Colibri Real Estate is a market leader in online real estate education. It continues to pave the way in quality online educational content and offers courses in every state. But is Colibri—formerly Real Estate Express—the best real estate education company in the business? And perhaps more importantly, is it right for you? In this Colibri Real Estate review, we’ll help you find out.
We’ll take a close look at what Colibri Real Estate offers, discuss the pros and cons of the platform, offer insight into the student experience, and analyze its best features. By the end, you’ll have all of the information you’ll need to decide if you should enroll in Colibri Real Estate for your prelicensing courses.
The Close Scorecard: Colibri Real Estate
My Verdict on Colibri Real Estate
Colibri Real Estate is an ideal option for just about anyone who needs to complete their required real estate prelicensing education. It’s not the basement-level budget option RealEstateU offers and doesn’t have as many livestream opportunities as Kaplan, but the interface is better than their closest competitor, The CE Shop. To that point, I’ve seen a lot of improvement in their interface over the years and I love that commitment to innovation. The price point, access to instructors, and customer support make Colibri Real Estate an excellent choice. Plus, they offer a money-back guarantee that you’ll pass your real estate exam.
The Close readers can save even more using the coupon code TheClose30, which gives you an additional 30% off of already discounted packages!
Colibri Real Estate Prelicensing Pricing for 2024
While I focused mostly on reviewing Colibri’s prelicensing education, it’s important to note that they offer exam prep and continuing education in every state. Colibri also offers broker education in nine states and post-licensing in states where it is required. Their pricing, across packages, aligns pretty closely with the major online schools in the industry, such as Kaplan, The CE Shop, and Aceable Agent.
While pricing depends on how many hours of education your state requires and other variables, here’s the basic breakdown of Colibri’s packages.
Prelicensing | Exam Prep | Continuing Education | Broker Licensing | |
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Pricing From | $141 | $115 | $69 | $199 |
Basic Features | -Required courses -Instructor support -3 study guides -Career coaching videos | -Practice exams -Flashcards -Readiness assessment -Audio review guides | -Required courses for continuing education | -Required courses -E-books -Discussion boards -1-year RISMedia subscription |
Additional Upgrade Features | -Exam prep -Career Booster -Virtual instructor-led classes -Live engagement with instructors & students -1-year RISMedia subscription | -Exam crammer webseries -Live instructor Q&A | -Pro series webinars -How-to videos -100+ job aides -1-year RISMedia subscription | -Printed textbooks |
Value for Money
Colibri is priced around the same point as Kaplan, The CE Shop, and Aceable Agent, but we’re very impressed with the features included in the Colibri packages. Not only do you have several options to choose from, but most packages include Colibri’s exceptional exam prep resources and its Pass or Don’t Pay guarantee (note that the guarantee does not apply to students in Florida or Tennessee). Even if Colibri doesn’t offer prelicensing education in your state, it’s worth looking into their exam prep courses, which are offered in all 50 states.
What Does Colibri Real Estate Offer in My State?
Colibri Real Estate prelicensing is currently available in almost every state, with broker licensing offered in nine states. Exam prep and continuing education packages are in every state. Note that Colibri’s continuing education is done by its sister company, McKissock. Also the company has the following local schools under its umbrella: Superior School of Real Estate, Hondros College, Arizona School of Real Estate & Business, Hogan School of Real Estate, Rockwell Institute, Gold Coast Schools, and Key Realty School. This really just means they offer the same online experience and more live in-person options.
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- Colibri does not offer prelicensing real estate courses here, but check out our guide to our favorite five real estate schools in Connecticut.
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- Colibri doesn’t offer prelicensing real estate courses here, but check out The Close’s national guide to our favorite online real estate schools.
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- Colibri doesn’t offer prelicensing courses here, but check out our guide to our favorite four real estate schools in Idaho.
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- Colibri doesn’t offer prelicensing courses here, but check out our guide to our favorite five real estate schools in New Hampshire.
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- Continuing Education
- Colibri doesn’t offer prelicensing real estate courses here, but check out The Close’s national guide to our favorite online real estate schools.
- Licensing
- Post Licensing
- Exam Prep
- Continuing Education
- Post Licensing
- Exam Prep
- Continuing Education
- Colibri doesn’t offer prelicensing courses here, but check out our guide to our favorite five real estate schools in Oklahoma.
- Exam Prep
- Continuing Education
- Colibri doesn’t offer prelicensing courses here, but check out our guide to our favorite four real estate schools in Oregon.
- Licensing
- Post Licensing
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- Continuing Education
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- Colibri doesn’t offer prelicensing courses here, but check out our guide to our favorite five real estate schools in Rhode Island.
