iBuyer companies purchase homes as is, pay in cash, and close in as little as 1–2 weeks. So if your goal is an easy home sale, an iBuyer like Opendoor or Offerpad is worth looking into.
Requesting an offer is free, and you're under no obligation to accept it. Just be sure to have an accurate idea of your home value going in, so you know how much money you're leaving on the table.
Most iBuyers rely on algorithms to offer slightly less than market value — making their offers seem competitive, especially compared to a typical house flipper. However, they also charge service and repair fees, which can significantly reduce your final payout.
If you want to avoid repairs without sacrificing your bottom line, you're likely better off selling your house as is with a realtor.
- Data from more than 200 homes bought and sold by leading iBuyer Opendoor since 2023 found that the company resells homes for an average of 6% more than it pays, costing the typical home about $23,000 in lost profit potential. That's a lot of equity to give away, especially on top of service fees and repair charges.
If you're undecided about which route to take, we recommend starting with Clever Offers.
With Clever's 5-star rated service, you can compare cash offer options worth up to 100% of your home's value. You can also test the waters with a no-obligation 7-day MLS listing — allowing you to see what a traditional buyer would pay for your house as is, without the commitment of a lengthy listing agreement. Answer 5 simple questions and start comparing offers.
The top iBuyer companies for 2025
1. Clever Offers
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Clever Offers provides a hassle-free way to compare competitive cash offers. When you want the speed and ease of an all-cash sale, this 5-star rated company can bring you multiple competing offers from a variety of sources — including iBuyers, small and large-scale investors, and even your local MLS. You can compare offers side-by-side with no added fees or obligation to move forward.
Pros
- One source for multiple competing offers
- Buyers are screened for experience and proven success at closing deals
- Dedicated support to ensure a smooth closing and find you other offers if needed
Cons
- Cash offer options may be limited in some areas
2. Homeward
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With Homeward, you get the advantages of a cash offer, plus the additional upside of selling on the open market. Homeward can also help you buy before you sell or buy a new home with a competitive cash offer. But you’ll have to pay a program fee of up to 6.5% on top of the usual home-selling costs.
Pros
- Get a cash offer worth 89% of your home value, then list for additional proceeds
- Or, make a cash-backed offer on a new house before you sell
- In-house mortgage and title solutions that reduce program fees
- Bring your own real estate agent
Cons
- Program fees added to your realtor commissions and closing costs
- Stricter purchase criteria than a typical cash buyer
- Some customers express confusion over fees
3. Opendoor
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Opendoor pays much closer to market value than traditional house flippers while still offering the benefit of fast closings and no repairs. For that convenience, you’ll need to contend with stricter purchase criteria, repair deductions, and a service fee of 5%.
Pros
- Pays closer to market value than traditional home flippers
- No need to make repairs or prep your home for sale
- Choose your closing date and change it if needed
Cons
- Final offers can be significantly lower than the initial estimates
- Stricter purchase criteria than traditional home flippers
- Repair deductions and 5% service fee can eat into profits
4. Offerpad
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Offerpad pays more for homes than traditional house-flippers and also offers great perks, including free local moves and flexible closing windows of 8–90 days. However, customers claim it charges high fees for repairs uncovered during the home inspection.
Pros
- You can close in just eight days (15 in FL and GA)
- You can stay in your home for three extra days past your closing date at no charge.
- Sellers get free local moves and a 3-day free extended stay after closing
Cons
- Strict purchase criteria compared to traditional house flippers
- Repair deductions can greatly reduce your final offer
- 1% cancellation fee for backing out after accepting the final offer
5. Knock
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Knock's bridge loan offers a convenient way to buy a new house without having to sell your old one first. But you'll have to pay a minimum of 2.25% in service fees on top of the usual home-selling costs.
