UpNest Reviews 2026: We Analyzed 10,571 Online Reviews

UpNest is an agent matching service: You enter your address, local agents send you competing proposals, and you pick one. The pitch is that agents bidding against each other will quote you less than you'd get by walking into an office.

The company has undergone significant changes: Move, Inc., which operates Realtor.com, acquired it in June 2022, and the product now runs as RealChoice™ Selling by Realtor.com.[1]

Has the service quality held up? Most reviews say yes: UpNest averages 4.7/5 across 10,571 reviews. About 97% of them sit on Shopper Approved, a platform that only collects reviews from customers a business invites, which tends to pull scores up. So we checked the score against Google, where anyone can post without being asked. Google says the same thing.

Good reviews are one thing. Saving money is another, and that's where UpNest gets harder to recommend: the average listing fee its agents charge is 2.5%, barely below the national average of 2.76%.

Below we get into where that fee actually goes, why five agents bidding against each other doesn't drive it lower, and what you'd pay with a service that negotiates the rate before you arrive.

UpNest reviews: What real customers say

UpNest reviews are strongly positive. The company averages 4.7/5 across 10,571 reviews, and the two biggest platforms agree almost exactly.

Can you trust a Shopper Approved rating?

Almost all of UpNest's 10,571 reviews sit on Shopper Approved. It's a real platform, but it works differently from Google or Trustpilot.

Here's how it works. A business pays for Shopper Approved, and the software emails that business's customers after they buy something, asking them to leave a review. Shopper Approved sells this to companies as a marketing tool, not as a service for shoppers. It promises to "increase off-site traffic up to 4x" and "increase on-site conversions up to 9x."[3]

To its credit, Shopper Approved is a certified Google and Bing review partner, so the ratings it collects are legitimate enough to appear in Google's own store ratings, and it has gathered more than 100 million reviews across roughly 10,000 businesses.

Just keep these two things in mind:

1. Every review comes from someone who actually closed a deal. But the invitation arrives right after closing, when a seller has just been handed a check and feels good about their outcome. The same person might leave a different review months later.
2. Nobody researches a company on Shopper Approved either, because it isn't a place you visit. The reviews appear as a widget on the business's website. So expect a score there to run higher than an open platform's, which is exactly why it's worth checking against one.

The one low score here is the BBB's 3.1, and it comes from 19 reviews. That's too small to weigh against the Shopper Approved sample, though the complaints in it are worth reading.

Themes most commonly mentioned in UpNest reviews

Theme	Portion of Reviews	Percent Positive
Agent Selection	76%	✅ 95%
Savings Value	28%	🟡 91%
Communication and Professionalism	26%	✅ 94%
Ease of Transaction	22%	✅ 100%
Guidance and Support	18%	✅ 96%
Customer Service	15%	❌ 71%
Results	14%	✅ 100%
Real Estate Expertise	11%	✅ 100%

Most reviewers say that they had a positive experience with their agent. Satisfied UpNest customers generally thought the company gave them a solid list of realtors to choose from, that they experienced a fast, easy sale, and that they were happy with the customer service they received. 

However, negative reviews criticized UpNest's customer service, noting that its agents were hard to reach, unresponsive, and sometimes disappeared after the initial meeting. Some UpNest agents also complained about the quality of leads they received, suggesting that UpNest doesn’t vet agents or leads.

Customer reviews show that UpNest is often right on target matching home buyers and sellers with agents who fit their criteria. Customers particularly like the ability to compare agents profiles and have multiple agents compete for their business. 

• "The dashboard made it easy to compare services and make an informed decision"
• "I received 4 proposals from realtors that specialized in the market I was selling in."
• "Great source to find local realtors. The profiles and details on the realtor are much more informative than on any other website."

Most UpNest customers report good communication and service from both their agents and the UpNest team, which follows up to ensure their realtor is a good fit. Customers feel guided and supported throughout the home-buying and selling process.

