Realty SoftwareWhen your real estate team outgrows a basic spreadsheet and the pressure to capture, nurture, and convert online leads becomes serious, the shortlist almost always narrows to two names: BoomTown and Lofty (formerly Chime). Both are all-in-one platforms that bundle a CRM, IDX-powered website, and lead-nurture marketing into a single subscription. But their philosophies — and their price tags — are meaningfully different. BoomTown is built for high-volume brokerages willing to pay for enterprise-grade predictive intelligence. Lofty pitches itself as the more accessible, AI-driven platform for growing teams that want one vendor instead of five. Choosing between them is a real decision with real money on the line, and this guide cuts through the marketing to help you make it.
Quick verdict
BoomTown wins for large brokerages with serious ad budgets, dedicated inside-sales teams, and a need for enterprise-level predictive CRM. Lofty is the better fit for mid-size teams that want a modern, AI-assisted all-in-one platform at a lower entry cost. If you are a solo agent, neither platform is the right tool — both are overkill and overpriced for a one-person operation. See the full BoomTown vs Lofty comparison breakdown below.
BoomTown overview
BoomTown has been a fixture at the enterprise end of the real estate tech market for well over a decade. Originally a pure lead generation platform, it evolved into a full CRM and marketing suite that today includes IDX-enabled lead-capture websites, automated email and text campaigns, a mobile CRM app, and its signature predictive analytics engine — which scores and surfaces the contacts in your database most likely to transact in the near term.
The feature that sets BoomTown apart from almost every competitor is Success Assurance, an optional add-on where BoomTown's own staff of inside sales agents contact, qualify, and warm up inbound leads before handing them off to your agents. For brokerages that struggle with lead follow-up speed or that lack a dedicated ISA team, it is a compelling value proposition. The downside is cost: BoomTown's pricing starts at approximately $1,000 per month, and total spend climbs quickly when you add advertising management fees, MLS pass-through costs, and optional add-ons. Real-world deployments for mid-to-large brokerages often run $2,500–$3,300 or more per month. Twelve-month annual contracts are standard, and BoomTown does not publish pricing publicly — all plans require a sales call and custom quote.
One notable gap: BoomTown does not include native transaction management. Teams need a separate tool — such as dotloop or Skyslope — to handle contract-to-close workflows, which adds cost and complexity compared to platforms that bundle this feature.
Lofty overview
Lofty launched under the name Chime and rebranded in 2023 after being acquired by Inside Real Estate. As of 2026 it serves more than 70,000 real estate professionals. The platform bundles a CRM, IDX website builder, email and SMS marketing automation, a social media content scheduler called Social Studio, and an AI assistant that autonomously responds to new leads, runs SmartPlans follow-up sequences, and books appointments — all from a single dashboard.
Lofty's pricing is more accessible than BoomTown's on paper. Individual agent plans start around $449 per month, while team and broker plans scale upward based on user count. Exact pricing requires a demo, but Lofty is generally positioned below BoomTown's enterprise tier. The AI layer is Lofty's primary differentiator — it can engage leads via email and text around the clock, reducing the need for a dedicated inside sales agent, and it routes hot leads to agents automatically. Lofty also includes basic transaction tracking to move deals from contract to close without switching apps, which BoomTown lacks natively.
The tradeoffs are real. The mobile app has historically lagged the web platform in feature parity and usability. Agents who want highly customized website designs will find Lofty's template library constraining — you get polished options, but not a blank canvas. And the CRM's workflow automation, while solid, is considered less flexible than dedicated CRM platforms like Follow Up Boss for power users who rely heavily on complex action plans.
Head-to-head
| Feature | BoomTown | Lofty (formerly Chime) |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | ~$1,000/mo (custom quote required) | ~$449/mo agent plan (custom for teams) |
| Contract terms | Annual (12-month standard) | Annual (standard) |
| IDX website included | Yes | Yes |
| Predictive analytics | Yes — core differentiator | Basic lead scoring only |
| AI lead nurture | Success Assurance (staffed ISAs, optional add-on) | Built-in AI assistant, included |
| Transaction management | No — requires third-party tool | Yes — basic, built-in |
| Social media tools | Limited | Yes — Social Studio included |
| Pricing transparency | Not public; demo required | Not public; demo required |
| Best for | Large brokerages with high ad spend | Growing teams wanting AI-driven all-in-one |
Pros and cons
BoomTown
- Pro: Predictive CRM automatically surfaces contacts most likely to close in the near term — a genuine time-saver for databases of thousands of leads.
