Best Online Estate Agents in 2025

Best online estate agents – help and advice

Which is the best online estate agents to sell your property? We all know finding the right estate agent could save you thousands of pounds. So it’s well worth doing some research. That’s where we can help!

What is an online estate agent?

Online estate agents work largely in the same way as traditional estate agents do but they function mostly online. And because they are run from websites and call centres rather than high street branches, with branded fleets of cars and numerous other overheads, they are usually cheaper.

For example, average high street estate agent fees are currently 1.42%. So if you sell a house for £275,000, this would mean estate agent fees of around £3,900.

By comparison, you can sell your house for much less by using an online estate agent. For example, Purple Bricks will sell your house for free, although if you want its full service including hosted viewings, photos and floorplans, Purple Bricks charges £1,499.

Types of online estate agents

Two types of online estate agents have emerged in recent years:

• Online-only estate agents: These require sellers to do most of the work from taking photos, to conducting viewings and negotiating offers.
• Hybrid agencies: Many online-only agencies have developed into hybrid agencies, which means they will now offer things like a photography and floor plan service, hosted viewings and sales progression, often at an extra charge. And many now employ a network of local ‘property experts’ to deliver these services.

Benefits & drawbacks of online estate agents

Here are the pros and cons of online estate agents to consider:

Benefits of online estate agents

• Cost-effective: The main benefit of online estate agents is that fees are generally much lower than high street estate agent fees. This means you could save thousands of pounds in fees by using an online estate agent.
• You’ll get on the main property portals: Most buyers find their properties by scouring portals like Rightmove and Zoopla. So as long as your online estate agency lists your house on there, it’s unlikely you’ll miss out on potential buyers compared to if you use a high street agent.
• More control: You may feel you’re in a better position to highlight the appeal of your home than an estate agent. If this is the case, you may prefer an online estate agent and host your own viewings.

Drawbacks of online estate agents

• Paying up front: You’ll normally pay online estate agent fees up front which means you’ll have to pay whether or not you sell. By comparison, high street estate agents usually offer a no sale, no fee service. Some online estate agents do offer no sale, no fee options, although you’ll usually need to pay more for this.
• Local knowledge: Even online agents with ‘local property experts’ often aren’t local enough to know your area and your road well enough to value it accurately. They’ll likely value your house using online data and are unlikely to have the local expertise a high street agent has. It’s advisable to get estate agent valuations from a few local agents as well as the valuation the online agent provides.
• Time commitment: Managing things like arranging and conducting viewings – if you don’t want to pay to have these hosted – can be time consuming.
• Sales progression and negotiation: High street agents are incentivised to get you to exchange of contracts, as they’ll usually only get their fee if the sale goes through. By comparison, with online estate agents you’ll usually pay your fee up front. Also, depending on your negotiation skills, a high street agent may be able to achieve a higher sale price than you or your online estate agent.

Find out more in our guide Should I use an online estate agent?

Online vs high street estate agents: what’s best?

In your search for the best online estate agents it’s important to be clear about how online and high street agents differ:

When it comes to deciding whether to sell your house online, it will come down to personal choice. We have had hundreds of homeowners come to us over the years burnt by their negative experience of selling with a high street estate agent and feeling ripped-off by the large percentage commission fee they paid. While others are convinced you get what you pay for and that their home would never have sold for as much or so quickly without their high street agent. In the end, it often comes down to the services being offered and fees involved, so let’s look at these next.

5 best online estate agents

Here’s a summary of the 5 best online estate agents on the market today:

YOPA

With fees starting at £999, (or £1,499) in London, YOPA gives you a dedicated local estate agent plus you can manage viewings & offers 24/7 via online dashboard. All packages include listings on property portals, photographs, negotiation and sales progression. And it offers more comprehensive packages that offer services like unlimited agent hosted viewings, a Virtual Tour and featured listings on Rightmove & Zoopla. You can opt to Pay Later and Yopa also offers no sale, no fee packages.

