§ 15 / COMPARE
same address.
different answer.
PlainComp against the rest of the comparable-sales market — Zestimate, Redfin Estimate, manual CMAs, RPR, Cloud CMA, HouseCanary. No spin. Where each tool wins, and where it doesn't.
01 / POSITIONING
Six ideas the rest of the market doesn't deliver in one product. Free instant AVMs are opaque. Manual CMAs are slow. Institutional tools are gated. PlainComp is the missing combination.
01
▮ ONE NUMBER, AUDITABLE
Every PlainComp number ships with the comps, weights, and adjustments behind it. No proprietary mystery layer between the input and the output.
02
▮ STATISTICS, NOT GUT
Ridge regression, composite scoring, distance decay. The same address produces the same number every time — not a function of which agent ran it.
03
▮ BUILT FOR THE USER
No lead capture. No brokerage funnel. No NAR membership. No enterprise contract. Address in, valuation out.
04
▮ SECONDS, NOT AFTERNOONS
A defensible CMA-grade report in under five seconds. Faster than a manual pull, more rigorous than an instant AVM.
05
▮ GRADED, NOT GUESSED
Confidence grade A–E plus robustness metrics. Not a single point estimate — a structured read on how much weight to put on the number.
06
▮ FAIR PRICE
Free for individual runs. $59 for the pro-tier export. No seats, no NAR dues, no enterprise quote. The price reflects what the model costs to run.
02 / TIMETABLE
Nine criteria. Seven tools. One row at a time. The PlainComp column is marked. Read across; pick the row that matters most for your use case.
| METRIC | ▮ PLAINCOMP | ○ ZESTIMATE | ○ REDFIN | ○ MANUAL CMA | ○ RPR | ○ CLOUD CMA | ○ HOUSECANARY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRANSPARENCY | Full method | Black box | Limited | Full | Limited | User-driven | Black box |
| COMP-LEVEL DETAIL | All comps | None | Partial | Full | Full | Full | Score only |
| TURNAROUND | < 5 sec | Instant | Instant | 2–4 hrs | Minutes | 30–60 min | API |
| CONFIDENCE GRADE | A–E + robustness | Range | Range | Subjective | None | User-driven | Score |
| ADJUSTMENT METHOD | Ridge regression | Proprietary | Proprietary | Manual | Manual | Manual | Proprietary ML |
| AUDIENCE | Anyone | Anyone | Anyone | Agent client | NAR members | Subscribed agents | Institutions |
| LEAD CAPTURE | None | Yes | Yes | Agent-driven | No | No | No |
| COST | Free / $59 | Free | Free | $200–500 | NAR dues | $30–40 / mo | Enterprise |
▮ PLAINCOMP — ROW VALUES BY COMPETITOR
○ ZILLOW
VS ▮ PLAINCOMP
TRANSPARENCY
▮ PLAINCOMP
Full breakdown
○ ZILLOW
Black box
COMP DETAIL
▮ PLAINCOMP
All comps shown
○ ZILLOW
None
CONFIDENCE GRADE
▮ PLAINCOMP
A–E + robustness
○ ZILLOW
Range only
LEAD CAPTURE
▮ PLAINCOMP
None
○ ZILLOW
Routes to agents
COST
▮ PLAINCOMP
Free / $59
○ ZILLOW
Free
○ REDFIN
VS ▮ PLAINCOMP
TRANSPARENCY
▮ PLAINCOMP
Full breakdown
○ REDFIN
Limited
COMP DETAIL
▮ PLAINCOMP
All comps shown
○ REDFIN
Partial
NATIONAL COVERAGE
▮ PLAINCOMP
All 50 states
○ REDFIN
Redfin markets only
LEAD CAPTURE
▮ PLAINCOMP
None
○ REDFIN
Brokerage signup
COST
▮ PLAINCOMP
Free / $59
○ REDFIN
Free
○ MANUAL
VS ▮ PLAINCOMP
TURNAROUND
▮ PLAINCOMP
< 5 sec
○ MANUAL
2–4 hrs
ADJUSTMENT METHOD
▮ PLAINCOMP
Ridge regression
○ MANUAL
Subjective
REPRODUCIBILITY
▮ PLAINCOMP
Deterministic
○ MANUAL
Varies by agent
COMP COUNT
▮ PLAINCOMP
Up to 10 weighted
○ MANUAL
3–6 typical
DELIVERABLE
▮ PLAINCOMP
Live report
○ MANUAL
PDF / spreadsheet
COST
▮ PLAINCOMP
Free / $59
○ MANUAL
$200–500
○ RPR
VS ▮ PLAINCOMP
AUDIENCE
▮ PLAINCOMP
Anyone
○ RPR
NAR members only
UI / SPEED
▮ PLAINCOMP
Instant, focused
○ RPR
Heavy, dated
TRANSPARENCY
▮ PLAINCOMP
Full breakdown
○ RPR
Black-box RVM
COMP WEIGHTING
▮ PLAINCOMP
Composite + distance decay
○ RPR
Agent-curated
EXPORT
▮ PLAINCOMP
Web report
○ RPR
COST
▮ PLAINCOMP
Free / $59
○ RPR
NAR dues bundle
○ CLOUDCMA
VS ▮ PLAINCOMP
WORKFLOW
▮ PLAINCOMP
Address → report
○ CLOUDCMA
MLS pull → manual build
MODEL
▮ PLAINCOMP
Ridge + distance decay
○ CLOUDCMA
Manual / templated
TIME TO REPORT
▮ PLAINCOMP
< 5 sec