- Pro: Success Assurance is one of the only managed ISA services integrated directly into a real estate platform, and it can materially improve lead conversion for brokerages without in-house ISA staff.
- Pro: Proven at enterprise scale — battle-tested with many high-volume brokerages and consistently ranks among top platforms for large team use cases.
- Pro: Strong IDX website, robust ad management tools, and deep lead attribution reporting in one ecosystem.
- Con: Starting cost of ~$1,000/mo is just the floor — real-world spend at team scale regularly reaches $2,500–$3,300+/mo, making it one of the most expensive options in the category.
- Con: Annual contracts are standard, and multiple user reviews flag limited flexibility for teams whose business or headcount changes mid-term.
- Con: No native transaction management; you will pay for and maintain a separate tool to handle contract-to-close workflows, adding both cost and a context switch for agents.
- Con: Pricing lacks upfront transparency, and some users report discovering fees after signing that were not clearly communicated during the sales process.
Lofty (formerly Chime)
- Pro: Genuinely all-in-one: CRM, IDX website, AI lead assistant, email and SMS marketing, social content scheduling, and basic transaction management under a single login.
- Pro: Built-in AI engagement works around the clock, reducing or eliminating the need for a separate ISA hire or third-party AI chat add-on.
- Pro: Lower entry price than BoomTown, particularly for individual agents and smaller teams, making it a more viable step up from a bare-bones CRM.
- Pro: Active product development cadence; Lofty has shipped frequent AI feature updates since the rebrand and continues expanding the platform.
- Con: Team and broker plans escalate significantly with headcount — the all-in-one price advantage over BoomTown narrows for organizations with 20 or more agents.
- Con: The mobile app consistently draws criticism for lagging the desktop experience in usability and feature completeness, which matters for agents working in the field.
- Con: IDX website templates are limited in design flexibility — teams with a strong brand identity or custom design requirements will feel constrained by the available options.
- Con: CRM workflow depth and action-plan flexibility are less mature than dedicated CRM platforms; power users sometimes find automation options more rigid than alternatives.
Which should you choose?
Solo agents: Neither BoomTown nor Lofty makes economic sense at solo scale. BoomTown's entry cost is simply too high, and Lofty's agent plan — while lower — bundles team and brokerage features you will never use alone. A lighter CRM like Wise Agent or Top Producer will serve you better at a fraction of the price.
Small to mid-size teams (2–15 agents): Lofty is the stronger default here. Its AI assistant covers the ISA gap without hiring, the bundled site and marketing tools reduce your vendor count, and the price point is more proportionate to a team's revenue at this scale. Evaluate whether Lofty's built-in transaction tracking meets your compliance needs or whether you will still need a dedicated tool — if the latter, factor that cost into your comparison.
High-volume teams and brokerages (15+ agents, serious PPC spend): This is BoomTown's home turf. If your team is spending $5,000–$20,000 or more per month on online leads, the predictive engine and Success Assurance service can pay for themselves by improving lead conversion rates before they even reach your agents. The higher base cost is more justifiable at this scale, and BoomTown's enterprise support and reporting depth match the operational complexity of a large brokerage.
Brokerages with a distinct brand identity: Neither platform is ideal if a fully custom website is a priority. BoomTown delivers a polished but standardized IDX site; Lofty's templates are similarly constrained. Organizations with strong brand requirements may be better served by pairing a flexible standalone CRM with a purpose-built real estate website platform.
Ultimately, the decision comes down to two questions: how large is your lead volume, and how much internal staff do you have to work it? BoomTown is the better fit when both numbers are high and you need enterprise infrastructure to match. Lofty wins when you want AI to do more of the heavy lifting and value a tighter, lower-overhead software stack.
Ready to go deeper? Explore the full BoomTown listing and the Lofty listing on Realty Software, or view the detailed BoomTown vs Lofty feature comparison to see how they stack up on every dimension that matters for your business.