IDX Website Cost: What IDX Actually Costs Agents in 2026
Standalone IDX costs $49–$125 a month in October 2026. We re-checked SimplyRETS, IDX Broker, Showcase IDX and iHomefinder on their own sites.
By Yas Rajah
· 7 min read
Contents
IDX, the feed that puts live MLS for-sale listings and a home search on your website, costs $49–$125 a month on its own in October 2026: SimplyRETS from $49, IDX Broker Core at $60 and Showcase IDX at $94.95–$124.95, each checked on the provider’s own pricing page on 15 October 2026. Agents still routinely pay $500–$1,500 a month for a premium platform largely to get it. That’s the position this article argues: IDX is a cheap, commodity feature, so don’t buy a whole expensive platform just to have it. Add IDX to the site you already own, and put the difference into leads.
What’s changed since September 2026. IDX Broker now publishes its prices (Core $60, Engage $99, Elite $149 a month, plus a one-time setup fee it doesn’t list); in September its pricing page only offered a demo. iHomefinder went the other way: its pricing page now says “A 10-minute call gets you the right number for your business”, and the $50/month + $500 figure it still shows is for an add-on hosted website, not the IDX plan itself. We’ve corrected both below.
How much does IDX cost per month?
| Provider | Monthly | Setup | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SimplyRETS | $49 / $99 / $199 | $99 per MLS connection | Developer API with WordPress access; “Pay monthly, no long term contracts” |
| IDX Broker | $60 (Core) · $99 (Engage) · $149 (Elite, includes a hosted website) | One-time fee, not published | Prices published since September; was demo-only before |
| Showcase IDX | $94.95 (Essentials) · $124.95 (Premium) | $0 | Annual plans $849.50 and $1,195 a year; extra users $2–$4/mo; 10-day free trial |
| iHomefinder | Quote only | $500 for its hosted website add-on | Plans (Lead Essentials, Lead Maximizer, Growth Pro) priced on a call |
Each price checked on the provider’s own site on 15 October 2026. Confirm before you buy.
A working IDX home search is a $49–$125/month line item, not a four-figure one. It feels expensive because premium platforms bundle it into a much larger monthly fee. The calculator above lets you price IDX (and only the pieces you need) à la carte against an all-in platform plan.
What AI assistants get wrong about IDX prices
We asked ChatGPT and Gemini “How much does IDX cost per month for a real estate agent website?” on 15 October 2026. Both got IDX Broker’s new $60–$149 range right. ChatGPT priced iHomefinder at $85.50–$135 a month, citing a Wix App Market listing rather than iHomefinder, and iHomefinder’s own page publishes no plan price to confirm it. Gemini said setup fees run “$50 to $200”; IDX Broker says every plan carries a one-time setup fee and doesn’t publish the amount. Treat any IDX figure that doesn’t link to the provider’s own page as a guess.
Which IDX setup makes sense for you?
4 questions, 15 seconds. Find out whether you need standalone IDX, an API, or to skip it entirely.
Question 1 of 4
What's your main business?
Question 2 of 4
Do you already have a website you own or control?
Question 3 of 4
How much are you currently spending on website or platform fees per month?
Question 4 of 4
What's your main goal for a home search on your site?
Your answer
Add standalone IDX to your existing site
You're the right fit for standalone IDX on the site you already own: IDX Broker Core at $60/month (plus a one-time setup fee it doesn't publish) or Showcase IDX at $94.95–$124.95/month with no setup fee and a 10-day trial (prices checked 15 October 2026). Either drops a live MLS home search into your site for about $60–$125 a month, with no platform lock-in. A single transaction covers years of the fee.
Compare real estate website buildersYour answer
Use a clean IDX API like SimplyRETS
If your site is custom-built or your platform can consume an API, SimplyRETS ($49, $99 or $199 a month plus a $99 connection fee per MLS) gives you the raw RESO data with no long-term contract and full control over the search experience. It's the route for developers and teams who want to own the integration.
See what the all-in platforms charge insteadYour answer
Skip standalone IDX; focus on rentals or leads instead
If you're rental-focused, IDX won't do much for you: it's built around for-sale MLS search, and renters look on the rental portals. Syndicate your rentals to those portals instead. If you're not sure you need a home search yet, build your lead-generation plan first; IDX is a nice-to-have, not a must-have.
Explore rental listing syndicationGet new posts on real estate websites
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One cost everyone forgets: your MLS membership
IDX providers give you the software to display listings. The data comes from your MLS, and you must be a member (or work under a broker who is) and request IDX access to your local feed. No MLS membership, no IDX. Providers like SimplyRETS connect to that feed once you have credentials, and the $99 fee above is for wiring up each MLS.
