Here we review and compare online estate agents in the UK and give you our top 10! We compare the services they offer, the fees they charge and take a look at their customer reviews/satisfaction.
We are big supporters of ALL these online estate agents and believe that the traditional high-street estate agent is in big trouble. New homeowners are wisely choosing to save money and use cheaper online agents. You could SAVE THOUSANDS by paying an Online Estate Agent a fixed fee, rather than the traditional approach of charging a commission and percentage of your sale price (percentage fees can result in fees in excess of £5000).
First of all, let’s have a quick look at our Top 10 Online Estate Agent and their advertised prices:
- Purplebricks.co.uk – FREE
- Yopa.co.uk – £999
- Strike.co.uk – Now Purplebricks
- Griffin Residential – £245
- Propertysolvers.co.uk – FOR QUICK 7 DAY SALE
- Sellmyhome.co.uk – 0.5%
- Esale – £695
eMoov– DEADDoorsteps.co.uk– DEADThe Smart Estate Agency– DEAD
As you can see, Doorsteps.co.uk and The Smart Estate Agency are offering the cheapest prices online, but these online agents don’t offer the same services of the bigger agents like Purplebricks and Yopa. The cheaper agents offer more of a DIY service that requires more work on your part. And Strike… well Strike is on a new level!
Here’s our TOP 10 in some more detail:
1. Purplebricks.co.uk – FREE
Not only are Purplebricks still the market leader in 2024, they’re now free!
Basically, they’ve been taken over by Strike.co.uk and they’ve brought in their FREE price. So now the most well known and established Online Estate Agent in the UK offering their brilliant service (that we highly recommend) for free… It’s a dream come true for us Online Estate Agency advocates.
Purplebricks offer a ‘hybrid model’, you’ll receive a personal valuation from your own Local Property Expert that visits your property, they’ll be with you throughout the whole sales process giving an old fashioned personalised service… that’s the idea anyway.
Purplebricks – https://www.purplebricks.co.uk
Purplebricks is under new management and has recently undergone many changes. With these changes, it’s unclear if their great service has changed… time will tell.
2. YOPA – £999
Not the cheapest, but YOPA have proven themselves to be one of the best! They make the process easy and people who sold with YOPA achieved over 98% of the asking price.
As with all our recommended online agents, Yopa charges far less than high street estate agents and can sell properties nationwide. You’ll get the same basic service of a property valuation, home visit, professional photography and floor plan.
- NO SALE, NO FEE
- Free home visit for valuation, photos and floorplan
- Your own property expert throughout
- Update your listing any time, any where
- Instant viewings, feedback and offers
- Management of sale through to completion
We recommend getting an expert free property valuation with YOPA:
YOPA – https://www.yopa.co.uk
Book a free valuation – Click Here
3. Strike – Now Purplebricks
Online estate agent of the year 2018 (formerly known as HouseSimple). Strike were one of the most popular online estate agents in the UK and have helped over 19,000 people move house. They’ve won many awards and are known to be prompt and efficient, providing sellers with a quick and stress-free turnaround.
And now they’ve changed to Purplebricks Yes, originally Strikes service was only available to the North of England (Newcastle, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield) but now they have basically taken over the UK’s biggest online agent Purplebricks and are offering free estate agency nationwide!
Strike – https://www.purplebricks.co.uk
4. Griffin Residential – £245
No longer just a small underdog, the low priced Griffin Residential is going from strength to strength. They’re not the small operation they used to be and they’re a hell of a lot cheaper than the big boys. You’ll only pay for what you need and can choose these optional extras for your ideal package:
Premium Upgrade – £200
(Professional photography, property particulars, floor plan and video walkthrough)
Completion Management – £200
Virtual Tour – £120
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) – £75
Premium Listing on Rightmove – £75
Premium Listing on Zoopla – £60
For Sale Board – £100
Griffin Residential are not the biggest online estate agent, but they’ve been around for a while now and their service has been tried and tested. They do offer all the services you’d expect from an online agent (with 12 month property listing on Rightmove, Zoopla, & Prime Location being the most important one). It’s nice that you can tailor your package with convenient optional add-ons and they offer a Pay On Completion option.
Griffin Residential – https://www.griffin-residential.co.uk
5. Propertysolvers.co.uk – QUICK SALE
If you need a QUICK SALE we recommend Propertysolvers.co.uk. They can complete in as little as 7 days! (Estate agent averages are 90+ days).
Propertysolvers.co.uk are one of the longest established quick homebuyers in the UK having been active in the UK property market for over 16 years. Perfect for:
- Inherited / Probate Property Sellers
- Selling a Problem Property
- Selling to Stop Repossession
- Selling Tenanted Property
- Broken House Sale Chain
- Selling Property after Divorce or Separation
Cash Sale in 7 Days
If you’re circumstances require a quick sale you can get a cash offer within 24 hours. This is for emergency quick sales and they’ll give you up to 75% of your property value.
