The Best Propstream Alternatives (Free and Paid)

Some are more geared to list building and some are closer to an outbound contact platform. Get a brief idea of what each product is capable of and how it is similar as well as different from PropStream.

Free Propstream Alternatives

1. Escrow or Title Company

If you are on a tight budget and don't want to dish out money each month then you can try going to your title or escrow company.  Many of them will give you lists for free or at least at a very low price.  They want you to use them when you buy and sell so it's in their interest to help you find properties.  Obviously, there aren't any bells and whistles with just a list but with a little bit of work and excel you will be able to get something reasonable, at least until you get a deal or two under your belt and some money to get some of the below competitors to Propstream.

2. List Source

First up is one of the original data providers for not just the real estate industry, but many others as well.  List Source is owned by core logic and has extensive knowledge of data.  Many companies actually buy their data from list sources and bring it into their own products and services.  Although it's not technically free, it isn't a monthly ongoing subscription.

List Source has a robust database of property information.  If you need a ton of data points on a property, it likely has the most info among all the sites in this list.  That being said, providing data is pretty much all that it does.  Unlike any of the other services that will be mentioned here, its core function is to provide the data and not much else.

It does this better than any other service, but unless you are good with Excel or database manipulation, it will be more difficult to sift through your data.  It is, however, the most robust source and there are many data points that you can get (at a cost of course) that the other services just can't match.  Its a list builder so not a true competitor to Propstream but still, it gets the job done.

Top Propstream Competitors

1. Batch Leads

Possibly the most similar product to PropStream is Batch Leads.  Batch Leads has become one of the fastest-growing data providers in the real estate industry. 

How PropStream Is Similar to Batch Leads

The two apps overlap in several areas. Most of the things you can do in one you can do in the other, although sometimes it's an addon depending on which feature.

Property Search

Add a single property or add multiple.  Both programs make it easy to look up information on properties that are added to their database, whether you pull them from their data or add/import them from another source.

Nationwide Comps

Comparables are important and both products do this well.  You get access to nationwide comps.  In the past, PropStream had the upper hand, but with the addition of new filters, Batch has closed the gap.  They both do a great job of helping figure out what the value of any property should be.

Property and Owner Information

Each app reports quite a bit of data for properties added to its database.  Data points such as vacant, absentee, listed on MLS, equity, and many more.  

Other Features

Both companies provide solutions for skip tracing and direct mail.  We won't go into too much detail because the pricing on these services as well as the quality constantly changes, but it's a great idea to check the current features and rates on either before choosing one.

How PropStream Differs From Batch Leads

Features That Only Batch Has

Text message capabilities are something only Batch has.  It is an added cost, but it's not available in PropStream. Text messaging has gotten a lot of scrutiny lately and is an area that has some legal implications. Those who want to text should look into the laws in their jurisdiction.  Texting people who opt-in is fine as long as done correctly.  If you want to cold text people, it is important to look into the laws.

Features That Only PropStream Has

RVM, or ringless voicemail, is unique to PropStream.  Just as with text, RVM is a grey area and you will need to look into the laws in your area for this.  Messaging people that opt-in is fine, but there is a way to do it correctly.

Driving for dollars is what puts PropStream as a must-have.  It comes at no extra cost and is a very useful list-building technique, especially for those on a budget.  Batch does have a D4D program but is completely separate and an extra cost that isn't necessary, at least not at first.  Their driving-for-dollars software is top-notch, but unless that will be your main method of list building, then utilizing PropStream's built-in app is a great way to go.

How We Use Them Together

For the most part, they are very similar. Both companies put out a very good product.  We actually use both software currently, as we find the data to be easier to pull in PropStream, and their free driving for dollars is a nice bonus. Those apps on their own are as much or more than PropStream or Batch Leads.

For our use, we build or pull the data in PropStream, as we feel it's the best data for the money, and also because we already have a large amount of data pulled with them. As we add more data, we won't get double-billed for properties already in our database.  Once data is pulled in PropStream, then we send it to Batch.

Once in Batch, their data filters and manipulation are top-notch.  It's a little more user-friendly and the cost for just the base software is low since we aren't adding the data packages.

2. Rei Sift

Rei sift is another product with similarities to PropStream.  It also goes well when used in conjunction with PropStream, as we will explain.

Rei Sift is a really robust data sorting and filtering system for managing your database of properties and property owners.  It is very similar to Batch Leads, and in some ways, its filtering is easier to utilize. The owner of Rei Sift is also very good at training to utilize his software in the most effective way.

Both Batch and Sift can work alone from PropStream or with PropStream.  Rei Sift is great for finding vacancies, distress, owner occupancy, and other data points.  However, it doesn't provide the data, to begin with.  You will need a data source to add to Rei Sift.  Once added, it is an amazing data manipulation tool also capable of many other integrations.

Similarities Between Rei Sift and PropStream

Rei Sift and PropStream can both be used to hold your lists.  They have filter and sorting capabilities, although, like Batch, Rei Sift is more robust at this. Both are capable of list stacking and skip tracing.  They are both great platforms to hold your data.

Differences Between Rei Sift and PropStream

Now that you know how they are similar, it's good to know what separates the two.

Features Rei Sift Has That PropStream Doesn't

There are two main things that rei sift has that PropStream doesn't. Rei Sift has the ability to integrate some calling and text tools. This allows you to contact leads directly from within the platform and store the conversations.  Its other advantage is simply its ability to manipulate the data.  It is much more powerful at organizing your leads than PropStream.

Features PropStream Has That Rei Sift Doesn't

First off, PropStream has the data.  Everything you do in your business revolves around getting leads, and to do that, you need sources to get the leads.  PropStream provides this data and Rei Sift doesn't.  

Secondly is driving for dollars. It's still a subset of building lists, but I include it because typically people will need a completely separate app for this. The price of those stand-alone apps is often more than any of the software mentioned in this article.  

Using Rei Sift and PropStream Together

These programs work very well on their own but because of the important differences mentioned, they complement each other and work well together.  PropStream brings in your data, whether you are pulling vacant lists or driving for dollars, it is one of the best list-building tools out there.  Once you have your lists, utilize Rei Sift's robust organizing and stacking abilities to filter and sort your data.  Then you can use its add-ons to start contacting your leads.

Summary: Consider More Than One Platform for Many Unique Features 

In conclusion, there are very few true competitors to PropStream, and Batch Leads is probably the closest.  No one program will replace PropStream, at least not without incurring some fairly high costs.

You could easily use List Source for your data and then either Batch or Sift for data manipulation, but this comes at a much higher cost.  It really makes sense to consider using PropStream for your data, then choose either Rei Sift or Batch Leads for holding, filtering, and sorting your data.