We sell one of these, so read accordingly. What follows is our best attempt at the real trade-offs rather than a scorecard we designed to win.
Not features. Distribution. Showing platforms are either sold to your MLS or your brokerage and handed down to you, or sold to you directly. Everything else follows from that.
Handed down means it is already paid for, most agents in your market know it, and listing data populates itself from the MLS. It also means the configuration is not yours, the roadmap is not aimed at you, and the property types outside standard MLS residential are second-class.
Bought directly means you decide, you can start this afternoon, and it works on any property. It also means you pay for it, you enter the listing details, and the buyer agent on the other end has not seen it before.
If your MLS includes a showing platform and every listing you carry is a standard house with a lockbox on it, the honest answer is to use what you already have. The direct-purchase tools exist for the cases that arrangement handles badly.
The category standard, owned by Zillow Group since 2021 and distributed mostly through MLSs and associations. Strongest where you need a staffed appointment center and deep MLS integration on high-volume residential. Weakest on anything that is not that, and the data question is a real one given who owns it. Full comparison.
Brokerage and board oriented, with office management and roster features alongside showings. The right answer if you are a brokerage or your board already deployed it. An awkward fit for an individual agent who wants something running today. Full comparison.
A direct-purchase alternative positioned on simpler pricing and no annual contracts. Philosophically the closest to Showing Bell, and available well beyond Idaho, which we are not. Full comparison.
ShowMojo and Tenant Turner are built for leasing and self-showings with smart-lock access. If you are filling rentals rather than selling homes, that is a different product category and those are the ones to look at.
Bought directly, seller-first, and built for the listings other systems assume away. Your seller approves from a text with no account. No MLS integration and no lockbox required, so land, commercial, and pre-MLS new construction work the same as a house. Airbnb and VRBO calendar sync for listings that still rent nightly. Idaho only, which is the real limitation. From $9.99 a month.
It depends on how you get it. If your MLS already includes ShowingTime and all your listings are standard residential, you are unlikely to beat free-with-your-dues. If you are paying out of pocket, carry land or vacation rentals, or want your seller to approve their own showings, a direct-purchase tool like Showing Bell fits better and starts at $9.99 a month.
The value is not volume, it is interruption. Even two listings generate calls at inconvenient times and a relay between the buyer agent and your seller. One listing on Showing Bell is $9.99 a month, which is priced for exactly that situation.
Yes. MLS integration saves you typing the listing details and nothing else. Showing Bell has no MLS dependency, which is why it works the same on land, commercial, pocket listings, and new construction that has not been entered yet.
Worth asking each vendor directly. ShowingTime is owned by Zillow Group, which also runs a consumer marketplace. Showing Bell has no marketplace and no lead resale, so showing records exist only for you and your seller.
One listing, thirty days, no card charged until day 30 and no contract after it.
Solo plans start at $9.99 a month. No contracts. Cancel anytime.