Loopnet v. Crexi - Which is the better online listing platform?
I own a real estate company based in CT and have recently been approached by Crexi to purchase their software as an alternative to Costar / Loopnet.

While the experience with the latter has been generally positive and they have best-in-class SEO, we are not getting any qualified/actionable leads on many of our listings. The service is also tremendously expensive.

Reaching out to see if anyone has made the switch and can share some insight into the Crexi experience. 

Thx!
[{"id": "iec9svi", "text": "Costar is great for data mining, almost no value as a listing service (which is why they bought loopnet I guess). Loopnet in my experience is so-so. It has a lot of old information, and charges an arm and a leg but gives limited value. I haven't ever gotten a buyer using them, so I stopped paying for listing membership with them a few years ago.\n\nCrexi is a newer program and has better programs to deliver interested leads to you. Their listing database had problems, as with any service that pulls data manually from other MLS (loopnet has this issue too). My bet is that Crexi will be a better service overall in the next few years.\n\nCurrently the best listing service for us has been CBA (commercialmls.com), it used to be a local MLS system but they just added a nationwide partnership with catalyst. I'm not sure how good they are in other areas, but it's the best one for Washington state.", "replies": [{"id": "iecnabb", "text": "Thanks for this rundown, I truly appreciate it!\n\nRegarding CBA - is that public-facing or subscription only? For the smaller deals we churn out in our (and client's) properties, we prefer direct-to-consumer over broker-to-broker.", "replies": [{"id": "ied53v4", "text": "It's free to view, so non-brokers can look at everything that's listed.\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nIf, by chance, you work in the Seattle area I'm looking to buy multifamily deals", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "ieco2cd", "text": "I see no properties outside of Washington", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "iedy4pr", "text": "if you are in California and work strictly in Office/Industrial, AIR is another good source for a listing platform. They also partnered with Catalyst after the other one got sued and shut down by Costar (can't think of the name right now). It is more of a broker to broker community rather than principals, but the broker connections I have had through this platform is more supportive than what I have dealt with through CoStar.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "ieesfic", "text": "Catylist is doing their best to try to outpace CoStar. I give it another year or two and they will be tops. Their price is certainly better, but in my market there were twice as many listings on CoStar and none on Catylist were unique.\n\nCatylist: $75/mo\n\nCoStar: $455/mo\n\nThey just need to catch up.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ieca2xg", "text": "We switched to Crexi last year and it has been great.  I felt like Loopnet was always hitting us up for more money, and would hold our stuff hostage if we didn't upgrade or pay for the newest program.\n\nCrexi has been easier to use, cheaper, and I've closed more deals off of it.  It does not have the data that costar has but I never thought the data for costar in my area was any good.", "replies": [{"id": "iecnhuv", "text": "Thanks!\n\nWhat would you say are Crexi's best and worst qualities? \n\nSorry if this is consuming your time, but it looks like it will be a $10k+ annual investment so I want to be sure.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iechbwn", "text": "The only thing to realize about LoopNet is that everything that goes into LoopNet is also top of list in CoStar searches and also goes to the thousands (exaggerated, mostly) other websites they've bought.\n\nThat said, CREXI SEO is great.\n\nMight be worth talking to others in your market to see if they have a pref. As I understand it, the crexi system has other addon options (like backtracking users who open pdfs) that LoopNet/CoStar doesn't.\n\nThe CBA product is regional to Wa/ID, but the national platform is Catalyst Commercial Exchange. Often the easiest way to advertise is to do so through your local CRE association, but not req'd.\n\n[Catalyst Commercial Exchange ](http://cre.moodysanalytics.com/products/catylist)\n\nIt really depends on your target audience. For big metros CoStar/LoopNet is a common tool with good data. The further away you go the less the CoStar attachment can mean.\n\nHTH", "replies": [{"id": "iecj9r0", "text": "In so cal for industrial catalyst is the go to. For office it is costar and retail it is loopnet.", "replies": [{"id": "iedyi6k", "text": "do you think office data is now better on costar versus AIR (catalyst)? I always thought AIR was a better resource in office and industrial versus CoStar.", "replies": [{"id": "iedzqjx", "text": "Air has a 60 year history in so cal and everyone uses standard air leases. \n\nFor office? Not really. So much of the office market is Brookfield and Douglas Emmett and other large landlords. And I don\u2019t think those leasing agents are part of air.", "replies": [{"id": "iee1ed9", "text": "&gt;Douglas Emmett\n\nfair enough. From the brokerages you mentioned, it sounds more Los Angeles based. Maybe I have had better experience with AIR because a majority of my business is in Orange County (I haven't come across those owners/brokerages in the (10-50k building range).", "replies": [{"id": "iee247c", "text": "Orange County is Irvine company land and they don\u2019t use costar or air. I am talking more skyscrapers than 2 story offices when I mention using costar. \n\nIf it is lee and associates or voit, it will be in air.", "replies": [{"id": "ieepx2g", "text": "The AIR office data is surprisingly better these days. Don\u2019t use it often but I\u2019ve found listings they have that costar doesn\u2019t, and more accurate active information some times. Very much a case by case scenario but I\u2019ve talked to their research director and since so much industrial is just naturally sent to them, they can put more effort on chasing down office agents. I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s neck and neck yet but it\u2019s steadily getting there.", "replies": [], "depth": 7}], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iecmjxx", "text": "Depends on the area. Tried Crexi when loopnet prices shot up. Changed back after 3 months of very little response.