Some MLSs also charge the IDX vendor for the data, and the vendor passes it on. Showcase IDX puts that pass-through fee at “$0 to $33/month” and shows it at signup; IDX Broker lists “MLS data fees” as part of your total monthly cost. Ask your MLS before you budget.
The three ways to get IDX, and which to pick
- Standalone IDX on your existing site (recommended for most). Add IDX Broker Core or Showcase IDX to the site you already have. That’s $60–$125 a month, you keep your site and your independence, and you aren’t locked into a platform. This is the value play.
- A clean IDX API you integrate (SimplyRETS or Bridge). If your site is custom-built, or built on a platform that can consume an API, a developer feed like SimplyRETS gives you the RESO data at $49–$199 a month with no contract, and you (or your developer) control the experience. You pay the data provider directly.
- A bundled premium platform (Luxury Presence and others). You get IDX, but inside a $500–$1,500/month package. Worth it only if you want the whole platform anyway: see the numbers in our Luxury Presence pricing breakdown. Paying platform prices just for IDX is the overpay this article is about.
Is IDX worth it?
For a sales agent, yes. A home search gives buyers a way to browse listings on your own site, and at $60–$125 a month a single transaction pays for years of it. For a rental-focused property manager, mostly no. IDX is built around for-sale MLS search; some feeds carry rentals (SimplyRETS’s plans list “Rental Listings”), but renters search the rental portals, so your equivalent is rental listing syndication, not IDX. Buy IDX for the sales side of your business, skip it for the rental side, and don’t let it talk you into a platform you didn’t otherwise need.
One thing IDX won’t do is make your own listings stand out: on an IDX search they look like everyone else’s. For those, give each home its own single property website. Superlisting builds one from a listing link; your first one is free and unlimited property websites are $29 a month. (New to owned lead-gen? Start with real estate lead generation.)
FAQ
How much does IDX cost per month? Standalone IDX runs about $49–$125/month (checked 15 October 2026). SimplyRETS is $49, $99 or $199 a month plus a $99 per-MLS connection fee. IDX Broker is $60 (Core), $99 (Engage) or $149 (Elite, with a hosted website), plus an unpublished one-time setup fee. Showcase IDX is $94.95–$124.95 a month with no setup fee. iHomefinder quotes its plans on a call. You also need MLS membership for the data.
Do I have to pay my MLS for IDX? Sometimes. The IDX feed itself comes with your MLS membership, but some MLSs charge the IDX vendor a data fee that’s passed on to you. Showcase IDX says it “typically ranges from $0 to $33/month” and shows it at signup; IDX Broker lists MLS data fees as part of the total cost.
What is an IDX website? An IDX (Internet Data Exchange) website displays live for-sale listings from your local MLS and lets visitors search them on your own domain. It turns a static agent site into a home-search portal, so buyers browse listings on your own site.
Do I need an expensive platform to get IDX? No. IDX is a commodity feature you can add to almost any existing website for $60–$125 a month, or $49 a month through a developer API. Premium platforms bundle IDX into $500–$1,500/month packages, which only makes sense if you want the whole platform.
What’s the best IDX website provider? For most agents adding search to an existing site, IDX Broker Core ($60/month) is now the cheapest turnkey option with a published price, and Showcase IDX ($94.95/month, no setup fee, 10-day trial) is the pick for WordPress sites. SimplyRETS (or Bridge) is the cleanest choice if you or your developer want the raw RESO data by API. We’d start with a trial of Showcase on WordPress, or IDX Broker Core anywhere else.
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Sources
- SimplyRETS pricing, simplyrets.com: “Each RETS or RESO Web API connection requires one time $99 connection fee. Pay monthly, no long term contracts” (checked 15 October 2026).
- IDX Broker, compare plans: “IDX Broker Core ($60/month)… Engage ($99/month)… Elite ($149/month)” and “All IDX Broker plans include a one-time setup fee” (checked 15 October 2026).
- Showcase IDX, pricing: Essentials “$94.95/mo”, Premium “$124.95/mo”, “No Setup Fees”, and the MLS pass-through fee “typically ranges from $0 to $33/month” (checked 15 October 2026).
- iHomefinder, pricing: “A 10-minute call gets you the right number for your business”; hosted website add-on “$50/mo + $500 setup” (checked 15 October 2026).
- ChatGPT and Gemini answers to “How much does IDX cost per month for a real estate agent website?”, collected 15 October 2026 (US).
- Bundled-platform context: our Luxury Presence pricing breakdown.