• "Adam was great to work with and he consistently kept in touch during the whole process"
• "Austin was our account manager. He was amazing, and the communication was immediate and thorough"
• "helped us all the way to closing. I couldn't have asked for better."

Customers also appreciate the real estate expertise their agents bring to the table, specifically highlighting their market knowledge, pricing strategy, and negotiation skills.

• "He was the only agent who did not significantly undervalue our house and, in fact, the house ultimately sold within $100 of his initial valuation"
• "Astute, aggressive, uber market-savvy with a dynamic personality and wealth of industry information"
• "He worked harder and had more insights than other agents we worked with before"

However, some customers report a lack of responsiveness from UpNest's support team in resolving issues — particularly with refunds. Real estate agents who use UpNest to generate client leads also report disappointment with UpNest's service. In particular, agents complain about the lack of qualified leads and trouble canceling their subscriptions when dissatisfied with the service. 

• "After closing the house when I asked Upnest about the gift card they stopped responding to my messages"
• "The customer service with this program is trash. They refuse to cancel my subscription."
• "I have not received one lead where a prospect was even remotely interested in buying or selling a home, let alone qualified."

UpNest reviews that mention savings are mostly positive, with some exceptions. Buyers and sellers express appreciation for the reduced commission rates and buyer rebates, which they feel they get without tradeoffs in service. 

• "I was able to get a commission rate of 5.0% instead of the 6% I was offered"
• "The realtor gave a discount on the fee, 4 percent"

However, UpNest's savings vary by realtor, meaning some customers get great deals on commission while others don't get much of a reduction off the average commission rate, which is currently 5.46% nationally.citation]id="clever-avg-commission" sourceName="Clever Real Estate" anchorText="Average Real Estate Agent Commission Rates: 2026 Survey" url="https://listwithclever.com/average-real-estate-commission-rate/"[/citation] Also, some negative reviews indicate instances where promised savings or rebates were not delivered.

• "Most agents are over 4 % in commission"
• "They promised to send $300 after purchasing a new home with their service and it never came"
• "They didn't offer to payback any commission"

Overall, UpNest customers are happy with their transactions. They report hassle-free experiences, from agent selection all the way to closing. They also note impressive results, including quick sales, above-asking prices, and successful purchases of desired properties.

• "The process was seemingly seamless! Within a few hours I had reviewed several proposals, selected one team and had an appointment set up."
• "We had a game plan and it was executed well."
• "Our house never even made it on the market before we received an offer and sold our home"

UpNest fees: What you'll pay

No rate is set by UpNest: Agents set their own terms in the proposals they send to you, so your rate depends on who you pick and if you negotiate or not. We confirmed the average listing fee directly with UpNest by phone: 2.5%.

Compare 2.5% to the national average listing fee of 2.76% and you're looking at a savings of roughly a quarter of a percentage point. Five agents bid against each other for your listing, and the winner still charges close to what you'd pay walking into any brokerage off the street. So why doesn't the bidding push the rate lower?

Because the agent isn't keeping the entire 2.5%. UpNest charges agents a 30% referral fee (or 0.75% commission, assuming a 2.5% rate) when a deal closes, on both seller and buyer referrals. Its help center states that the cut is "calculated based on the commission you receive (before the broker split)." We break the fee down further in our explainer on the UpNest referral fee.

Run the math on a 2.5% quote: UpNest takes 0.75% before anyone else touches it, and then the agent splits the remaining 1.75% with their own brokerage. On the 70/30 split some agents work under, that leaves about 1.2% for doing the entire listing. Negotiate them down to 1.5%, and they're working for under 0.8%. Agents might walk before they go that low, which means the bidding has a floor.