Yopa pros and cons

Pros:

• Buyer reach: Your property will be listed on Rightmove, Zoopla and PrimeLocation
• Extras are included: Photos and floorplans are included and so are hosted viewings, except in the most basic package.
• High sold prices: Average sale price achieved is 98% of asking price
• Customer satisfaction: TrustPilot rating of 4.4/5

Cons:

• Lack of clarity: Yopa offers a No sale, no fee service but it’s not clear how much this costs. Yopa says ‘Ask your agent for details as prices vary.’
• Strings attached: Yopa gives you the option to ‘Pay later’ for its fixed fee services, this means fees are payable ‘after ten months or when you sell your home, whichever comes first’. But this is only available if you use its partner service Optimus to find your conveyancer.

What customers say about Yopa:

Here are some recent comments about Yopa from TrustPilot: ‘5 star service’, ‘Professional, friendly, knowledgeable and approachable staff and company’ and ‘excellent service.’

Purplebricks

Purplebricks is the UK’s biggest online estate agent – but does that make them the best? In addition to their free package, they offer a Boost package for £899 with enhanced professional photos, virtual tour and premium Rightmove listing and a Full House package for £1499 which includes a hosted viewings package.

Purplebricks pros and cons

Pros:

• You can sell for free: Although while it says the free package includes ‘a listing on one of the UK’s top property portals’, this doesn’t mean Rightmove. You’ll need to pay more for that.
• Flexibility: Offers a range of packages at different price points and a number of optional extras so you can decide exactly what services you want and are prepared to pay for.
• High sold prices: Average sale price achieved is 97% of asking price.

Cons

• Mixed reviews: TrustPilot gives it an average score of 3.7/5. While over 80% of customers rate is as 5 star, there are a number of negative ones bringing the score down.
• Are the benefits worth it? Purplebrick’s £899 Boost package says it includes ‘Expert mortgage advice from the team at Purplebricks Mortgages for just £149† – a saving of £150’. This may give the impression that mortgage advice is something you need to pay for. This isn’t the case as there are fee-free mortgage brokers available.
• Expensive EPCs: Purplebricks offers an optional extra of an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for £119, saying ‘an EPC can be a make-it-or-break-it factor when it comes to your new home.’ However, if your property doesn’t have a valid EPC and you need one, you can save money by shopping around. Find our more in our guide What is an EPC? And do I need one when selling a house?

What customers say about Purplebricks:

Here are some recent comments about Purplebricks from TrustPilot: Comments range from 5 star reviews like ‘Fantastic, professional and friendly service throughout’ and ‘excellent way to sell your house’ to 1 star reviews such as one saying ‘don’t bother’.

Emoov (Formerly Griffin Property Co)

Emoov offers the ‘Emoov Now’ package for £295, which includes listings on all major property portals but after the first month you’ll need to pay to stay listed on Rightmove (£25 pm). They advertise a free package but it doesn’t include advertising on any of the major portals. You’ll have a sales consultant, control over viewings access to its messaging service. You can pay for premium upgrades including photography, property particulars, floor plan and completion management. Plus, a pay on completion package is available. Find out more in the dropdown box of our compare online estate agents comparison table above.

Emoov pros and cons

Pros:

• Cheap: the basic Emoov Now package is just £295 to feature on all the marjor portals and you add the extras you want. Even with the £200 photography add-on, its price of £495 is cheaper than other competitors offering similar packages.
• Low cost pay on completion option: Its £795 Pay on Completion package includes sales progression and completion management.
• High customer satisfaction rating: Emoov has a 4.6/5 rating on TrustPilot.
• Sold prices achieved: Average sale price achieved is 98% of asking price

Cons

• Is it really free? Emoov advertise a free option but in reality you need to upgrade to the basic £295 package if you want to list your property on the portals.
• Fees may increase: If you choose the pay up front or pay on completion option, Emoov says you’ll get access to all portals – Rightmove, Zoopla, On The Market and Prime Location. However, only your first month is free on Rightmove, after that you’ll pay £25 pcm.
• Pay extra for sales progression: You’ll need to pay a £100 fee for completion management, unless you choose the most expensive package.