Pros
- Put an offer on a new home without it depending on your old one selling
- Use Knock's bridge loan to cover your down payment, moving expenses, and home prep
- Choose your own listing agent to sell and mortgage lended to buy
Cons
- Service and loan fees add 2.25%, plus $1,850, to your home selling costs
- Backup cash offer will be ~20% less than your home’s market value
- May have up to 6 months of ongoing mortgage costs while your house sells
6. Orchard
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Orchard is a decent option if you want to try selling on the open market, but you like the certainty of having a backup cash offer. Its buy-and-sell program lends you the equity from your current home to make an offer on a new one — meaning you don't have to wait for your house to sell to free up the cash for a down payment. The company then helps you list your home on the market and gives you a guaranteed cash offer to fall back on. The downside? Orchard fees start at ~8% of the sale price.
Pros
- List on the open market, have a cash offer to fall back on
- Make a more secure, competitive offer when buying
- Avoid paying overlapping mortgages out of pocket
Cons
- Service fees are ~8% of your home sale price
- Orchard’s backup offer is less than market value
7. Homelight Simple Sale
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If you're not sure where to start, HomeLight Simple Sale helps you explore two options: Getting cash offers or listing with an agent in their network. However, reviews indicate that offers are scarce in some areas and most sellers end up being matched with an agent.
Pros
- Compare investors' offers to the sale price you'd get with an agent
- Investors are vetted by HomeLight team before joining their network
- No extra fees for using HomeLight's service to find offers
Cons
- Not all sellers are successfully matched with investors
- Final offers may be lower than HomeLight’s initial online estimate
- You may get calls from HomeLight agents trying to earn your business
How much will an iBuyer pay for my house?
Our research team's analysis of more than 200 homes bought and sold by leading iBuyer Opendoor since January 2023 found that Opendoor pays approximately 6% less for homes than it eventually resells them for.
On a home purchased at $538,832 (the average paid by Opendoor among the homes we analyzed), that represents a loss of about $22,896 in potential profit for the home seller. That's on top of the 5% service fee and repair deductions already charged by Opendoor.
| Avg. Opendoor purchase price | $538,832 |
| Avg. Opendoor resale price | $561,729 |
| Avg. price difference (bought-to-resold) | $22,896 |
| Avg. % market value paid by Opendoor | 94%* |
*Based on an analysis of 217 homes bought and sold by Opendoor between December 2022 and September 2024. Data sourced from Bright MLS and public property records.
While you can typically expect to receive less than market value, actual offer amounts vary widely from customer to customer.
Some sellers find that iBuyers' offers are in line with or even exceed realtors' expectations of their sale price, while others find that their offers fall short. It often depends on the market.
"We used Opendoor and probably left about $10–12,000 on the table on a $430K home," says a Reddit user who sold to Opendoor in 2023. "Well worth it, especially if you’re using the proceeds to buy another home. No contingencies."
Another seller on the platform claims that Opendoor offered them 15% below their home's market value: "We tried Opendoor and their offer sucked, around 15% less than market for a turnkey house in a high demand area and their commission + service fee was still 6%."
Yet another Reddit user claims to have gotten more for their home than what the company resold it for: "In my case, Opendoor paid me about 20% more than what they eventually resold my house for a few months later. So it’s worth looking into."
Which iBuyer pays the most?
To find out which iBuyer pays the most, we talked multiple home sellers — including Jesse Zappia and Bradley Carpenter, both of whom recently sold their homes to Opendoor. Both sellers were offered just slightly below market value for their homes. However, their initial offers were lowered significantly following a mandatory home inspection.
Example 1: Opendoor's initial offer was higher
After getting an initial bid from another iBuyer, Jessie Zappia received a higher preliminary offer from Opendoor. "I think their initial offer was somewhat closer to the $600,000 number — it might have even been over," recalls Zappia.
However, following Opendoor's home inspection, they came back with an offer that was closer to $560,000.
"It was a significant jump, to where it caught my attention," says Zappia. "But overall, it still worked for us. It was within the range of what we were looking for to make a sale on the home, considering what we had spent on it."
In addition to a lower final offer, Zappia was charged $5,700 in repairs (about 1% of the sale price), which he felt was reasonable given the home's condition. However, he notes that "Had it been significantly higher, I probably would have argued that or even walked away."
