Read TopAgentsRanked reviews | Is TopAgentsRanked worth it? | What is TopAgentsRanked? | Is TopAgentsRanked legit? | How it works | TopAgentsRanked fees | Pros and cons | Top alternatives

âď¸ Editor's take: TopAgentsRanked can help you find an agent fast, but with poor quality control and no savings, alternatives offer better value. |
TopAgentsRanked â along with its smaller sister sites, Agent Machine and RealEstateAgents.com â is a free service that connects home buyers and sellers with real estate agents.
The company makes big claims about its vetting process and promises to match you with the top agents in your area. But when we put our team of mystery shoppers to work, we found TopAgentsRanked falls short in almost every category.
While TopAgentsRanked has decent customer service, the agents it matched us with often didnât fit our criteria, with many not even based in our area.
Also considering some misleading marketing claims, a lackluster website, and zero built-in savings, we think TopAgentsRanked has way more drawbacks than benefits, especially compared to the competition.
Clever Real Estate, for example, offers an even better no-cost agent matching service, but also pre-negotiates discounts with agents on your behalf.
Sellers can list with a top local agent for just 1.5% vs. the typical 2.5-3% rate youâll get with TopAgentsRanked. And eligible Clever buyers get cash back after closing.
Âť MORE: Find a top agent and save thousands with Clever
Clever and its mystery shoppers spent nearly 1,500 hours researching real estate agent matching services to deliver the best reviews in the industry. Our reviews are continuously updated to ensure you have the latest information to inform your decisions.
Read on to learn how TopAgentsRanked compares to the competition â or skip ahead to read TopAgentsRanked reviews from real customers.
Should you use TopAgentsRanked to find a realtor?
đ What we like about TopAgentsRanked:
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đ Where TopAgentsRanked misses the mark:
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TopAgentsRanked is not the best option if youâre looking for a real estate agent to help you buy or sell a house.
Our team tested TopAgentsRanked and while we did find its customer service representatives were knowledgeable and professional, the company fell short in most other areas.
TopAgentsRanked allows agents to pay to rank higher in your matching results, so you canât be sure if youâre actually getting the best agent for you or just someone who has paid extra.
More importantly, the service offers no savings or discounts for buyers or sellers. Youâll pay as much for an agent through TopAgentsRanked as you would finding an agent on your own â and much more than if you got an agent through an agent matching service, like Clever, that has discounts.
Bottom line: Is TopAgentsRanked worth it?
TopAgentsRanked isn't worth your time. It fails at its most important job: Helping you find a qualified local agent whoâs a good fit for your situation.
All agent matching services are free and come with zero obligations â and most do a better job of quality control and tailoring recommendations to your needs.
Plus, unlike TopAgentsRanked, other agent matching services, like Clever, come with big discounts that could save you thousands of dollars.
What is TopAgentsRanked?
TopAgentsRanked is an agent matching service â a company that will find real estate agents for you if youâre looking to buy or sell a house.
TopAgentsRankedâs parent company, ReferralExchange, owns two other agent matching services called Agent Machine and RealEstateAgents.com, which provide the exact same service as TopAgentsRanked. Because all three are essentially the same company with different branding, there's no advantage to using one service over the other.
Signing up for TopAgentsRanked is straightforward: You enter basic info about your upcoming sale or purchase, along with what youâre looking for in an agent, and the company will send you a list of agents that it thinks are a good match.
You can set up interviews to compare options and pick the best fit. Or, if you donât like any of the recommendations, you can simply walk away.
Like all agent matching services, TopAgentsRanked is free to use and thereâs no obligation to use any of the agents it recommends.
Âť LEARN: Find out how to be a TopAgentsRanked realtor
Is TopAgentsRanked legitimate?
Yes, TopAgentsRanked is a legitimate company with an active brokerage license in California. All agent matching services must be licensed brokerages in at least one state to operate legally.
TopAgentsRankedâs parent company, ReferralExchange, is accredited by the Better Business Bureau, where it has an A+ rating.
TopAgentsRanked, at a glance | |
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Average rating | 4.6 |
BBB rating | A+ |
Year founded | 2005 |
Network size | 25,000 |
While TopAgentsRanked is a legitimate company, some of its practices stuck out as red flags.
đŠ Agents can pay for higher rankings
TopAgentsRanked lets agents pay extra to rank higher in your agent matches.
An agent matching service should match you with the best agent for your needs, not with the one who has simply paid to get to the top of your rankings.
This practice is unusual for an agent matching service. Most of TopAgentsRankedâs competitors explicitly ban agents from paying to get more clients.
With TopAgentsRanked, thereâs no way to distinguish in your results between agents who are paying to rank higher and those who arenât. So, donât assume that your âTop Ranked Agentâ really is the best fit for you.
Indeed, we found that many of our No. 1 ranked agents were a lot less impressive than agents who ranked lower. While we canât be sure, we suspect our higher ranked agents paid to move up the rankings.
đŠ Misleading marketing claims
TopAgentsRanked uses a lot of marketing speak and misleading claims to make agents sound more impressive than they are.
For example, it gives your top-ranked agents a badge that claims, âThis Agent is a designated REALTORÂŽ, the highest distinction in the community.â
This claim is nonsense. To become a REALTORÂŽ, agents only need to meet very minimum requirements, like having an active real estate license and being willing to pay membership fees to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In fact, there are over 1.5 million REALTORSÂŽ in the U.S. â more than half of all real estate agents.
