables, Tenant and space data, Market analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Chime: How much does Chime CRM cost?

Chime CRM pricing is not published; you must contact their sales team or request a demo to obtain pricing information for Core, Premier, or Enterprise tiers.

Source
CoStar: Can multiple people share one CoStar login to save cost?

No. Terms explicitly prohibit this, and CoStar has an active pattern of suing individuals and firms for unauthorised access under shared credentials.

Chime: What does each Chime CRM tier include?

Chime offers Core for small teams, Premier for growing teams, and Enterprise for large organizations; features vary by tier including email limits and contact storage, but specific pricing is not published.

Source
CoStar: Is CoStar pricing published anywhere?

No. It is quote-only, licensed per named user, on multi-year contracts.

Chime: Are there overage charges on Chime CRM?

Yes, Chime charges USD 1 per 5,000 additional emails beyond monthly tier limits; add-ons for AI Assistant, lead generation, and call/text packages carry separate custom pricing.

Source
CoStar: Is there a current legal risk in signing with CoStar?

A June 2026 antitrust lawsuit names CoStar and several major brokerages over an alleged price-fixing conspiracy; buyers with long-term contracts should track that litigation.

Chime: Does Chime offer a free trial?

Chime does not publish free trial information on the pricing page; trial availability would need to be confirmed by contacting their sales team directly.

Source
Share

Related pages

Other head to heads