Every UK estate agent lists on Rightmove and Zoopla. The integration between agency CRM software and these portals runs on a feed system — either XML or API — that pushes property listings from the CRM to the portals automatically. Rightmove fees have become a significant cost issue for independent agents: for one example practice with 40 properties, the monthly bill reached £1,850 in 2026. Over 250 agencies are party to a £1.5 billion legal action against Rightmove over its fee structure.
The standard format for UK portal integration is the Rightmove V3 BLM (Bulk Load Mass) XML feed. This is not just a Rightmove format — it has become the de facto UK standard accepted by Zoopla, OnTheMarket, and most other portals. Zoopla also accepts the older FastCrop C1 XML format. Estate agent CRM software generates these feeds automatically when a property is listed or updated.
Feed integration services charge approximately £20–35 per branch per month for real-time feed setup with no long-term contracts. This is distinct from the portal listing fees paid to Rightmove and Zoopla, which are substantially higher. The integration service handles the technical connection; the portal fees are the commercial cost of being listed.
Update frequency for standard XML feeds is typically every hour. Real-time sync (closer to immediate updates) is available through API connections. For most agencies, hourly updates are sufficient — properties rarely need to be updated more frequently. For price reductions or availability changes, an hourly lag is acceptable.
Rightmove does not publish a public rate card. Fees are negotiated with individual agents and corporate groups, and the variance is significant — large corporate agencies pay approximately £250 per branch per month, while independent agents may pay £1,500–£2,000 or more per month. One published example from mid-2026: an independent agency with 40 properties (sales and lettings combined) paying £1,850 per month.
Rightmove's annual revenue from agent subscriptions has increased consistently: from approximately £157 million in 2022 to a higher figure annually since. Industry analysts note that Rightmove fees represent between 7% and 13.5% of the sales commission income for some independent agents, which at the higher end is a material cost.
Over 250 UK estate agencies are party to a £1.5 billion legal action against Rightmove alleging abuse of dominant market position through its fee structure. The case was ongoing as of early 2026. The outcome could affect how portal fees are set going forward, but agents cannot base current decisions on that uncertainty.
OnTheMarket was founded in 2015 by a consortium of premium agencies including Knight Frank, Savills, and Strutt & Parker, with the explicit intent of providing an agent-owned alternative to Rightmove and Zoopla. It was acquired by CoStar Group in December 2023 for £99 million. CoStar is the dominant commercial real estate data platform globally and used the acquisition to enter the UK residential property portal market.
OnTheMarket lists properties 24 hours or more before Rightmove and Zoopla as a differentiator — agents who list exclusively on OnTheMarket first can offer clients a pre-market period. Whether this translates to higher buyer interest depends on OnTheMarket's audience size, which remains significantly smaller than Rightmove.
OnTheMarket Software — the related proptech arm that operated TecLet, TecCRM, TecHub, and TecWeb products for agent workflow management — closed on 30 June 2025. Agents who relied on those tools for sales progression, tenancy management, or content needed to migrate elsewhere.
The most frequent problems with portal feed integration:
The core function is automatic: a property listed in the CRM appears on the portals within the next feed cycle without manual re-entry. Updates to price, description, photos, and status (available, sold STC, let agreed) propagate automatically. Most modern estate agent CRMs also receive applicant enquiries from portals back into the CRM — a buyer who enquires on Rightmove appears in the CRM as a new contact associated with that property, rather than arriving only as an email to the branch inbox.
This inbound enquiry integration is where quality varies significantly between platforms. A CRM that receives enquiries from all portals into a unified inbox, auto-matches them to the property, and logs them against the contact record saves significant manual work. A CRM where portal enquiries arrive as forwarded emails that must be manually entered as contacts does not.