Two other things to know: That 30% cut applies again to any additional deal you do with the same agent within 24 months of the original proposal, so selling and then buying through them pays UpNest twice. And UpNest offers a $150 Amazon e-card if you buy your next home through your listing agent.[4]

How UpNest works

Getting matched with an agent

• On the UpNest site, you'll sign up by entering basic information about your sale or purchase, including location, timeline, property type, and estimated value.
• You’ll arrive at your customer dashboard, where you can compare proposals from different agents. You may get one to two proposals instantly, while others may take minutes, hours, or even days.
• An UpNest Advisor will call and email you to explain the process and ask about your preferences for an agent.
• You'll select which agents you want to interview and sign with your preferred one.
• If you dislike your agent matches, you can request more or simply walk away with no commitment.

So who sends those proposals? UpNest advertises agents in the top 5% of their market, and its help center puts a number to that: a minimum of 3 years of experience before an agent can bid on your listing. The same page tells agents that how fast they claim a referral "directly impacts your ranking in our matching algorithm."[5]

Two things to know about the arrangement. First, UpNest isn't your agent and never becomes your brokerage, so the listing agreement you sign is with whichever agent you choose. Second, the service is free to you, because the agent pays the referral fee out of their side.

Selling with UpNest

UpNest expects all of its partner agents to offer full service and support to their clients. For sellers, that means your agent should:

• Meet with you in person and physically visit your home
• Guide you through due diligence (inspections, appraisal, financing)
• Help you evaluate offers and negotiate terms as needed, and accompany you to the closing

A standard full-service package should also include a comparative market analysis (CMA), help pricing your home, staging advice, professional photography, an MLS listing, a for-sale sign, and a lockbox for buyer's agents.

That said, UpNest allows each agent to create their own proposal for potential clients — so make sure to ask your agent what services they do (and don’t) offer. If you want extra services like drone footage, open houses, or help staging your home, you must work that out with the agent.

Buying with UpNest

When you request a buyer's agent through UpNest, you'll receive several profiles of agents in or near your market. Each agent's profile will include their years of experience, services offered, commission rate, and any rebate offered to buyers. You'll also get a personalized written proposal detailing how the agent will help you buy your next home.

A full-service buyer's agent will typically accompany you on home tours, help you write and submit offers, negotiate contracts, and walk you through the closing process.

UpNest offers no guaranteed commission savings for home buyers. While some agents may advertise a partial commission rebate, others don't. 

Remember that the realtor commission is negotiable, so if savings are important to you, you'll want to have that conversation up front.

Top UpNest alternatives

When you're looking to find a real estate agent, it's helpful to compare your options. We recommend starting with a service that pre-negotiates lower rates with its agents. These agents will offer a level of service similar to UpNest agents, but your savings will be locked in.

You could also opt for a discount brokerage like Redfin, which offers a 2% listing fee (1% if you both sell and buy with them). Because Redfin uses teams of salaried agents to handle sales, you might get less personalized attention from a Redfin agent than you would with an UpNest agent. But again, your savings with Redfin would be locked in from the start.

Because UpNest agents set their own rates, you may be able to find a full-service, experienced UpNest agent who offers savings comparable to Clever or Redfin. However, you’ll have to do some comparison shopping and possibly some one-on-one negotiation. If you’re comfortable doing that, UpNest deserves a look.

Bottom line: Should I use UpNest?

UpNest is best if you're struggling to find a real estate agent and want to quickly assess your options. The proposals are useful: five agents, their commissions, sales counts, and reviews, laid out before you talk to anyone. Most sellers never get that, the reviews reflect it, and the 4.7 rating is corroborated by Google rather than resting on invitations alone.

The trouble is where the bidding lands. A 2.5% average is lower than the national average rate, but higher than what several of its competitors charge. For example, Ideal Agent’s listing fee is 2%, and Clever Real Estate's is just 1.5%.

Which agent you end up with matters more than the platform you found them through. UpNest's three-year experience minimum keeps the greenest agents out, but it says nothing about who will still be returning your calls in week three, and that's exactly where the complaints land. You have the proposals, so use them: check the sales counts, read the reviews, and ask for new matches if nobody impresses you. Walking away costs you nothing.

FAQ