What customers say about Emoov:

Here are some recent comments about Emoov on TrustPilot. ‘Great simple estate agents’, ‘quick easy and effective’ and ‘great service and I save thousands in agent fees’.

99home

99home is an online platform for property sellers, buyers, tenants, and landlords. You can sell your home for free or choose from a range of fixed fee packages from £99 up to its £1199 High Street package which offers a full service including accompanied viewings (limited to 10).

It also offers a full service no sale no fee option costing 1.2% incl VAT commission. Find out more in the dropdown box of our compare online estate agents comparison table above.

Pros and cons of 99home

Pros

• Best customer satisfaction levels: 99home has the highest TrustPilot rating of our featured online estate agents at 4.8/5
• Sold prices achieved: Average sale price achieved is 98% of asking price
• User friendly: A handy table sets out exactly what’s included in each package.
• Wide choice of packages including a no sale no fee high street equivalent

Cons

• Is it really free? 99home advertise a free option but this only includes being listed on the 99homes website, a valuation and ‘instant enquiry SMS and email alerts’. Realistically you’ll need to pay at least £99 in order for buyers to see your house.
• Expensive no sale, no fee option: With 99home’s most comprehensive no sale, no fee package, fees are based on a percentage of your sale price – you’ll pay 1.2%. So you won’t necessarily save money by selling via them rather than a traditional estate agent.

What customers are saying about 99home

Here are some recent comments about 99home on Trustpilot: ‘The team are professional courteous knowledgeable and extremely attentive that helps me feel confident that the sell is in good hands’ and ‘fair, honest and reliable team’

Visum

With fees starting at £49 per month (+ a one-off £80 fee for anti-money laundering checks), you carry out your own viewings and pay for the services you need such as professional photos and floor plans. With the Basic (£49/mo) and Plus (£84/mo) packages, you’ll pay a monthly fee. Or you may choose the Premium package (£479) which includes 6 months’ marketing and a Rightmove Premium listing.

Visum pros and cons

Pros:

• You can pay as you go, so if you sell quickly your fees will be lower.
• If you’re happy to do your own viewings and take your own photographs, this could be a cheap option
• Average sale price achieved is 98% of asking price

Cons:

• You’ll need to pay a one-off £80 fee for anti-money laundering checks
• If you take longer to find a buyer, fees will increase
• No option for hosted viewings

What customers say about Visum:

Here are some recent comments about Visum from TrustPilot:

There are lots of 5 star reviews with comments like, ‘A really intuitive user friendly web portal that enables a property to be listed quickly’. But there are some negative reviews bringing down the average score to 4/5.

Which is best – an online estate agent or high street?

Now that you’ve looked at some of the best online estate agents operating right now, it’s time to double back and be clear what you’re getting and not getting by going online.

The benefits of using online estate agents include:

• Lower fees: You’ll usually pay less for an online agent but that’s not always the case. Read on to find out more about how to compare online estate agent fees
• More convenient: Online estate agents often have call centres that are open in the evenings and weekends which means it can be easier to get in contact. Plus you’ll be able to check progress on the website and sometimes an app too. This can be a useful feature to consider when you compare online estate agents.
• Pay for what you need: Many online estate agents let you pick from a range of packages or offer a basic package and you can add on whatever extras you want. So when you compare online estate agents, take this into account.
• However, you’ll typically pay online estate agent fees up front – this means you’ll have to pay whether or not you sell. And while some online estate agents offer no sale, no fee packages, you’ll usually need to pay more for these.

What to watch out for with online estate agents

• May lack local knowledge: One major benefit of High street agents is they should know their patch inside out. This can be difficult to compete with even if your online estate agent uses a local property expert.
• Will you have to do the leg work? Find out if the online estate agent will negotiate on offers and progress your sale to completion. If they don’t this can be stressful. So consider this carefully when you compare online estate agents.
• What about viewings: Usually, unless you pay for a more expensive package you’ll have to conduct viewings yourself. So think how you feel about this when you compare online estate agents.

