Real Estate · head to head
CoStar vs CREXi
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
- -
CREXi
Real Estate
Commercial real estate marketplace with a genuinely free core listing tier, monetised through PRO subscriptions for brokers and a separate Intelligence data product
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only CREXi has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: 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.; CREXi the genuinely useful lead-conversion features, full contact details and priority placement, sit behind PRO subscriptions with unpublished pricing, so the free tier is a lighter product than it first appears.
- They diverge on capability: CoStar covers Property and ownership records, CREXi covers Free unlimited listings.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which CoStar and CREXi actually diverge.
Identical on both: 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 CoStar
- Property and ownership records
- Lease and sales comparables
- Tenant and space data
- Market analytics
- STR hospitality data
- CoStar Real Estate Manager
Only in CREXi
- Free unlimited listings
- Online auctions
- PRO subscriptions
- CREXi Intelligence
- Deal management
- Lead analytics
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
CoStar
- A commercial brokerage needing lease and sales comparables to support underwriting and pitch materialsnot CREXi
- An institutional investor or lender wanting standardised market analytics across submarkets for portfolio decisionsnot CREXi
- A corporate real estate team needing lease administration through CoStar Real Estate Managernot CREXi
- An appraiser needing sourced, defensible comparable transaction data for valuation reportsnot CREXi
CREXi
- A broker or owner wanting free, unlimited listing exposure without committing to a paid tier up frontnot CoStar
- A seller wanting a native online auction process rather than a traditional offer negotiationnot CoStar
- A firm wanting a CoStar alternative for property records and comps without a CoStar contractnot CoStar
- A broker who has outgrown the free tier and wants priority placement and full lead contact details through PROnot CoStar
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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.
CREXi
- The genuinely useful lead-conversion features, full contact details and priority placement, sit behind PRO subscriptions with unpublished pricing, so the free tier is a lighter product than it first appears.
- CREXi Intelligence is sold as a separate product from PRO listing subscriptions, so a broker wanting both marketing tools and data access is paying two distinct, unpublished prices rather than one bundled fee.
- As a newer entrant against CoStar decades of proprietary data collection, CREXi Intelligence coverage and data quality in less-active markets may not match CoStar depth.
- Auction infrastructure is a differentiator but only useful for sellers actually wanting a bid-based process, which is a minority of commercial transactions.
- Free-tier listings compete for visibility against PRO-tier paid placement, so a broker relying only on the free product accepts lower search prominence than paying competitors.
Pricing, plan by plan
CoStar
On request- CoStar$undefined/year
- Per named user licensing, no published rate
- Multi-year contracts standard
- Terms explicitly prohibit password or login sharing
CREXi
Free- Marketplace (free)Free
- Unlimited property listings
- Basic property details and lead information
- Marketplace search access
- Listing PRO / All PRO / Enterprise PRO$undefined/month
- Priority search placement
- Full lead contact details
- Targeted email campaigns
- CREXi Intelligence$undefined/year
- 153M+ property records, comps and ownership data
- Sold separately from PRO listing subscriptions
- Pricing not published, quote required
Which should you pick?
Choose CoStar if
- You need property and ownership records.
- You also want lease and sales comparables.
Choose CREXi if
- You need free unlimited listings.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want online auctions.
Questions people ask
- Is CoStar or CREXi better?
- Neither clearly leads. CoStar starts at On request and CREXi at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, CoStar or CREXi?
- CREXi has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for CoStar and Free for CREXi.
- Does CoStar or CREXi run on more platforms?
- CoStar runs on Web. CREXi runs on Web, iOS, Android.
- Can I use CREXi for free?
- Yes. CREXi has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. CoStar starts at On request.
- What is CoStar best used for?
- CoStar is most often used for a commercial brokerage needing lease and sales comparables to support underwriting and pitch materials, an institutional investor or lender wanting standardised market analytics across submarkets for portfolio decisions, a corporate real estate team needing lease administration through costar real estate manager, an appraiser needing sourced, defensible comparable transaction data for valuation reports. Of those, a commercial brokerage needing lease and sales comparables to support underwriting and pitch materials and an institutional investor or lender wanting standardised market analytics across submarkets for portfolio decisions are not what CREXi is typically brought in for.
- What can CoStar do that CREXi cannot?
- CoStar covers Property and ownership records, Lease and sales comparables, Tenant and space data, Market analytics. CREXi covers Free unlimited listings, Online auctions, PRO subscriptions, CREXi Intelligence.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
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.
CREXi: Is CREXi really free?
The core marketplace, including unlimited listings, is free. PRO subscriptions and CREXi Intelligence data are separate paid products layered on top.
CoStar: Is CoStar pricing published anywhere?
No. It is quote-only, licensed per named user, on multi-year contracts.
CREXi: Is CREXi Intelligence the same as PRO?
No. PRO is about listing placement and lead tools; Intelligence is a standalone property data product with 153 million-plus records, priced and sold separately.
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.
CREXi: Does CREXi compete with CoStar or LoopNet?
Yes on both fronts: the marketplace competes with LoopNet for listings, and CREXi Intelligence competes with CoStar and Reonomy for property data.
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