So TopAgentsRankedâs badge is largely meaningless since most agents meet the NAR's requirements anyway. It is hardly âthe highest distinction in the community.â
TopAgentsRanked also gives your highest ranked agents a different âTop Rankedâ badge, along with a claim that âThis Agent is a Certified Top Agent, meaning they will get you the best possible deal on your home.â
Again, this is just empty marketing speak and it doesnât appear to be based on any measurable metrics. While our âCertified Top Agentsâ did have plenty of sales and experience, so did many of the agents who werenât âCertified Top Agents,â which makes this badge meaningless.
The point is, donât get taken in by TopAgentsRankedâs marketing tactics. Focus on things that matter, like experience, sales numbers, and fit for your situation â not on flashy badges and association memberships.
How does TopAgentsRanked work?
- You sign up by entering basic information about your upcoming home purchase or sale on the TopAgentsRanked website.
- A TopAgentsRanked concierge will call you â usually within minutes â to learn more and curate a personalized list of agents. But you will still get a list of agents even if you donât talk to a rep.
- Within a few minutes of the phone call, you will receive your list of real estate agents via email and a customer dashboard.
- Your agents will likely start trying to contact you directly right away. You can also call, text, or email them via your customer dashboard.
- You can interview any of your agent matches or reach out to TopAgentsRanked to request more matches.
- If you donât feel like any of your matches are a good fit, youâre free to walk away.
đ¨ Matches probably aren't personalized TopAgentsRanked claims it personalizes your agent matches based on your needs. However, we got our agent matches almost instantly after talking to a TopAgentsRanked concierge and many of our agent matches didn't fit our criteria. That suggests TopAgentsRanked doesn't take the time to really tailor agent matches to your needs. |
Âť MORE: Learn how TopAgentsRanked works for agents
How much does TopAgentsRanked cost?
TopAgentsRanked is free to use, like all agent matching services. However, unlike some other companies, it doesnât negotiate discounts with its agents, so youâll still have to pay the full realtor commission rate â just as you would if you found an agent on your own.
If youâre selling, you will need to pay the listing fee â which goes to the sellerâs agent â and the buyerâs agent commission, both of which are usually 2.5-3% of the sale price. So, in total, expect commission to cost 5-6%.
Other agent matching services, like Clever, save you money by pre-negotiating lower listing fees with agents before youâre matched with them. That can help you lower your overall commission to 4-4.5% â equivalent to thousands of dollars in savings compared to what youâll pay with TopAgentsRanked.
How does TopAgentsRanked make money?
Whenever an agent closes a deal with a client referred to them by TopAgentsRanked, then TopAgentsRanked takes a share of the agentâs commission. This is called a referral fee and it is how all agent matching services make money.
Agents can also pay optional fees on top of their mandatory referral fees for extra services, like:
- Referring clients to other agents
- Home seller and buyer validation services
- Improved rankings
- Enhanced customer service
Why do agents work with companies like TopAgentsRanked?
Agent matching services like TopAgentsRanked offer a low-risk way for agents to grow their business. Because real estate is so competitive, agents typically spend a lot of time and money on marketing to find new clients.
TopAgentsRanked does some of that marketing work on behalf of agents so agents can focus on what they do best: helping people buy and sell houses. In exchange for getting more clients, agents agree to pay TopAgentsRanked a share of their commission.
TopAgentsRanked pros and cons
đ Customer service reps are helpful
The TopAgentsRanked representatives we spoke to were highly knowledgeable and able to answer our questions about the process.
This may be because TopAgentsRanked representatives, like Cleverâs Concierge team, are all licensed real estate agents. This is an important distinction: Legally, a representative who isn't licensed canât offer you advice about your real estate transaction.
A licensed representative can advise about real estate decisions and provide more useful information that could help you with your buying and selling needs. Plus, representatives who are licensed tend to know more about how real estate works.
At companies where the representatives arenât licensed, the reps may act more like sales people rather than focusing on getting you the best agent.
đ Agent matches werenât great
Many of the agents TopAgentsRanked matched us with were totally off-base in regards to our criteria. Since getting good agent recommendations is the primary reason agent matching services exist, the fact that TopAgentsRanked canât get this right defeats the entire purpose of using it.
We often got matched with agents who lacked experience in our area. Given that TopAgentsRanked claims to have a network of 25,000 agents, youâd think theyâd always have an agent available nearby!
We found it especially strange that, often, our No. 1 agent match wasnât based in our town and had fewer sales than agents who were ranked lower but were based in our town and had more sales.
Upon further digging, we discovered that TopAgentsRanked allows agents to pay for what it calls âPRIME Service.â Among other things, this service allows agents to get âpriority ranking for referral distributionâ â in other words, TopAgentsRanked will rank them higher in your agent matches than non-PRIME Service members.
Nowhere is it made clear whether an agent match is a PRIME Service member. Youâll have no way of knowing whether the match was based on your actual needs or because the agent paid to rank higher.
đ Customer dashboard makes it hard to compare agents
TopAgentsRankedâs customer dashboard lags behind the competition. It feels clunky and doesnât provide enough information to make an informed decision about your agent matches.
Some agent profiles were incomplete and only provided the agentâs contact details, average selling price, and number of clients helped. Youâll also see a list of their âspecialties,â but a lot of these are just empty marketing speak.
For example, the below agent gets a star for being âperfect for first-time home buyersâ â but thatâs something that should be true of almost all experienced real estate agents!

