Estate-HQ vs Alto — modern CRM without the Zoopla lock-in

Alto exists because Zoopla wanted to sell estate agents more than just listing slots. The pitch makes sense if you're already locked into a Zoopla contract and want a CRM rolled in. It's less compelling if you want the best CRM on its own merits. The thing most letting agents discover after six months on Alto: it's primarily a sales-side CRM with lettings retrofitted on top. The lettings workflows feel like an afterthought — separate tenancy area, separate compliance tracker, separate rent ledger that doesn't talk back to the dashboard. Estate-HQ is built lettings-first. Every screen assumes you have tenants, deposits, certificates, S21 deadlines and bank transfers to reconcile. Read the matrix below and decide which model fits your day.

Feature	Estate-HQ	Alto by Zoopla
Lettings-first design	✓	Sales-first, lettings bolted on
Per-user pricing	No — flat plan	£60-130/user/month
Annual contract minimum	None	12 months
Setup / onboarding	Free, self-serve	£500-1,500
30-day no-card trial	✓	Sales call
Migration from another CRM	Included	Quoted separately
Tenant portal	✓	✓
Landlord portal with auto-statements	✓	Limited
Contractor portal	✓	—
E-signature on AST	✓	Add-on
Multi-branch with RBAC	✓	✓
Per-agency SMTP (your domain)	✓	—
Compliance certificate tracker	✓	✓
Right-to-Rent verification (built-in)	£10/check	Manual
Tenant referencing (built-in)	From £15	Via Vouch/Let Alliance
Rent collection + bank-CSV reconciliation	✓	Manual
Late-rent auto-escalation	✓	Manual workflow
S21/S8/S13 generator with compliance gate	✓	—
Maintenance ticketing	✓	✓
Bulk-email tenants/landlords from your domain	✓	Limited
API access	Coming Q3 2026	Enterprise tier only
UK data residency	✓	✓

I'm already paying for Zoopla — does Alto come free? +

No. Alto is a separate subscription on top of your Zoopla portal contract. Many agents discover this only after signing up. If you want Zoopla listings *plus* a CRM, both have line items on your invoice.

Can I migrate from Alto to Estate-HQ? +

Yes. Alto exports your tenants, properties, tenancies and contacts as CSV from the standard menu. Our wizard ingests those CSVs, normalises UK postcodes/phone numbers/dates, runs a dry-run summary, then commits. Typical migration: under an hour. We include this in every plan, even Starter.

Will I lose features by switching? +

For 95% of day-to-day letting workflows, no — and you gain Estate-HQ-specific features like the compliance gate on S21, per-agency SMTP, contractor portal, and built-in Right-to-Rent. The one thing you'd lose is Zoopla listing automation; if you need that, keep the Zoopla portal but cancel the Alto CRM.

What about pricing predictability? +

Alto's per-user model means every new hire adds £60-130/month. Estate-HQ is flat — Pro at £79/month covers up to 10 users with no add-on fees. Predictable forever.