How to compare online estate agents – 9 things to consider

Found the best online estate agent? What next?

Once you’ve found the best online estate agent, here are your next steps:

Get the right valuation

Your online estate agent will give you a valuation but you’ll need to do your own research to determine whether you believe it’s right. Start by using our instant online valuation tool. Then ask three local high street estate agents to value your home; they should know the local housing market better than anyone else so should be well-equipped to give you a realistic valuation. Also, they may convince you not to go with an online agent! Find more information in our guide How much can I sell my house for?

Find the best performing high street estate agent with our Best Estate Agent Finder

Get your EPC

You’ll need an energy performance certificate (EPC), which ranks your home’s energy efficiency, when selling your home. You may already have a valid EPC and it’s easy to find out by checking the government’s EPC register in England and Wales. For properties in Scotland check the Scottish EPC register and similarly the Northern Ireland EPC register. Find more information in our guide What is an EPC? And do I need one when selling a house?

Prepare your home for sale

Spend time improving the appearance of your home. Tidy away clutter, consider giving it a fresh coat of neutral paint, fix anything that needs mending like a broken fence and clean your home until it sparkles. Giving the best impression may boost your home’s value and mean you get a quicker sale too. Read our guide Tips to make your home more valuable and sell faster.

Start marketing your property

Depending on what your chosen online estate agent offers, they’ll usually arrange for an agent to take photographs of your home and create floor plans. They’ll then either write your property details for you to check or you can write them yourself using their online system. Once this is finalised your property can go live the major portals.

Hire a conveyancing solicitor 

You’ll need a conveyancing solicitor to handle the legal work involved in selling a property. You’ll speed up the selling process if you get your conveyancer in place before you accept an offer then formally instruct them once you’ve agreed an offer.

Get an overview of how much conveyancing fees cost in our guide and see our list of questions to ask your conveyancer. And don’t just choose the conveyancer recommended by your estate agent, there can be a hefty referral fee added to your bill. See Should I use my Estate Agents’ Solicitor?

Find the right conveyancing solicitor for you – compare quotes & ratings instantly

Work out your finances

If you are selling a house with a mortgage, check your mortgage paperwork or speak to your lender to find out whether it is possible to take it with you to a new property –  known as porting. If you’re planning to move to a more expensive property or your mortgage deal is coming to an end, this may be a great opportunity to remortgage to a better deal. Speak to our fee-free mortgage partners to see how much you can borrow and which lender will offer you the best deal

Conduct viewings and seek feedback

Unless you’ve chosen an online estate agent package that includes hosted viewings, you’ll be conducting these yourself. So try to be as flexible as possible. Also, find out how you’ll receive feedback. Will the online estate agent ask for this or will you need to follow up directly with the potential buyer afterwards?

Offer negotiation

When an offer is made, the online agent should vet the applicant to make sure they have the funds in place and they are in a position to purchase your property. The agent should pass all this information on and guide you through the process of negotiating and accepting an offer. If you would rather be in charge of this process yourself, you can speak to the buyer direct to negotiate. Selling online should give you that flexibility. Read further advice on Buying position explained.  

Also, with 1 in 3 property sales falling through, you may want to consider Home Sellers Protection Insurance which provides some cover for your legal fees.

Manage the chain

Good estate agents should help with sales progression through to completion. However, with online estate agents, this service isn’t always included. So decide what is important to you when appointing an online estate agent. Make sure if you want to be hands off that they will step up and drive things forward. Read further advice in our guide How do I break the housing chain?

Exchange and completion

Exchanging contracts is the point at which the sale becomes legally binding and is largely in the hands of your conveyancing solicitor. You and the buyer should agree the date of completion – the day the money is transferred and your home is sold – in advance. If you’ve paid your online estate agent fees up-front there won’t be any hefty commission fees to pay at this point. So it’s time to crack open the champagne!

Find more information in our guide to selling your house online. We’ve covered everything so you get the most out of your online estate agent.

Frequently Asked Questions