Real estate CRM pricing, explained plainly.

The four pricing models

Per seat. You pay a monthly amount for each user. Simple for a solo agent, but the cost climbs as you add an assistant, a showing agent or a buyer's agent. Check whether admins and assistants count as full seats.

Flat plan. One price for a set of features, sometimes with a user limit. Easy to budget. Watch for a jump to the next tier when you pass the limit.

Quote-based. No public price; the vendor quotes based on your size and features. Common with platforms sold to brokerages. You can negotiate, but comparison is harder, so ask for the quote in writing with every fee listed.

Usage on top. Almost every CRM that sends texts or makes calls bills that usage separately, either at cost or with a markup. This is the line that surprises people most.

Texting costs and carrier registration

In the US, business texting from a regular ten-digit number goes through a carrier registration process (often called A2P 10DLC) before messages are reliably delivered. Your CRM provider usually walks you through it, and there may be one-time and monthly registration fees passed through from the carriers. It's not a CRM's invention; it's how US carriers handle business messaging.

Ask any vendor: Do you handle registration for me? What does it cost? How long does approval take? Are messages billed at cost or marked up? A CRM that's cheaper per month can cost more per year if its texting is marked up and you send a lot.

Setup and onboarding fees

Some CRMs charge a one-time onboarding fee, some include setup, and some leave setup entirely to you. A free setup isn't free if it means you spend two weekends building pipelines. Ask what the account looks like on day one: blank, or ready with pipelines, forms and messages for real estate? That difference is worth more than most features on a comparison grid.

The tools you'll still be paying for

A fair comparison adds up the whole stack. If CRM A costs less but you still need a social posting tool, a video email tool and a review-request service, add those monthly bills to CRM A's price. If CRM B includes them, the comparison may flip. Write down every software subscription you pay for today and mark which ones each CRM would replace.

Monthly or annual billing?

Many vendors offer a lower monthly rate if you pay for a year up front. That can be a good deal if you're sure. It's a bad deal if you're not, because the money is gone the day you change your mind.

A sensible rule: pay monthly for the first few months while you find out whether you and your team actually use the tool. Once it's part of your daily routine and you've checked the export works, switching to annual billing for a discount is low-risk. If a vendor only offers annual contracts, ask for a trial period or an out clause in writing.

Also check what happens at renewal. Some contracts renew automatically at a higher list price once an introductory rate ends. Put the renewal date in your calendar with a reminder a month ahead.

Questions that get you a real number

• What will I pay in month one, including any setup fee?
• What will I pay in month thirteen? Do promotional prices end?
• How much does texting cost per message, and calling per minute?
• What are the carrier registration fees, and who handles it?
• What happens to the price when I add one more user?
• Is there a contract? What does it cost to leave early?
• Can I export all my data at no charge if I leave?

Get the answers by email. A vendor confident in its pricing won't mind.

A simple way to compare total cost

Make a small table with one row per option and these columns: monthly plan price, extra seats, estimated texting and calling, one-time setup spread over twelve months, and the monthly cost of tools you'd still need alongside it. Add each row up. That's your real monthly number.

Then add one more column: hours. Estimate how many hours of setup and weekly maintenance each option will take you, and multiply by what your time is worth. A tool that's a little more expensive but arrives ready to use often wins once your own time is on the table.

Do this for your current CRM too. Sometimes the exercise shows that what you have is fine and the real problem is that the follow-up was never switched on.

When a cheaper CRM costs more

Price is easy to compare; value is not. A CRM that costs less but arrives blank can cost you a month of evenings building pipelines and writing messages. A CRM that bills texting with a markup can cost more than a pricier plan once your team sends hundreds of messages a week. A tool your agents won't open costs you the leads they don't follow up, which is the most expensive line of all and never shows up on an invoice.

The reverse is also true. An expensive platform full of features you won't use is money spent on a brochure. The goal isn't the lowest number or the longest feature list. It's the tool that fixes your biggest follow-up gap, at a total cost you understand, with an export that lets you leave if it stops working for you.

Budgeting for a team

Team pricing deserves its own line in your plan. Decide who really needs a full login: agents who work leads do, but a part-time marketing helper may only need access to social tools, and a transaction coordinator may work from a separate system entirely. Ask vendors whether lighter roles cost less, or whether one shared account is allowed under their terms.

Then decide who pays. Some teams cover the CRM as a team expense; others split it among agents. Whatever you choose, put it in writing with your team agreement so nobody is surprised when the bill or the database ownership question comes up later.

What KONAH charges

For transparency, here's ours, straight from our billing system. KONAH CRM 2.0 is $69.99 a month with your full industry template. KONAH CRM 2.0 Pro is $149.99 a month and adds your own business number and an AI assistant that drafts replies. Business texting and calling usage is billed separately at cost, and US texting needs the one-time carrier registration described above, which we guide you through. There's no contract; you can move between plans or cancel from your account. All software prices are on our pricing page.