RealNex vs Buildout Pricing and Key Features for CRE Brokers (2026)
RealNex and Buildout are the two most head-to-head competitive platforms in commercial real estate broker software. Both are purpose-built for CRE. Both combine CRM, marketing, and transaction management. And both are priced in the same general ballpark - which is exactly why the comparison matters.
The differences are real, and they're consequential depending on your team size, deal volume, and where you want the platform to do heavy lifting for you.
Pricing Side by Side
| Tier | RealNex | Buildout |
|---|---|---|
| Entry / CRM only | ~$99/user/mo (basic) | ~$85/user/mo (Manage & Close) |
| Mid tier (CRM + marketing + analytics) | ~$149/user/mo (Navigator) | ~$125/user/mo |
| Full suite with AI prospecting | N/A - Navigator is full suite | ~$149/user/mo (AI Research tier) |
| Full platform | ~$149/user/mo max | ~$199/user/mo |
| Email included | 200/user/mo (basic) / 1,000/user/mo (Navigator) | Varies by plan |
| Free trial | Yes | No |
The practical pricing reality: RealNex's Navigator plan at ~$149/user/mo is their most comprehensive offering and represents good value for small teams. Buildout's full suite at ~$199/user/mo is higher-priced but includes AI-powered capabilities that Navigator doesn't match.
For a 5-person team:
- RealNex Navigator: ~$745/month total
- Buildout full suite: ~$995/month total
- Delta: ~$250/month ($3,000/year)
At the deal sizes CRE brokers work with, a $3,000/year cost differential is less than the commission from a single small deal. The question is whether Buildout's capabilities justify the premium - and for most active brokerages, they do.
What RealNex Navigator Actually Includes
RealNex Navigator is an all-in-one CRE productivity suite that bundles:
CRM:
- Contact and company management (CRE-native, not adapted from generic CRM)
- Deal pipeline with stage tracking
- Task and calendar management with automated follow-up reminders
- Mobile app for field access
- Web portal for client collaboration - share property details, compare spaces, rate options
Marketing:
- Email marketing (1,000 emails/user/month on Navigator)
- Property presentation builder (tour books, proposals)
- Listing management
Analytics:
- Financial analysis tools for property valuation and deal modeling
- YTD performance tracking
- Deal pipeline reporting
Transaction management:
- Tour book generation
- Landlord inquiry alerts
- Deal pipeline activity tracking
G2 rating: 4.2/5 from 16 verified reviews - consistently praised for CRE-specific functionality, mobile app quality, and transaction management depth.
RealNex's strongest use cases:
- Solo broker or 2 - 3 person team managing a steady deal pipeline
- Tenant rep brokers who need collaborative tools for client-facing deal evaluation
- Brokers who need financial analysis built into the same platform as their CRM
- Teams that want a free trial before committing
What Buildout Full Suite Actually Includes (Post-March 2026 CRM Launch)
Buildout completed its "AI-powered end-to-end deal engine" in March 2026 with the launch of its CRM module. The full Buildout Suite now includes:
AI Research & Prospecting (~$149/user/mo tier):
- AI-powered property ownership research
- Unlocked owner contact data (direct competition with CoStar contact products)
- Property valuations
- Mobile and desktop access
CRM (new March 2026):
- Property-centric contact and company management
- Automated deal playbooks
- Approval workflows
- Digital deal sheets
- Role-based visibility (broker / marketer / finance)
- Shared source of truth across team
Marketing Automation:
- Automated OM and flyer generation
- Listing syndication
- Email marketing campaigns
- Property website generation
- This is Buildout's original core strength - still best-in-class
Transaction Management (~$85/user/mo Manage & Close tier):
- Full deal lifecycle management
- Commission management
- YTD earning reports
- Personal payout dashboards
- Brokerage operation platform
Buildout's strongest use cases:
- Brokerage teams of 3+ where marketing output needs to scale
- Teams that want AI-powered prospecting to reduce CoStar dependence
- Brokerages where deal pipeline visibility at a team level is critical
- Operations leaders who need standardized deal playbooks and commission reporting