Important information, like customer reviews, recent listings, and links to the realtorsâ Zillow/Realtor.com profiles, was often missing.
Some of the info TopAgentsRanked shares with clients via the dashboard is also incorrect or out of date. For example, our top agents always had a badge designating them as a member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), whereas lower ranked ones didnât. But when we Googled the agents who didnât have a badge, we found out that they were all NAR members too.
đ Zero built-in savings
While TopAgentsRanked is free to use, it wonât save you any money on your home sale or purchase. It doesnât pre-negotiate discounts with real estate agents, so youâll pay the full agent commission just as you would if you found the agent on your own. The total commission is usually around 5-6%.
Other agent matching services actually pre-negotiate discounts with agents beforehand, potentially saving you thousands of dollars.
Clever, for example, pre-negotiates a discounted listing fee of 1.5% â compared to the 2.5-3% youâre likely to get through TopAgentsRanked. That means you could save $6,000 with Clever vs. no savings through TopAgentsRanked on a $400,000 home:
Clever | TopAgentsRanked | |
---|---|---|
Listing fee | $6,000 | $12,000 |
Buyerâs agent fee* | $12,000 | $12,000 |
Total commission | $18,000 | $24,000 |
Total savings** | $6,000 | $0 |
*Assumes a 3% buyerâs agent fee **Compared to a standard 6% total commission |
Âť SAVE: Sell with a top-rated local agent, save thousands on commission
What are TopAgentsRanked reviews?
In general, TopAgentsRanked reviews online are positive, but its overall rating is lower than most of its competitors. It has an average rating of 4.6 from 3,655 reviews. While that may appear high, itâs actually low for an agent matching service.
Rating | Total reviews | |
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Weighted average | 4.6 | 3,655 |
4.8 | 400 | |
4.7 | 692 | |
4.6 | 2,563 |
We searched hundreds of online TopAgentsRanked reviews to find out what the service does well and where it comes up short.
While many reviews we found online were positive, others complained about problems with the company. Here is what our team found out.
What customers like about TopAgentsRanked
Most of the positive TopAgentsRanked reviews concerned the quality of the agents and how easy the service was to use.
âGreat communication & negotiating skillsâ
This customer, for example, was very happy with their agent matches:

While weâre glad this customer was able to find a good agent, our team of mystery shoppers actually had many issues with the agents TopAgentsRanked matched us with. Many were outside of our local area or they just didn't meet our criteria.
However, with such a large network of agents, quality will vary, meaning some agents will be very good, others less so. You may end up finding a great agent like the customer above did or you may not.
TopAgentsRanked isn't worth the gamble with something as important as buying or selling a house.
âAll very easyâ
Another area where some customers praised TopAgentsRanked was its ease of use.
This customer found TopAgentsRanked to be very easy to use and they got their agent matches quickly:

While we wished TopAgentsRanked included more information about agents â such as recent sales and customer reviews â we do agree that the site is easy to use and we got our agent matches within the same day.
That said, we didnât find TopAgentsRanked any easier or faster than most other agent matching services, so we donât think these should be reasons to use it over an alternative service.
TopAgentsRanked complaints from customers
The most common complaint from customers was that agents weren't good matches.
âNOT top sellersâ
This customer, for example, went through two agents with TopAgentsRanked, neither of whom seemed to put much effort into selling her house. One didnât even work very much in the county where the customer was located:

Our experience with TopAgentsRanked was similar. We were frequently matched with agents who didnât seem to fit our real estate needs and we were often paired with agents based outside our local area.
Agents were âover 30 miles awayâ
This customer had a similar experience. Their recommended agents werenât located nearby, despite there being agents in the area:

Because TopAgentsRanked allows agents to pay extra in order to rank higher, we suspect paying agents outranked actual local agents.
âNever saw any statistics or reasons for the recommendationsâ
Other customers complained that TopAgentsRanked didnât give them enough information to make a decision about an agent.
This customer, for example, didnât get much useful data about their agent matches and felt that TopAgentsRanked wasted their time:

We agree that TopAgentsRanked doesnât provide nearly enough data about agents. If you want to learn about their recent sales or current listings, youâll have to search on your own.
Since agent matching services are supposed to save you time, the fact that youâll still have to do your own research means TopAgentsRanked isn't doing its most basic job.
TopAgentsRanked alternatives
1. Clever Real Estate

