A 10-agent team on Follow Up Boss Pro pays $499 per month before the dialer. The same team on a configured Zoho CRM pays $140 to $520 in Zoho licenses, and owns the system outright.
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Follow Up Boss starts at $69 per user per month on the Grow plan. Move to the Pro plan (up to 10 users) and it is $499 per month. Add the dialer at $39 per user and costs move faster than a team’s production does.
Beyond pricing, the complaints that surface consistently in user reviews:
None of these are reasons to abandon the category. They are reasons to evaluate whether Follow Up Boss is the right configuration for how your team actually runs.
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The core pipeline functions are present in both. The difference is in pricing structure, customization depth, and what else the platform connects to.
| Feature | Follow Up Boss | Zoho CRM (MCG-configured) |
|---|---|---|
| Lead capture from Zillow, Realtor.com, website | Yes | Yes |
| Automated follow-up sequences | Yes | Yes |
| Pipeline tracking by stage and agent | Yes | Yes |
| Team assignment and routing rules | Yes | Yes |
| SMS and email automation | Yes (dialer add-on) | Yes (native) |
| Built-in dialer | Add-on, $39/user/month | Via Zoho Voice or third-party |
| Reporting and dashboards | Standard | Custom, built to your metrics |
| Pricing model | Per user, per month | Per user license + one-time setup |
| Contract type | Monthly or annual | Month-to-month after setup |
Zoho CRM is part of the Zoho ecosystem. When MCG configures it for real estate, these integrations are already available:
Want the whole suite connected, not just the CRM? See our Zoho One implementation service.
Zoho CRM pricing is set by Zoho. Standard starts at approximately $14 per user per month on annual billing. A 10-person team pays around $140 per month in Zoho licenses, not $499.
Follow Up Boss ships with a generic real estate pipeline. MCG builds a pipeline that reflects how your team sources leads, assigns them, follows up, and closes. If your team works buyer leads differently from listing leads, that distinction lives in the system.
Every Zoho CRM setup for real estate includes:
Pipelines can be built for residential brokerages, commercial teams, multifamily leasing teams, or a single agent. Add 24/7 lead qualification with an AI chatbot for real estate.
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Most teams MCG migrates from Follow Up Boss are on the Pro plan at $499 per month. The common trigger is a team expansion: adding a fourth or fifth agent and watching the next billing cycle jump.
A standard MCG migration runs in parallel, so there is no gap in lead coverage.
Action plans, saved smart lists, and historical lead notes. MCG exports and maps those manually as part of the setup.
Nothing is dropped in the transition.
Cheaper is the wrong frame. The question is whether it does the job.
Follow Up Boss was built exclusively for real estate. That is its strength and its ceiling. Zoho CRM was built as a configurable pipeline tool. When a Zoho Authorized Partner configures it for real estate, it does the same job (lead capture, routing, automated follow-up, pipeline tracking) with more flexibility in how those modules are built and more depth in what the platform connects to.
The trade-off is real: Follow Up Boss ships ready to use with a real-estate-specific interface. Zoho CRM requires setup to get there. That setup is what MCG provides.
Coming from an enterprise platform instead? See our Salesforce alternative page, or hire a real estate CRM consultant to scope the build. All of our real estate CRM services are listed in one place.
For lead capture, automated follow-up, pipeline tracking, and team routing, yes. The native dialer requires a separate setup through Zoho Voice or a third-party integration, where Follow Up Boss includes a dialer add-on directly. For most brokerages, the core pipeline functions are fully covered.
MCG typically delivers a configured Zoho CRM for real estate teams in 2 to 4 weeks. Larger builds with multiple pipelines, custom dashboards, and integration work take 4 to 6 weeks.
No. Most teams run both systems in parallel during the transition period, then migrate data and switch over once the Zoho build is confirmed working. MCG supports that transition.
Yes. Lead routing from Zillow, Realtor.com, and your website is configured as part of the standard setup.
You add a Zoho CRM license through your Zoho account and MCG updates the routing rules. There is no per-agent setup fee for adding team members to an existing build.
Zoho CRM offers a free trial directly through Zoho. You can test the platform before committing to a configured setup.
MCG works with solo agents, small teams, and brokerages. A solo agent setup is scoped to your needs and covers lead capture, follow-up sequences, and a single pipeline. See Zoho CRM for solo real estate agents.
Matrix Connect Group serves real estate teams across Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Remote setup is available outside the DMV area. Local pages: Northern Virginia and Montgomery County, MD.
In a 30-minute call, Troy will map your current lead sources, show you what a configured pipeline looks like for your team size, and give you a plain-language cost comparison against what you are paying now.
Your current lead sources, mapped
What a configured pipeline looks like for your team size
A plain-language cost comparison against what you pay now
Real estate CRM setup in Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Remote setup available outside the DMV. Zoho Authorized Partner | Essex, MD
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