- Licensing
- Exam Prep
- Continuing Education
- Post Licensing
- Exam Prep
- Continuing Education
- Colibri doesn’t offer prelicensing real estate courses here, but check out The Close’s national guide to our favorite online real estate schools.
- Licensing
- Exam Prep
- Continuing Education
- Licensing
- Post Licensing
- Exam Prep
- Continuing Education
- Professional Development
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- Continuing Education
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- Continuing Education
- Licensing
- Post Licensing
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- Continuing Education
- Exam Prep
- Continuing Education
- Colibri doesn’t offer prelicensing real estate courses here, but check out The Close’s national guide to our favorite online real estate schools.
- Licensing
- Exam Prep
- Continuing Education
- Licensing
- Exam Prep
- Continuing Education
Walk-through Video
What Sets Colibri Real Estate Apart
There are some really excellent online real estate education providers, but Colibri continues to innovate and stand out from the crowd. Here’s a breakdown of why they are consistently picked as our top online real estate school:
Student Experience
Colibri is not the school for students who want in-person instruction, but in terms of online schools, they do a really good job of making students feel connected, supported, and engaged. I especially appreciate how the company helps online students feel connected. For example, there’s a dynamic discussion board where students can jump in and ask questions and interact with other students. Colibri assigns at least one instructor to each course, so if you’re looking at a term or concept you don’t really understand, it’s easy to send off a question (from right inside the platform) and get a response within one business day, which is true for even the most inexpensive packages. Finally, several of the upper-tier packages offer live Q&A sessions with instructors, which is the perfect opportunity to engage with others over complex topics.
Features
Colibri understands that there are different types of students. For those who are auditory learners, there is an option to listen along to content. Colibri also offers livestream classes in some states, which is ideal for students who want to complete their courses from the comfort of their own home, but with interaction with their instructor.
I also really like the goal tracker tool, which allows students to hold themselves accountable. You input your ideal schedule and/or ideal completion date, and it sets and tracks those goals for you. Note that students have six months to complete their coursework, or can purchase an extension.
Finally, for many, prelicensing is just the beginning of their real estate journey. So the fact that many students can complete all of their required education (post-licensing, continuing education, and even broker licensing) in one place is very helpful.
Reputation
Formerly Real Estate Express, Colibri has been around for a long time. They have an excellent reputation for online courses and exam preparation. Like most reputable online real estate schools, their instructors have real-world, practical experience in real estate and teaching. What sets Colibri apart is the ease of access to these instructors, the live webinars, the live Q&A, and the ability to email your teachers right from the platform.
User Interface
This is where Colibri really outshines the competition. It has the best user interface of all of the top online real estate schools. What does this mean for students? It means the site is easy to navigate and isn’t buggy. It’s clear where you are in the course progression, it’s easy to move from one topic to another, and it’s thoughtfully optimized for mobile.
Room for Improvement
We would like to see Colibri offer livestream courses in more states, as opposed to just a handful (such as California, Texas, and New York).
The lowest-priced packages don’t offer many bells and whistles, which might be frustrating for budget-conscious students looking for exam prep. Those who want just their state’s course content at a bargain price, or who’ve already been licensed in another state and need to check this education box, might want to consider a provider like RealEstateU.
The Bottom Line: Is Colibri Worth the Money?
Yes. Based on my thorough Colibri Real Estate review, I believe that the platform definitely lives up to the hype. Colibri Real Estate provides comprehensive courses that are widely available at affordable prices. Their Pass or Don’t Pay guarantee and dedication to innovation add to the many reasons I recommend this provider and why I’ve chosen Colibri Real Estate as our best online real estate school. If you want a quality education at an affordable price with excellent preparation for the real estate exam, Colibri is the right school for you.
Colibri Alternatives
Of course, Colibri Real Estate is not the only game in town. There are many education providers to fit every budget and learning style. Consider these four national providers, or refer to our state-specific guides to see what school we recommend for your state.
Real Estate School | Best For | Starting Price |
---|---|---|
Kaplan Real Estate | Livestream | $249 |
The CE Shop | Exam prep | $139 |
Aceable Agent | Mobile | $116 |
RealEstateU | Students on a budget | $69 |
Methodology
You can count on my Colibri Real Estate review to be thoughtful and objective both from a real estate perspective and the standpoint of someone who’s taken prelicensing classes and passed my state’s exam.
Specifically, when I evaluate a real estate school, I’m looking at:
I use these questions and more to put together our weighted scoring rubric. And that, along with my own decades of experience and expertise, make this a comprehensive review.
Bringing It All Together
Have more questions or experience with Colibri Real Estate courses? Do you have more to add to our Colibri Real Estate review? Tell us about your experiences in the comment section below!
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