Guide
The best marketing tools for new real estate agents in 2026
Paper Route is the best marketing tool for a new real estate agent with no listings: a content employee for real estate agents that texts you the week’s ideas and posts, writes each one from scratch for your market and puts you on screen, from $29 a month. Free plans cover the rest: Canva, HubSpot, Google Business Profile and Buffer. Every price is from the vendor’s own page, checked 4 Nov 2026.
Updated 4 November 2026
Key takeaways: which marketing tools does a new real estate agent need?
A new agent needs a post maker, a CRM (the contact manager where you keep everyone you know), a free Google listing and a scheduler, each free or about $60 a month or less.
- Paper Route is the best content tool for a new agent: Starter is $29 a month for 6 posts in market update and educational formats, and neither needs a listing.
- A new agent’s first-year stack can cost $0 a month: Canva Free, HubSpot’s free CRM, Mailchimp Free, Google Business Profile and Buffer Free.
- The under-$100 stack is Paper Route Starter plus Canva Pro: $47 a month, or $97 with Paper Route Pro.
- Paper Route writes each post for your own market and texts it to you; Keeping Current Matters Social Edge ($59.95 a month) supplies national content with auto-posting.
What does each marketing tool for new agents cost?
The table lists 8 tools: Paper Route at $29 to $79 a month and seven others from $0 to $59.95 a month. Each works with no listings.
| Tool and job | Free plan | Cheapest paid plan, billed monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Paper Route (posts made for you) | None; the first week free, no card | Starter $29 a month; Plus $39; Pro $79 |
| Canva (design) | 1.6M+ templates, 1 Brand Kit | Pro $18 a month |
| Keeping Current Matters (market content) | None; 14-day free trial | Social Edge $59.95 a month |
| CapCut (video editing) | Free templates and basic editing tools | — |
| HubSpot free CRM (contacts) | Up to 2 users and 1,000 contacts | Starter $10 per seat a month (limited-time price) |
| Mailchimp (email) | 250 contacts, 500 sends a month | Essentials from $13 a month; Standard from $20 |
| Google Business Profile (local search) | Free | No paid plan |
| Buffer (scheduling) | 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel | Essentials $6 per channel a month |
Posts made for you
What does Paper Route do for a new agent with no listings?
Paper Route is a content employee for real estate agents: it texts you the ideas and the week’s posts; reply yes or ask for a change, with up to 4 edits per post. Every carousel and reel is written from scratch, never a template. You're on screen in two ways: film a take on your phone and we edit it professionally, or we make a hyperrealistic AI video of you talking to camera in your own cloned voice, with no filming.
Starter is $29 a month for 3 reels and 3 carousels in market update and educational formats. Plus is $39 for 8 posts in all five formats, posting to your Instagram once you say yes. The first week is free, with no card. See Paper Route’s plans and prices.
![Closing slide of a sample Paper Route educational carousel on HOA rules in Phoenix: a front door, the label “[phoenix]” and the line “Buying in Phoenix? DM me if you want help going through the packet before you write an offer.”](/_next/image?url=%2Fcarousels%2Fhoa-rules-phoenix%2F07.webp&w=3840&q=75)
Best for: Paper Route is the best marketing tool for a new real estate agent who has no listings yet: it writes carousels and market update and educational reels from scratch for your market and texts them to you every week, from $29 a month.
Not the right pick if you want contacts managed, email newsletters sent or your comments and DMs answered: Paper Route is not a CRM, sends no newsletters and does not reply to messages. It is also not free after the first week.
What does a new agent's first-year marketing stack cost?
A new agent’s stack costs $0 on free plans, or $47 a month with Paper Route Starter and Canva Pro. The $47 stack hands the writing to Paper Route. The under-$100 social media guide covers social alone.
| Stack | Tools | A month | What you still do each week |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0 stack | Canva Free, HubSpot CRM or your brokerage’s, Mailchimp Free, Google Business Profile, Buffer Free | $0 | Pick the topic, write the caption, design the post, schedule it |
| Under-$100 stack | Paper Route Starter ($29), Canva Pro ($18), plus the free tools above | $47 | Reply yes or ask for a change, answer your own comments and DMs, add contacts |
No listings
What can a new agent post with no listings?
A new agent can post two things that need no listing: a market update and an educational post. Paper Route Starter writes both, as reels and as carousels, from scratch for your market.
- Market update: what changed in your local market, with the numbers checked, ending on a reason to reach out.