Quick Sale, offers in 28 Days
If you’ve got a bit more time you can get more money and offers within 28 days. Quick and easy sale, they sell for 100% of your property value.
Propertysolvers.co.uk – https://www.propertysolvers.co.uk/
6. Sellmyhome.co.uk – £ 995
We like Sellmyhome.co.uk, they offer a great product and are the #1 rated online estate agent on Trust Pilot (if you trust TrustPilot estate agent reviews).
They were the first online estate agents using Virtual Walkthrough. Now in the era of Covid this is an ideal alternative that allows buyer to go through remote viewings and have virtual open days. What was first a gimmick is now a valuable bonus.
Sellmyhome.co.uk have changed their price structure from fixed to the traditional percent of sale:
Essential Package (DIY option): 0.5%
Traditional Package: 0.9%
Basically, with the “Essential package” you’ll have to manage all the property viewing yourself. With the “Traditional package” they’ll send an agent to handle the viewings, but you pay an extra 0.4%.
Sellmyhome.co.uk – https://www.sellmyhome.co.uk
7. eSale – £695
The online estate agent that offers a money back guarantee. eSale boast a full money back guarantee, “if you are not satisfied, for any reason” within 30 days they will “give you a full refund. No questions, No fuss”. This adds to their local and friendly approach. They are a small company that rely on customer recommendation and word of mouths a good sign of a quality agent.
They offer all the same services other online agents like eMoov offer AND include Home Visits. They send around an ‘assessor’ to take photos, draw a floor plan, take room measurements and write a property description. They will also carry out an EPC if one has been ordered.
eSale have won a load of awards including the Corporate Live Wires “Most Outstanding Online Estate Agency Services” award in 2016 and they have been the second best-rated estate agent on Trust Pilot in 2016 & 2017 (Sellmyhome.co.uk being number 1).
Standard Package: – £695 upfront option with unique money back guarantee
NO SALE, NO FEE option: – £ 1390 on completion
Esale – http://www.esaleuk.com/
8. eMoov – DEAD
Back in 2018 online estate agent Emoov went into administration, leaving thousands of customers in limbo – https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2018/12/online-estate-agent-emoov-goes-into-administration—here-s-what/.
But then eMoov came back with a new logo, new branding and new pricing structure. But unfortunately, eMoov chose the dark side and were taking a % of the sale like traditional high street agents of old. It’s was a low 0.5%, but 0.5% of £250,000 is still £1250. Depending on your property sale price, eMoov became the most expensive online agent.
It seems this did not last long because eMoov have completely changed their business model. They’re no longer an online estate agent, now they are a business called mashroom.com that offers multiple services to landlords.
eMoov – DEAD
9. Doorsteps.co.uk – DEAD
So what happened? Well, Doorsteps found it difficult to compete with the larger agents and chose to increase their prices a little bit… by a whopping 500%! With customers paying 5x the price for the same service it wasn’t long before thing began to crumble. It’s sad to see a promising business like this fall.
Doorsteps – RIP
10. The Smart Estate Agency – DEAD
Unfortunately the new kid on the block, The Smart Estate Agency, did not survive the market downturn and is no longer with us.
One to forget: Hatched.co.uk
Hatched.co.uk were one of the most expensive online agents, but due to stiff competition they did try lowered their prices but they still could not compete online at one point charging £1,695 on completion + £200 extra you’ll have to pay if you choose not to use their conveyancing.
So Hatched closed down. Why? A statement from the company says: “Connells Group’s belief that the ‘online-only’/hybrid business model is fundamentally flawed and affirms the Group’s absolute commitment to its high street estate agency operation.” …but we have to disagree the ‘online-only’/hybrid business model is NOT flawed! Charging £1,895 is flawed!
Settled – No longer an estate agents
Settled used to be an online estate agency on this list, but they closed up shop and have relaunched as a conveyancing service for home-buyers, they call it Tap-to-Buy. They promise to be a digital solution to the usual delays and complexity of the traditional buying process.
We love this idea! We love anything that reduces the complexity of buying a property! This is the future of conveyancing, soon everything will be done from your mobile phone. But is Settled worth the £1500 fee? At the moment Settled just acts as a middleman for the Jackson Lees legal firm. We will discuss the future of Conveyancing and Estate Agency in a future article. If you’re curious to learn more: https://www.settled.co.uk (but we don’t endorse this service yet, time will tell).
Local Online Agents
There are also many more localised online agents to choose from that might be better suited for your needs. For example, if you’re selling a unique property like farm land, listed building or a very large commercial property, you’ll require an in depth valuation and specialist sales approach. In these circumstances a standard online agent is NOT recommended.
So there’s our list of the UK’s Top 10 Online Estate Agents! Have I missed something? You know a good Online Estate Agents missing from this list? Let me know in the comment section below!
