AI Tool Comparison
AI Systems Instructor • Real Estate Technologist
Quick Answer: Chime (Lofty) is better for AI-forward solo agents who want autonomous lead nurture through its Agentic Operating System. kvCORE (BoldTrail) is better for established teams and brokerages needing enterprise admin controls and deep marketing automation. Choose Lofty for AI innovation; choose BoldTrail for scale.
Chime and kvCORE are two of the most popular CRM platforms in real estate—and both just rebranded. Chime is now Lofty. kvCORE is now BoldTrail (under Inside Real Estate). Most comparison articles online still use the old names, leaving agents confused about which platform they are actually evaluating. This guide uses both names interchangeably so you can find what you need regardless of which brand you searched for. More importantly, we evaluate these platforms through the lens of AI capability. In February 2026, Lofty launched its Agentic Operating System—a genuine leap toward autonomous AI in real estate CRM. BoldTrail counters with enterprise-scale behavioral automation and a deep integration marketplace. The right choice depends on your business model, team size, and how aggressively you want to adopt AI. But here is the truth most CRM comparisons miss: the platform you choose matters far less than the AI skills you bring to it. An agent who understands the HOME framework—Human oversight, Organized prompts, Measured output, Ethical boundaries—will outperform on either platform. That is exactly what we teach at AI Acceleration.
Quick Verdict
Lofty for AI-forward solo agents; kvCORE for established teams needing enterprise features
If you are a solo agent or small team who wants to be on the cutting edge of AI-powered real estate, Lofty's new Agentic Operating System gives you autonomous workflows that no other CRM offers yet. You will trade some reporting depth and integration breadth for genuine innovation and faster onboarding. If you run a team of 10+ agents or a brokerage and need enterprise admin controls, deep transaction integrations, and industrial-strength automation, kvCORE/BoldTrail remains the more complete platform—even if its AI features are more traditional. The agents we train at AI Acceleration succeed on both platforms because they bring structured AI skills (Context Cards, the 5 Essentials prompting framework) that amplify whatever CRM they choose. The CRM is the vehicle; your AI literacy is the engine.
| Feature | Chime (Lofty) | kvCORE (BoldTrail) |
|---|---|---|
| Lead Management | ✓ Smart plans auto-adjust based on lead behavior; AI Assistant qualifies leads via two-way text before routing to agents | ✓ Behavioral automation engine tracks 400+ data points per lead; mass communication tools handle email, text, and ringless voicemail at scale |
| AI Features | ✓ Agentic Operating System (Feb 2026) enables autonomous workflows—lead follow-up, scheduling, and nurture run without manual triggers | ✓ Rules-based behavioral automation is effective but not truly agentic; AI assists with lead scoring and recommended actions |
| IDX Website | ✓ Built-in IDX sites with strong SEO, fast load times, and integrated lead capture forms | ✓ Robust IDX sites with single-property pages that auto-generate; more template options for brokerage-level branding |
| Marketing Automation | ✓ Solid email and text drip campaigns with AI-adjusted timing; social media posting tools included | ✓ Full-stack marketing with automated listing campaigns, social posting, email drips, ringless voicemail, and BoldTrail Boost for paid ads |
| Ease of Use | ✓ One of the fastest onboarding experiences in real estate CRM—most agents operational within a day | ✓ Powerful but complex; teams typically need 2-4 weeks of training before seeing full productivity |
| Price Value | ✓ Competitive pricing for solo agents starting around $300-500/month all-in with IDX site; strong value for feature set | ✓ Higher entry point especially at brokerage tier; best value realized at scale with 20+ agents sharing the platform cost |
| Mobile App | ✓ Clean mobile experience with lead notifications, AI chat, and quick-action buttons for on-the-go response | ✓ Functional mobile app covering core CRM features; can feel cluttered due to platform complexity |
| Team Features | ✓ Adequate for small teams with lead routing and basic reporting; less suited for brokerages with 50+ agents | ✓ Enterprise-grade admin controls, agent accountability dashboards, top-down reporting, and customizable permission levels |
| AI Content Generation | ✓ AI Assistant drafts listing descriptions, email sequences, and text responses; improving rapidly with agentic update | ✓ Limited native content generation; agents typically pair BoldTrail with external AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude for content |
| Integration Ecosystem | ✓ Growing integration list but narrower than Inside Real Estate's marketplace; covers major lead sources and Zapier | ✓ Extensive marketplace including BoldTrail Boost, BackAgent, AmpUp, plus deep integrations with dotloop, SkySlope, and major lead providers |
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See how each tool performs on actual real estate tasks agents face every day.
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Analysis: This is the clearest differentiation between the two platforms in 2026. Lofty's Agentic OS handled the entire lead qualification and appointment booking autonomously—no human intervention required until the showing itself. BoldTrail's automation is effective and data-rich (the behavioral timeline is valuable), but it still requires the agent to manually close the loop. For agents who lose leads to slow follow-up, Lofty's autonomous approach is a genuine competitive advantage.