Example 2: Offerpad's initial offer was higher
Bradley Carpenter had a slightly different experience with Offerpad vs. Opendoor. In fact, he had initially gone under contract with Offerpad, which offered more for his house in Kansas City. However, after a home inspection, Offerpad dropped their offer price by $40,000 — nearly 20% off the initial estimate.
By contrast, Opendoor's final offer came in just $7,000 lower than the preliminary offer, and he ended up selling to them for $230,000. Given the amount of work needed and listing price a realtor had quoted him, he felt like it was a fair deal.
Opendoor eventually resold the house for $247,000 after repainting the entire interior and exterior, restaining the back deck, and replacing the carpet. However, it took 10 months for the company to secure a buyer.
| ⚡ Take the guesswork out of selling your house: Explore a full range of offers from local, regional, and national cash buyers. Plus, get a professional home value estimate to see how cash offers measure up to your potential sale price. Compare your best options, with no added fees or obligation to move forward. |
How do iBuyers work?
iBuyer companies are relatively new to the real estate industry, but most share the same basic process. If you decide to sell your home to an iBuyer, you'll:
- Submit information about your home online
- Receive an initial cash offer
- Complete a home inspection
- Review an adjusted offer that accounts for repairs
- Accept the cash offer and close
Most iBuyers also have the same general guidelines for which homes they'll make an all-cash offer on.
| iBuyer purchase criteria |
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| 🏠 A single family residential home, condo, or townhome |
| 🌻 On a 0.5 to 1.5 acre lot |
| 🆕 Built after 1930 |
| 📌 Within an eligible service area |
| 💰 Valued at $100,000 to $600,000, or up to $1.4 million in certain markets |
If your home isn’t eligible to sell to an iBuyer, you can always work with a local real estate agent to find a buyer on your timeline. And, even if your property is eligible, it’s always a good idea to get a comparative market analysis from a local realtor to see what your home could sell for on the market.
How do iBuyers make offers?
To determine the price of a cash offer, iBuyers consider a range of factors, including:
- Recent sale prices of comparable homes in your area
- Analysis from in-house real estate experts
- Market data, such as how quickly homes values are rising
- Your home’s overall condition, including unique features or finishes
The best way to find out how much an iBuyer will pay for your home is to request a cash offer. iBuyers provide free, no-obligation offers, so you can compare your options before deciding to move forward.
Just be sure you're comparing final offers (and not initial estimates) before making a decision, since iBuyers often adjust their offers lower following an inspection.
How do iBuyers make money?
iBuyers make money in a few different ways:
- Fees: Most charge you a percentage of the value of your home when they purchase your property — usually about 5%.
- Home appreciation: iBuyers are essentially real estate investors who aim to resell your home for a profit. They do this by concentrating purchasing efforts in real estate markets where properties go up in value quickly.
- Repair deductions In recent years, iBuyers like Opendoor have gotten a reputation for charging exorbitant repair fees only to re-list the home without actually making the repairs. "They don't take any of the repair money for repairs, says this Reddit user, who got an offer from Opendoor in 2022. "I looked at a few of the houses they had bought in my neighborhood and besides cleaning the interior, they did nothing."
Pros and cons of selling to an iBuyer
Pros
- You can choose your own close date, giving you the freedom to sell on your timeline.
- There's no need to prep your home, make repairs, or host showings.
- There's less risk of the deal falling through due to financing or other issues.
Cons
- Final offers tend to be lower than initial offers and less than fair market value.
- iBuyers charge service fees, comparable to what you'd pay listing with an agent.
- There's little or no room to negotiate over the sale price or repair costs.
Best alternatives to selling to an iBuyer company
Leverage a buy-before-you-sell program
If you don't want to put time or money into fixing up your house before selling — but want to maximize your home value — you may want to consider a buy-before-you-sell service, also known as a modern bridge loan.
Rather than buying your home outright, buy-before-you-sell services like Homeward, Orchard, and Knock let you borrow against your existing home equity to purchase a new home before you list. You can typically use a portion of your advance to cover home improvements prior to listing, helping you maximize your home's selling potential.