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iecmofc", "text": "Costar is good for pulling up properties and data, you really need to have it if you\u2019re in commercial real estate.\n\nCrexi is great to capture buyers and get your listing attention from buyers, way better than costar for selling. \n\nYou need both, each for different things.", "replies": [{"id": "iecrrwq", "text": "I've seen Crexi expanding on their property record database lately; you can now search any property by address or apn. I imagine they will be able to replace Costar within a year.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iecvh68", "text": "I\u2019m not going to say my credentials because see username. But please read before you do business with CoStar and it\u2019s companies.\n\nYou should know that all LoopNet listings are a contract subscription. You sign up for 3 months or a year. All subscriptions have a built in auto renewal for the same term length you originally signed whether they tell you or not. Their signature ads auto renewal might be a little different but it\u2019s still there.\n\nYou can buy a silver, gold, platinum, or diamond ad. The main difference is you are paying for how pushed up on the list your listing is. The more you pay, the bigger the listing and the higher it lands. The \u201csignature\u201d ads gold, platinum, diamond are a lot more expensive and come with some more perks. (Photo shoots, the plat and diamond get handed off to a team that will curate the photos and verbiage for you)\n\nYou can sign up online or through a sales person. If you sign up online you will immediately be called and told that your listing isnt being seen by very many people and you need to sign up for a higher level ad. If you don\u2019t sign up for it THEY WILL CALL YOUR OWNER and tell them the same thing. If choose to go through the sales person and only go with the lowest level silver listing they will still call your owner to try and convince them to buy a signature ad. You might be asking \u201chow will they get my owners info? I just won\u2019t give it to them.\u201d It is part of their research departments job to find the \u201ctrue owner\u201d and their email and phone number for every property on LoopNet. \n\nYou need to understand that signing up for your listing to be on LoopNet means that you are also signing up for a monthly call from someone in their research department. That call must meet arbitrary requirements that change every couple months. If the requirements aren\u2019t met, you will be called again. If the requirements were met but their system decided to not record it, you will be called again. There is a way to get put on a cycle to be called once every 3 months by \u201cupdating\u201d online but again good luck having their system recognize it and it being consistent.\nAlso if you have never listed with CoStar or LoopNet and you sign up online, please be aware that you have to be vetted before your listing goes live even if you paid for a LoopNet ad. Think the contract starts the day you get vetted? No, it starts the day you sign up so please be ready to take a call from someone in research from a random number to confirm everything that you just filled out on the listing. If you don\u2019t take the call from a random number your listing could spend weeks in limbo while you a paying for it to be on LoopNet until you are confirmed.\nAlso please please please realize that most of the employees in research are recent college graduates (fresh to 5 years out) that couldn\u2019t get a job in their field. I don\u2019t care how much training they are given, the majority are not the \u201cexperts\u201d that CoStar markets them as. Yes, they know the differences in the products. Yes, they see different ads and talk to people with different levels of success with their ads. But most have never sold anything in their life. They can tell you how CoStar thinks is the best way to get views but remember they are not an expert on selling or leasing CRE.\n\nYou should also know that you can have a basic listing on CoStar that doesn\u2019t cost anything except the monthly call I mentioned before. It\u2019s seen by the brokerage community that has a subscription to data in the market your listing is in. I honestly have no idea what the actual number of subscribers is because they change that definition what seems like every couple months. But remember that if they tell you they have 200k subs. That does not mean they have 200k subs that are subscribed to property and listing data in YOUR market and are also actively looking for properties. Also good luck getting a truthful number if you ask. They love to through out these numbers. 200k subs, 30 million active searchers, over a million listings, 83% of all deals. But how many are actually in your city let alone your market?\n\nBefore you sign up for LoopNet please do a search in the city your listing is in and see how many other properties are on the list that comes up. If that list\u2019s first page is big ads with pictures and looks really good. That\u2019s a signature ad. If you are only planning on having the basic silver level, please find where the first ad with the smallest picture shows up and ask yourself is past page 2 worth it? If there are only two other properties, are people actually searching in your immediate area? Ask yourself if you happened across this site and wanted to look at a place to buy or rent, what location are you about to put in the search bar? The city or the small town 30 minutes outside the city? If your property is in that small town and doesn\u2019t fall in CoStar\u2019s defined boundary for that city, good luck with viewers.