- Educational: one question answered under your name, such as pre-approval versus pre-qualification or what an appraisal gap is. Topics rotate, so you do not repeat one.
Neither format needs a listing, so a new agent can post in week one. The sample slide above shows how a carousel closes.
Content you make
Which design and content tools fit a new agent's budget?
Canva Free and CapCut Free cost $0 and leave the writing to you; Keeping Current Matters costs $59.95.
Canva and CapCut: free design and video editing
Canva is a design tool; its Free plan lists 1.6M+ templates, and Pro is $18 a month. CapCut is a video editor with a free plan. Best for an agent who likes designing or films their own clips; choose them if you want to make the posts yourself. See the AI tools guide for real estate agents.
Keeping Current Matters: national posts with auto-posting, $59.95
Keeping Current Matters lists, in Social Edge, a weekly posting plan built for you, auto-posting to Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, an email and newsletter builder and national market data, personalized with your name. It is $59.95 a month after a 14-day free trial. Choose Keeping Current Matters if you want ready-made content, automatic posting and a newsletter builder on one plan. Social Edge lists national data only.
Contacts and follow-up
Which free CRM and email tool should a new agent use?
HubSpot’s free CRM holds 1,000 contacts at $0, and Mailchimp’s free plan emails 250 of them. Ask your broker first, because the brokerage may already supply a CRM.
HubSpot free CRM: 1,000 contacts at $0
HubSpot lists its free CRM, a place to log each person and your last conversation, for up to 2 users and 1,000 contacts, with contact and deal management, email tracking and meeting scheduling. Best for an agent building a list of past clients and leads; choose HubSpot if your brokerage supplies no CRM.
Mailchimp: a free monthly newsletter
Mailchimp lists a free plan of 250 contacts and 500 sends a month; Essentials starts at $13 a month and Standard at $20. Best for an agent who will email a short market note to their sphere each month. Build a list worth emailing before you pay for a plan.
Being found and scheduling
Which free tools help a new agent get found and post on time?
Google Business Profile puts a new agent on Google Search and Maps for $0, and Buffer Free schedules 10 posts per channel on 3 channels.
Google Business Profile: free local listing
Google Business Profile says: “Yes, creating a Business Profile and listing your business on Google is free.” Google’s eligibility page lists real estate agents as individual practitioners and allows a storefront-free business one service-area profile. Best for an agent who works a defined service area and wants to show on Google Search and Maps. Set it up in week one.
Buffer: free scheduling for 3 channels
Buffer is a scheduler: Free covers 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel, and Essentials is $6 per channel a month. Best for an agent who makes posts by hand; choose Buffer if you want them published on time. Paper Route Plus posts to your Instagram once you say yes.
Skip for now
What should a new agent skip in the first year?
A new agent can skip paid leads, a team CRM, a custom website and an agency until closings pay for them.
- Paid leads: buying leads from a portal is a cost you carry before you have closings; wait until a closing can pay for it.
- A team CRM: Follow Up Boss Grow is $69 per user a month, and Lofty lists “Request Pricing”.
- A custom website: a free Google Business Profile covers year one. Build a site when you have listings to show.
- An agency: White Birch Marketing lists $697 a month plus a $299 setup fee for Essentials.
How to start
How should a new real estate agent market themselves?
A new agent should market in three steps: tell your sphere (the people you already know) first, post every week, then pick one local niche.
- Sphere first. Put everyone you know into a CRM and tell them you are licensed.
- A weekly post. Paper Route Starter texts you 6 posts a month for $29; a free stack means writing your own.
- One local niche. Pick one town or one property type, such as condos, and set it as your service area on Google Business Profile.
To budget a first closing, use the real estate commission calculator.
Which to pick
Which marketing tool should a new agent pick for their situation?
Paper Route Starter, at $29 a month, is the one paid tool to pick first; on $0, use the free stack.
- One paid tool, or no time to make posts: Paper Route Starter: it writes the posts and you reply yes by text.
- Part-time, evenings only: Paper Route Starter.
- Your brokerage already gives you a CRM or an agent website: use them and skip HubSpot and a custom site.
- Ready-made national content with auto-posting: Keeping Current Matters Social Edge.
- You like designing: Canva Pro at $18 a month.
- Video of you without filming: Paper Route.
FAQ
What do new agents ask about marketing tools?
Method and sources
Where do these prices come from?
Every price is from the vendor’s own page, read on 4 Nov 2026. Canva, HubSpot and Buffer open on yearly billing; the prices here are from their Monthly toggle.