These two are closer to each other than either is to ShowingTime. Both are bought directly by the agent, both skip the enterprise rollout, and both exist because the incumbent got expensive and complicated.
Instashowing positions itself as a simpler, more affordable ShowingTime alternative with no annual contracts. That is a fair description of Showing Bell too, so the useful comparison is not the pitch. It is the design decisions underneath.
Two differences drive most of it: who the product treats as the decision-maker, and which kinds of property it assumes.
| Instashowing | Showing Bell | |
|---|---|---|
| Purchased by | The agent, directly | The agent, directly |
| Default approver | Agent-side workflow | The seller, by text |
| Seller account required | Varies | Never |
| Automatic approval chasing | Varies | Built in at 4 and 8 hours |
| Land and vacant parcels | Supported | First-class |
| Short-term rental calendar sync | Not offered | Airbnb and VRBO iCal |
| Coverage | Broad US | Idaho only |
| Entry price | See their site | $9.99 a month |
Comparisons reflect each product’s publicly described model as of August 2026. Products change. Check the vendor directly before deciding, and treat any competitor page, including this one, as an interested party.
Showing Bell’s default is that the seller approves, from a text message, with no account. Everything else follows from that: the reminder ladder that chases an unresponsive seller, the fallback to your team when a listing has no seller contact on file, and the alert you get when your seller has gone quiet twice.
If you would rather keep approval on your side, you can. Set the listing to team approval or to confirm automatically. But the seller-first path is the one that got the most attention.
Showing Bell does not assume a house. Land with a locked gate, commercial, new construction before the MLS entry, and short-term rentals with live booking calendars are all first-class. The Airbnb and VRBO iCal sync in particular is unusual: booked nights block themselves and the checkout evening opens on its own once the cleaning window passes.
Showing Bell is Idaho only right now, and listing creation enforces that. That is a real limitation if you sell somewhere else, and it is deliberate: the defaults, the reminder timing, and the property cases come from working listing agents in this state.
If you are outside Idaho, Instashowing and the other direct-purchase tools are the ones to look at.
If you sell outside Idaho, this is decided for you. Inside Idaho, the question is whether your sellers should be approving their own showings and whether you carry property that is not a standard house. Yes to either points at Showing Bell. No to both means the two products will feel similar and you should pick on price and interface.
Not today. Listing creation locks the property state to Idaho. The product was built by Idaho listing agents for Idaho conditions and we would rather say no than serve a market we do not understand yet.
Showing Bell starts at $9.99 a month for one active listing, with every feature included on every plan and a 30-day free trial. Check Instashowing directly for their current pricing rather than trusting a number on a competitor page.
No. Each listing can route approval to the seller, to your team, or confirm automatically. Seller approval is the default because it is the thing that actually gets you out of the middle, but it is a per-listing setting.
Thirty days free, no contract, and nothing to uninstall if it is not for you.
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