One you secure a new home, the company will work with your realtor to put your old home on the market. If your home doesn't sell within a reasonable time frame, which is rare, you can take the company's cash offer as a backup.
Depending on which buy-before-you-sell option you choose, you'll pay anywhere from 2–7% of your home sale price in service and loan fees, on top of the usual realtor commissions and closing costs.
Sell your house as-is
If you’re on the fence selling to an iBuyer, but don't want to sink time and money into repairs, ask a couple of real estate agents what they think your home could sell for in its current condition.
When selling a house as is, "the profit you make really depends on the market you’re in," says realtor Elisha Lopez. "In Florida, for example, many sellers still see competitive offers on homes that need repairs."
Listing your home as is can help you appeal to a wider pool of buyers than simply getting offers from an iBuyer or two. Potential buyers include local investors, we buy houses companies, and traditional buyers in search of a fixer. You can specify in your listing that you won't be making repairs and even offer a set amount in repair concessions to speed up the negotiations.
While buyers are still entitled to conduct an inspection, a good agent will negotiate any repair requests — something you have less control over when selling directly to an iBuyer.
"Anyone can list a home for a lower price, but if investors and buyers are looking for a home in a certain neighborhood, they might be willing to pay top dollar no matter what the condition of the house is," advises Lopez. "A less experienced listing agent could compare the home to other homes in the same condition that recently sold and lower the sale price by 10-20%."
When choosing a realtor, remember that realtor fees are negotiable. Plenty of top-rated brokerages can help you save on realtor fees while still getting exceptional service from a highly skilled realtor.
FAQ
What is the best iBuyer company?
With its flexible closing times and move-out dates, Offerpad offers unique perks for home sellers. However, Opendoor is available in more markets and purchases 3x as many homes as Offerpad.Read our full analysis of Offerpad vs. Opendoor.
How much does it cost to sell to an iBuyer?
In general, iBuyers pay less than market value for homes and charge service fees of 5%. In most cases, you'll also have to pay for closing costs (~1%) and repairs, which vary by home. Before selling to an iBuyer, we recommend getting competing bids from other cash buyers and exploring alternatives such as listing your home for a discounted commission rate. Learn which companies offer the best value on realtor commissions.
Do iBuyers negotiate?
Unfortunately, there's usually little room to negotiate when selling to an iBuyer like Offerpad or Opendoor so you'll have to decide if it's worth it to take the cash offer or walk away.
About our recommendations
Our company recommendations are powered by hundreds of hours of research. To narrow down our list, we analyze thousands of online reviews across 3rd party sites including the Better Business Bureau, Consumer Affairs, Google, Trustpilot, reviews.io, Yelp, and Zillow.
In addition to tallying total review counts and average customer ratings, we conduct an AI-driven sentiment analysis across each company's review set to look for positive and negative themes related to the following core iBuyer criteria:
- Offer quality
- Service quality
- Fees and other costs
- Buyer experiences
- Credibility and integrity
To write our reviews, our team also interviews past customers, talks to realtors and investors familiar with iBuyer companies, and looks at publicly available data on iBuyer purchases.
We consistently refresh our rankings as new data becomes available.
Related reading
If you’re interested in more information about the best iBuyers or selling your home quickly, check out the following resources.
What Companies Offer the Lowest Real Estate Commissions? Emerging real estate models promise to make the standard 6% realtor commission a relic of the past. We compared leading low commission companies to help you find the best option!
The Best Companies that Buy Houses for Cash Like iBuyers, local and regional cash buyer companies make near-instant cash offers on homes. But unlike iBuyers, they're often willing to purchase homes in ANY condition. If you're looking for reputable cash buyers, see which companies made our "best of" list.
What Customers REALLY Have to Say about Opendoor: Opendoor is our choice for the best iBuyer company with its transparent pricing and wide coverage. Find more Opendoor reviews from customers, as well as an in-depth guide to how this service works.