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | RealNex Navigator | Buildout Full Suite |
|---|---|---|
| CRE-native CRM | Yes Mature, battle-tested | Yes New (March 2026) but property-centric |
| Contact + company management | Yes | Yes |
| Deal pipeline | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes Strong | Yes |
| Client collaboration portal | Yes (compare spaces, rate options) | Limited |
| Email marketing | Yes 1,000/user/mo | Yes Varies by plan |
| Marketing automation (OMs, flyers) | Basic | Yes Best-in-class |
| Listing syndication | Limited | Yes Strong |
| AI prospecting + owner data | No | Yes ($149/mo tier) |
| Property valuations | Yes Basic | Yes AI-enhanced |
| Financial analysis / modeling | Yes - built in | Limited |
| Commission management | Limited | Yes Strong |
| Automated deal playbooks | No | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | No |
| G2 rating | 4.2/5 | Not listed |
| Best team size | Solo - 5 | 3 - 100+ |
The Honest Assessment
Where RealNex Wins
Financial analysis: RealNex has deeper built-in financial modeling tools than Buildout. For investment sales brokers who need to run DCF analysis, IRR projections, and comparative property valuations inside their CRM, RealNex is the better tool. Buildout is not a financial analysis platform.
Tenant rep collaboration: RealNex's client-facing web portal - where tenants can compare spaces, rate options, and collaborate with their broker - is a genuine differentiator for tenant rep brokers. Buildout's property-centric model is optimized for the landlord/listing side.
Free trial: RealNex offers a free trial; Buildout does not. For solo brokers evaluating their first serious CRE CRM, the ability to test before committing is meaningful.
Price: At ~$149/user/mo for Navigator vs. ~$199/user/mo for Buildout's full suite, RealNex is 25% cheaper for comparable functionality on a per-user basis.
Where Buildout Wins
Marketing automation: No platform in CRE matches Buildout for automated marketing output. If your brokerage produces OM packages, property flyers, listing emails, and property websites at scale, Buildout's automation is the largest time-saving tool in the market.
AI prospecting: Buildout's $149/mo AI Research tier includes unlocked owner contact data and AI-powered prospecting - features that previously required a separate CoStar or Reonomy subscription. For teams spending $300 - 600/user/mo on data subscriptions, Buildout's AI tier may be cost-neutral or positive.
Team-level pipeline visibility: Buildout's property-centric CRM is built for how CRE deals actually work - where multiple brokers touch the same deal, where deal status needs to be visible at a brokerage level. RealNex is more individually focused.
Commission and operations management: Buildout's commission dashboards, approval workflows, and YTD reporting are built for brokerage ops leaders. RealNex doesn't have equivalent capabilities at the brokerage administration level.
The Switching Cost Reality
Both platforms have meaningful switching costs:
- Data migration (contacts, deal history) requires effort
- Team retraining takes 2 - 4 weeks
- Workflow rebuilding (email templates, marketing templates) is significant in Buildout
The implication: Choose deliberately. If you're a solo broker on RealNex and growing, the right time to evaluate Buildout is before you hire your next two brokers - not after.
Which One Is Right for You?
Choose RealNex if:
- You're a solo broker or 1 - 3 person team
- You do investment sales and need built-in financial modeling
- You're a tenant rep broker who values the client collaboration portal
- You want to try before you buy
- Budget is a constraint
Choose Buildout if:
- You have 3+ brokers on your team
- Marketing output (OMs, flyers, listing emails) is a meaningful time cost for your team
- You want AI-powered prospecting to reduce data subscription costs
- You need brokerage-level commission reporting and pipeline visibility
- You're building a scalable brokerage operation and want one platform to grow into
Neither platform handles financing. That's what YieldStack is for - AI-powered matching to bridge lenders, DSCR lenders, construction lenders, and permanent capital, with no broker fee and no retainer. Your CRM manages relationships. YieldStack handles the capital stack.
-> Match your deal to the right lender at /tools/lender-match