Clever Real Estate
Full Reviewđ˛ Listing Fee
1.5%
đ° Buyer Savings
Up to $500 cash back
⥠Avg. Customer Rating
âââââ
Clever is a quick, easy, and free way to find a top-rated local agent. And, unlike many similar companies, Clever pre-negotiates big discounts on your behalf, so you can save thousands without sacrificing on service.
Learn how Clever helps you find the perfect agent and save thousands
- Free, nationwide agent-matching service that partners with full-service local agents from conventional brokerages like Keller Williams, Century 21, and RE/MAX
- Provides multiple agent matches so you can interview, compare marketing plans, and choose the best fit
- Pre-negotiates low rates on your behalf â you get full service for 1.5% with a $3,000 minimum
- If you buy with Clever, you may get up to $500 cash back if you qualify
- You may not get matched with an agent from your preferred real estate brokerage.
- Like other agent matching services, Clever may have fewer agents in rural areas.
- Agents may not provide premium services like drone photography and professional home staging.
As of 10/21/2022, Clever has an average customer rating of 4.9 on Trustpilot, based on 1,844 reviews.
Like TopAgentsRanked, Clever is an agent matching service that will match you with multiple agents quickly. Cleverâs Concierge Team is also fully licensed, so its members can provide you with insightful advice about your real estate transaction.
But unlike TopAgentsRanked, Clever doesnât let agents pay to rank higher in your matches and will call you beforehand to ensure your matches fit your needs.
Clever also pre-negotiates discounted commission rates with top-rated realtors, so you can save thousands without sacrificing service.
When you sell with a Clever Partner Agent, you get full service for a just 1.5%. If you buy with Clever, you could qualify for a cash-back refund after closing.
Âť NEXT: Learn more about Clever â and read reviews from real customers
2. HomeLight

HomeLight
Full Reviewđ˛ Listing Fee
Standard rate (2.5-3%)
đ° Buyer Savings
None
⥠Avg. Customer Rating
âââââ
HomeLight is an excellent tool for finding a great local agent quickly. However, it offers zero built-in commission savings for sellers or buyers.
- Get a list of local real estate agents in as little as two minutes
- One of the largest agent networks in the industry makes it less challenging to find an agent who specializes in short sales and other non-traditional sales
- Optional Trade-In program makes it easier to buy a new house if you need to sell your current one first
- No built-in savings for home sellers or buyers
- No minimum qualifications for partner agents, so quality may vary between locations
As of 10/21/2022, HomeLight has an average customer rating of 4.5 across 642 reviews on Google, Sitejabber, and the Better Business Bureau.
Like TopAgentsRanked, HomeLight has a large network of agents and can match you with multiple agents.
However, HomeLight has a much better dashboard and gives customers a lot more data about their agent matches. Its online experience is user friendly and makes it easy to compare agents.
But unlike Clever, HomeLight offers zero built-in discounts or savings. If you sell with a HomeLight agent, you'll have to pay full price on commission, just like you would with TopAgentsRanked.
Âť MORE: Read the full HomeLight review (updated for 2022)
3. UpNest

UpNest
đ˛ Listing Fee
Varies
đ° Buyer Savings
Varies
⥠Avg. Customer Rating
âââââ
UpNest has agents compete for your business, which often results in you getting a discounted rate. But savings aren't guaranteed and you will usually find a better rate with competitors like Clever.
- Agents compete for customers, which often results in slightly discounted rates
- Customer dashboard is easy to use and provides lots of each information about each agent
- Savings are not guaranteed and are often only a little better than the national average
- Agent quality and coverage varies, with smaller markets having fewer options than big cities
As of 10/21/2022, UpNest has an average customer rating of 4.6, based on 5,093 reviews across Better Business Bureau, Google, Facebook, and Shopper Approved.
UpNest, like TopAgentsRanked, will match you with multiple agents. But it has a much better customer dashboard that makes it easy to compare your agent matches.
The quality of UpNest's matches is also better, with most agents well aligned with your needs.
UpNest is unique in that it has agents compete for your business, which in theory should help lower agentsâ commission fees. However, we found that agents on UpNest offer listing fees of 2-2.5%.
Thatâs better than TopAgentsRanked, but it is at least twice as high as what you'll get with Clever.