Real Estate · head to head
CREXi vs Placester
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
- -
Placester
Real Estate
Website builder for individual real estate agents and brokerages, notable as the sole website provider for the National Association of Realtors REALTOR Benefits Program
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only CREXi has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: 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useful lead-conversion features, full contact details and priority placement, sit behind PRO subscriptions with unpublished pricing, so the free tier is a lighter product than it first appears.; Placester exact pricing is not consistently published and varies by MLS region and plan, so agents need to confirm current cost directly rather than rely on third-party comparison figures.
- They diverge on capability: CREXi covers Free unlimited listings, Placester covers IDX property search.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which CREXi and Placester 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 CREXi
- Free unlimited listings
- Online auctions
- PRO subscriptions
- CREXi Intelligence
- Deal management
- Lead analytics
Only in Placester
- IDX property search
- Lead capture forms
- AI site generation
- NAR REALTOR Benefits access
- Templates and customisation
- SEO and blogging tools
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
CREXi
- A broker or owner wanting free, unlimited listing exposure without committing to a paid tier up frontnot Placester
- A seller wanting a native online auction process rather than a traditional offer negotiationnot Placester
- A firm wanting a CoStar alternative for property records and comps without a CoStar contractnot Placester
- A broker who has outgrown the free tier and wants priority placement and full lead contact details through PROnot Placester
Placester
- An individual agent wanting an IDX-compliant website without a custom build or web developernot CREXi
- A NAR member wanting to access Placester through the REALTOR Benefits Program rather than a separate paid vendornot CREXi
- A small brokerage needing consistent branded websites across multiple agentsnot CREXi
- An agent wanting a fast, AI-assisted website setup rather than a fully custom design processnot CREXi
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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.
Placester
- Exact pricing is not consistently published and varies by MLS region and plan, so agents need to confirm current cost directly rather than rely on third-party comparison figures.
- As a generalist website builder for a broad agent market, it lacks the depth of specialist real estate marketing platforms once an agent needs advanced automation.
- It is a residential agent tool, not a CRE data or listings product, so it should not be confused with commercial real estate platforms like CoStar or CREXi despite operating in the same broad real estate software sector.
- IDX feed reliability and MLS coverage depend on regional data agreements, and gaps or delays in feed updates are outside Placester direct control.
- Being the default NAR-affiliated provider can create an incumbency effect where agents adopt it by default through benefits access rather than because it was actively evaluated against alternatives.
Pricing, plan by plan
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
Placester
On request- Placester$undefined/month
- Pricing varies by plan and MLS/IDX region, confirm current rate directly
- Some access available at reduced or no cost through NAR REALTOR Benefits eligibility
Which should you pick?
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 CREXi or Placester better?
- Neither clearly leads. CREXi starts at Free and Placester at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, CREXi or Placester?
- CREXi has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CREXi and On request for Placester.
- Does CREXi or Placester run on more platforms?
- CREXi runs on Web, iOS, Android. Placester runs on Web.
- Can I use CREXi for free?
- Yes. CREXi has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Placester starts at On request.
- What is CREXi best used for?
- CREXi is most often used for a broker or owner wanting free, unlimited listing exposure without committing to a paid tier up front, a seller wanting a native online auction process rather than a traditional offer negotiation, a firm wanting a costar alternative for property records and comps without a costar contract, a broker who has outgrown the free tier and wants priority placement and full lead contact details through pro. Of those, a broker or owner wanting free, unlimited listing exposure without committing to a paid tier up front and a seller wanting a native online auction process rather than a traditional offer negotiation are not what Placester is typically brought in for.
- What can CREXi do that Placester cannot?
- CREXi covers Free unlimited listings, Online auctions, PRO subscriptions, CREXi Intelligence. Placester covers IDX property search, Lead capture forms, AI site generation, NAR REALTOR Benefits access.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
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.
Placester: Is Placester a CRE product?
No, despite being grouped with commercial real estate platforms in some comparisons, Placester builds websites for individual residential agents, not commercial data or listings.
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.
Placester: Is it free through NAR membership?
Some access is available at reduced or no cost through the REALTOR Benefits Program for eligible NAR members; confirm current terms directly as they can change.
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.
Placester: Does it include MLS data?
Yes, via IDX integration, pulling property search results from the relevant local MLS feed.
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