\n\nIf you do decide to go with LoopNet make sure to go online and edit the listing. There are fields with red asterisks beside them. If those fields aren\u2019t filled out your listing automatically drops below the other listings that do have them filled out. I\u2019m not trying to argue for costar loopnet but if you are going to pay for their service please at least get the most you can out of it. And when you get that monthly call ask the person what you can do to ensure your listing is the highest it can go without paying any more money. Yeah they are going to want more info but most of them will tell you the pedantic requirements CoStar sets and refuse to tell their users to make the listing appear higher.\n\nI can say that from my point of view listings that are going to get leased or sold within the next few months because of their location, price, amenities, etc will also get leased in a timely manner when also listed on LoopNet. A listing on the outskirts of a city/market or the middle of nowhere that isn\u2019t going to be leased or sold for multiple years will also sit with little to no activity on CoStar and LoopNet for multiple years.", "replies": [{"id": "ieczyb8", "text": "Thank you for this very complete rundown, you touched on a lot of concerns that I share", "replies": [{"id": "ied12rm", "text": "No problem. Again not any expert by any means but from my understanding CoStar and LoopNet can be powerful tools but are rarely the magic thing that gets your property leased or sold. It also comes with a continent sized load of baggage most people didn\u2019t get told about. I don\u2019t know anything about Crexi though just to throw that out there.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "iedfe1f", "text": "lol you don't get sued for spewing random shit anonymously on reddit", "replies": [{"id": "iedg0pp", "text": "Take a look at CoStar\u2019s past lawsuits then come back and try to say that with a straight face. You can be sued for anything. Doesn\u2019t matter if you win or lose. Someone can try to sue you and you\u2019ll have to fight it in some way, shape, or form.", "replies": [{"id": "iedg64v", "text": "Never seen a case like CoStsr vs. u/nottrynagetsued", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ied9qqf", "text": "Crexi is a beyond inferior company that gets caught stealing CoStar\u2019s data. \n\nCrexi also garners about 600k unique visitors a month, LoopNet is over 11m. \n\nCrexi also allows fake email/contact info to juice their \u201clead\u201d generation.", "replies": [{"id": "iedo3r7", "text": "found the costar rep, lol.", "replies": [{"id": "iedpasu", "text": "Lol. Broker here. Thought Crexi was going to be good a year ago\u2026 and I love their interface.. then they started calling me every single day to buy CrexiPro for $200 or so a month.. CS and LN are expensive, but work for me.", "replies": [{"id": "ieep92n", "text": "Talked to a broker yesterday who they\u2019ve been hounding for $360/yr and 2 free months. For a year it\u2019s relatively inexpensive. We talked about data quality, not quantity, and he agreed when he told me he has 5 listings in their system, only 1 of them is active, and one in particular sold 3 years ago. It\u2019s just another webscraping wasteland.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}, {"id": "ieeqwoj", "text": "Try finding an institutional investor that uses Crexi\u2026 there aren\u2019t any", "replies": [{"id": "iem1wyf", "text": "I might add that private markets are inefficient (i.e real estate) - data is your competitive advantage. Don\u2019t skimp, go with CoStar", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}, {"id": "iefrw4i", "text": "Yes", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ieddlbi", "text": "I\u2019m in CT as well. Not an agent or broker but my company is looking to buy a 15k sqft + building in the Beacon Falls/Oxford/Naugatuck/Prospect area and inventory is light. Let me know if you happen to have anything!", "replies": [{"id": "iefzd2i", "text": "We are based in lower Fairfield County but we have agents who work up that way, shoot me a DM we\u2019d love to help!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iedjh4k", "text": "Well when it comes to listing your properties, Crexi is free.  If you post to CoStar/ LoopNet only CoStar subscribers can see if you don't pay, posting to LoopNet requires Silver+ which is pretty expensive.  Crexi Pro is a pretty sweet offering since you can see the contact info for everyone who looks at your listing and then reach out to them, in addition to getting extra exposure.  \n\nSo in short, you should be listing on both Crexi and CoStar for sure.  The question is whether you want to pay for Crexi Pro or LoopNet Silver+.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iedtxv9", "text": "I am on team Crexi. I always thought Loopnet/CoStar was way overpriced and made information on commercial properties out of reach of many brokers, tenants, and investors. Competition among commercial listing platforms is healthy and I don\u2019t mind seeing the big boys having to compete. More information and lower costs are good for the market. Go Crexi!", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iee8g1u", "text": "Both are brutal. Take our info then make us pay for it.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iee8njs", "text": "Crexi is gold compared to Loopnet for us. They have really built out the platform with newer additions such as comps and CRM capability.\n\nI\u2019m in net lease investments, and I feel that niche has a larger presence on CREXi, whereas with Loopnet there is more variety. We have both, but pay far too much for Costar considering we don\u2019t need half of the features. I feel, in our niche, we have a far more significant presence on Crexi than Loopnet.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ieeslt1", "text": "I do both. Anything to promote an alternative to costar. Also - you can export CREXI leads that merely viewed your listings and flip then into tenant rep or buyer rep deals.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ieg2r49", "text": "Which platform(s) are the best for generating leads on retail and office leases?", "replies": [{"id": "iegutjl", "text": "That is literally the purpose of the post you are commenting on. Love you.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "if1ml10", "text": "Have you heard of commercialedge.com?\nYou can schedule a live demo and see if it's a tool that you might find useful.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]