What is the cheapest real estate CRM for new agents?
The cheapest option isn't the lowest sticker price, it's the lowest total cost once you add seats, contact limits, texting, mailing and anything billed on top. Keystone is follow-up software, not a full CRM, and its Free plan costs $0 for 100 contacts, with paid plans at $49, $99 and $189 a month.
The cheapest real estate CRM isn't the one with the lowest number on its pricing page. It's the one with the lowest bill after you add the things you'll actually use. A $25 plan that charges extra for a second seat, texting and mailing can cost more than a $50 plan that includes them.
This page doesn't list competitor prices, because they change and we'd rather you check them on the vendor's own site. What it does give you is a way to compare any two tools fairly, plus Keystone's real prices so you can put them next to whatever else you're looking at.
How to compare total cost
Before you pick on price, write down answers to these for each tool:
| Question | Why it changes the bill |
|---|---|
| How many contacts are included? | Going over the limit usually means jumping a whole plan tier. |
| How many seats are included? | An assistant or partner can double the price. |
| Is texting included, or billed per message? | Text-heavy follow-up gets expensive fast if it's metered. |
| Is mail included, or billed per piece? | Printed letters and cards have real postage and print costs. |
| What's billed as an add-on? | Dialers, listing-site tools and extra storage are common extras. |
| Annual or monthly pricing? | Annual billing is often cheaper, but you pay a year up front. |
| Will you actually use it? | A cheap tool you ignore costs more than a pricier one you open daily. |
Then multiply out one full year, not one month. That's the number to compare.
What a new agent actually needs
If you're closing a handful of deals a year, most of your money should go toward one thing: staying in touch with everyone you already know. That means a place to keep contacts, a way to follow up on a schedule without remembering to, and a quick way to see who wrote back.
Things you can probably skip for now: a built-in dialer, team routing, listing-site builders, and a full transaction manager. They're useful at volume. They're expensive dead weight when you have 40 contacts and two active clients.
Keystone's real prices
Keystone is follow-up software for real estate agents, not a full CRM. It handles the follow-up: email, text, call prompts, printed letters and handwritten cards, with every message already written and waiting on a daily Today list.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (per year) | Contacts | Letters per month | Texts per month | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 100 | 3 | From your own phone | 1 |
| Starter | $49 | $468 | 500 | 15 | 100 | 1 |
| Professional | $99 | $948 | 2,500 | 40 | 400 | 2 |
| Growth | $189 | $1,810 | 10,000 | 100 | 1,000 | 5 |
A few things worth knowing about how the bill works:
- Letters past your plan's monthly amount are $1.75 each, on the same invoice.
- Handwritten cards are $4.90 per send.
- Letters and cards wait for your approval. You see the exact piece and its cost before anything prints or ships.
- Usage is shown before you hit a limit, and you can upgrade from Billing in two clicks while your setup keeps running.
Annual billing takes about 20% off. On Starter, that's $468 a year instead of $588 paid monthly.
What Keystone doesn't replace
Keystone doesn't do transaction management, build IDX sites, place calls or supply leads. If you need those, you'll pair it with another tool, and that second tool's price belongs in your total. If you already have a full CRM you like, Keystone can sit next to it as the follow-up layer. Compare the approaches side by side on our compare page.
Common mistakes when shopping on price
- Picking on the first-month price. Look at a full year with the add-ons you'll use.
- Paying for features you won't touch for years. Buy for the next six months, not the next five years.
- Ignoring follow-up. A tool that stores contacts but doesn't help you reach them is a spreadsheet with a login.
- Forgetting the move. Switching later costs you time. Choose something you can grow into.
Where to start
If you want to see how follow-up works before spending anything, the Free plan covers 100 contacts and 3 letters a month. Full pricing is on the pricing section. For free-only options across the category, see free realtor CRM comparison and free forever CRM options.
Ready to stop babysitting your follow-up?
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