○ CLOUDCMA
30–60 min
AUDIENCE
▮ PLAINCOMP
Anyone
○ CLOUDCMA
Subscribed agents
DEFENSIBILITY
▮ PLAINCOMP
Documented method
○ CLOUDCMA
Depends on user
COST
▮ PLAINCOMP
Free / $59
○ CLOUDCMA
$30–40 / mo
○ HOUSECANARY
VS ▮ PLAINCOMP
AUDIENCE
▮ PLAINCOMP
Anyone
○ HOUSECANARY
Institutions / API buyers
TRANSPARENCY
▮ PLAINCOMP
Full breakdown
○ HOUSECANARY
Black-box ML
ACCESS MODEL
▮ PLAINCOMP
Web + API
○ HOUSECANARY
API + enterprise contract
PRICE FLOOR
▮ PLAINCOMP
Free / $59
○ HOUSECANARY
Custom enterprise
COMP-LEVEL VIEW
▮ PLAINCOMP
Yes
○ HOUSECANARY
Score only
INDIVIDUAL USE
▮ PLAINCOMP
Built for it
○ HOUSECANARY
Not the use case
03 / DRILLDOWNS
Each competitor on its own. What they do well, and where the PlainComp model lands a different answer.
01 / VS
Zestimate
Massive consumer AVM. Broad, fast, opaque.
▮ WHERE PLAINCOMP LANDS DIFFERENTLY
- ▮Real comp-by-comp breakdown — not a single point estimate.
- ▮Confidence grade and robustness metrics, not a vague range.
- ▮No lead capture. No agent routing. No data harvesting.
02 / VS
Redfin Estimate
MLS-fed AVM tied to a brokerage funnel.
▮ WHERE PLAINCOMP LANDS DIFFERENTLY
- ▮Works in every US market, not just Redfin's footprint.
- ▮Method is fully documented. Redfin keeps weights proprietary.
- ▮Built for the user, not the brokerage funnel.
03 / VS
Manual CMA
Agent pulls comps in MLS and adjusts by hand.
▮ WHERE PLAINCOMP LANDS DIFFERENTLY
- ▮Seconds, not afternoons. Same answer at 2am as at noon.
- ▮Statistical adjustments instead of agent gut.
- ▮Two agents pulling the same comps now produce the same number.
04 / VS
RPR (Realtors Property Resource)
NAR member tool. RVM AVM plus comp library.
▮ WHERE PLAINCOMP LANDS DIFFERENTLY
- ▮No NAR membership required. Anyone can run the model.
- ▮Modern, fast, focused. Not a 2010-era enterprise UI.
- ▮Composite scoring and distance decay, fully documented.
05 / VS
Cloud CMA
Lender / agent CMA report builder.
▮ WHERE PLAINCOMP LANDS DIFFERENTLY
- ▮One address, one report. No MLS-pull-and-format dance.
- ▮Same statistical method on every report — Cloud CMA only formats.
- ▮No subscription. No seat licensing.
06 / VS
HouseCanary
Institutional AVM. Investor- and lender-grade.
▮ WHERE PLAINCOMP LANDS DIFFERENTLY
- ▮An individual can actually run it without an enterprise contract.
- ▮Comp-level visibility — not a black-box score with no audit trail.
- ▮Free-to-$59 pricing, not custom enterprise quotes.
04 / CAVEATS
Honest limits. A comparison page that only flatters the home team isn't worth reading.
DATASET BREADTH
Zillow and Redfin sit on enormous proprietary datasets. PlainComp uses Rentcast — wide enough for most US markets, narrower than full MLS access.
BRAND TRUST
Zestimate is a household name. PlainComp is new. The transparency is the point — read the method, audit the comps, decide for yourself.
INTERIOR CONDITION
No automated tool sees inside the home. Renovations, deferred maintenance, and finishes still require a physical inspection.
INSTITUTIONAL DEPTH
HouseCanary serves portfolio buyers who need API throughput, custom ML, and SLAs. PlainComp is built for individual decisions, not 50,000-property batches.
NOT AN APPRAISAL
Every tool on this page produces an estimate. None of them — including PlainComp — is a USPAP appraisal. Treat all numbers accordingly.
05 / VERIFY
Every claim on this page is structural — design choices, not accuracy boasts. The model itself, comp retrieval through ridge regression through composite scoring through distance decay through top-comp selection through weighted valuation, is documented in the method page. The honest way to evaluate accuracy is to run PlainComp on three properties you already know the true value of, then compare the output to reality. The method page walks through exactly that.
06 / RUN ONE
same address.
better answer.
Run the same address through PlainComp that you'd run through any tool above. Compare the numbers. Compare the comps. Compare what each one is willing to show you.