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Analysis: BoldTrail wins on breadth of marketing output. The print-ready flyer, paid ad integration via Boost, QR code generation, and cross-channel analytics give it a more complete listing marketing toolkit. Lofty's AI-generated content is higher quality and faster, but BoldTrail covers more channels out of the box. For listing-heavy agents, the extra three minutes of setup buys significantly wider distribution.
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Analysis: This is where BoldTrail's enterprise DNA shows. Intelligent routing based on agent specialization and lead characteristics is far more effective than round-robin for teams of any size. The accountability dashboard and performance analytics give team leaders visibility that Lofty simply does not offer at the same depth. If you manage agents, BoldTrail's admin tools justify the higher price.
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Analysis: Lofty's integrated content generation eliminates the friction of switching between tools. The AI pulls contextual data (listings, market stats) that an external tool would not have access to, producing more relevant content with less effort. BoldTrail agents can absolutely create equal or better content—but they need to bring their own AI skills and tools. This is actually a core argument for investing in AI literacy training: BoldTrail agents who complete AI Acceleration's course close this gap entirely by learning to use external AI tools with Context Cards and the 5 Essentials framework.
The best tool depends on your specific real estate workflow. Here is our guidance for the most common scenarios.
For If you are a solo agent who wants cutting-edge AI
Lofty's Agentic Operating System is the most advanced AI implementation in any real estate CRM as of early 2026. If you want your CRM to autonomously handle lead follow-up, appointment scheduling, and nurture sequences, Lofty is the clear choice. Pair it with AI Acceleration's Context Cards to ensure the AI communicates in your voice.
For If you run a team of 10+ agents or a brokerage
BoldTrail's enterprise admin controls, intelligent lead routing, agent accountability dashboards, and deep transaction management integrations make it the stronger platform for team operations. The higher price point is justified when split across a team.
For If ease of use and fast setup are your top priorities
Lofty consistently wins on onboarding speed. Most agents are operational within a day versus the 2-4 weeks BoldTrail typically requires for full configuration. If you are migrating from a simple CRM or spreadsheet, Lofty's learning curve is far less intimidating.
For If you need the broadest marketing toolkit
BoldTrail's combination of automated listing marketing, BoldTrail Boost paid advertising, print-ready materials, ringless voicemail, and cross-channel analytics gives it the widest marketing coverage. Agents who run heavy outbound marketing campaigns will use more of what BoldTrail offers.
For If you want the best of both: CRM plus general AI skills
The biggest performance gap we see is not between CRMs—it is between agents with AI skills and agents without them. An agent trained in the 5 Essentials prompting framework and HOME methodology will outperform on either platform. Lofty's native AI is more autonomous, but BoldTrail agents who bring their own ChatGPT or Claude skills close the gap entirely. Invest in the skills, not just the subscription.
Yes on both counts. Chime rebranded to Lofty in late 2023, and kvCORE became BoldTrail under Inside Real Estate's unified brand. Both platforms retained all their features through the rebrand—only the name and interface design changed. Most agents and online reviews still use the old names interchangeably, which is why you will see both referenced throughout this comparison. When searching for support articles or community discussions, try both the old and new name to find the most results.
Lofty (formerly Chime) pricing for solo agents typically starts around $300-500 per month for the CRM, IDX website, and AI features bundled together. BoldTrail (formerly kvCORE) pricing varies more widely: solo agent plans start around $400-600 per month, while team and brokerage pricing is custom-quoted based on agent count and features. Both platforms require annual contracts in most cases. BoldTrail often offers better per-agent pricing at scale (20+ agents), while Lofty is generally more cost-effective for solo agents and small teams under 10.
Launched in February 2026, Lofty's Agentic Operating System represents a shift from traditional CRM automation (which follows pre-set rules) to autonomous AI workflows. Instead of triggering a drip sequence when a lead takes a specific action, the agentic system independently evaluates the lead's behavior, crafts personalized responses, books appointments, and adjusts strategy—all without the agent manually configuring each step. This is significant because it means the CRM handles the mechanical parts of lead nurture while the agent focuses on relationship building and closings. It aligns directly with the HOME framework we teach at AI Acceleration: Human oversight of AI-driven processes, with the agent maintaining control over key decisions.
Absolutely. The 5 Essentials prompting framework (Ask, Audience, Channel, Facts, Constraints) and Context Cards are platform-agnostic tools that work with any CRM. With Lofty, you can use Context Cards to train the built-in AI to match your voice and market expertise. With BoldTrail, you would use Context Cards with an external AI tool like ChatGPT or Claude to generate content that you then deploy through BoldTrail's marketing automation. Either approach produces dramatically better results than using the CRM's default templates. Our students report 60-70% less editing time on AI-generated content when using a Context Card.
Lofty has the edge for integrated content generation because its AI can pull from your active listings, market data, and lead behavior to produce contextual content without leaving the platform. BoldTrail does not offer the same level of native AI content generation—most BoldTrail users pair the CRM with ChatGPT, Claude, or Jasper for content creation. However, agents who learn to use external AI tools effectively (using the 5 Essentials framework and Context Cards) often produce higher-quality content than any CRM's built-in AI, because they have more control over voice, tone, and specificity.
Lofty is significantly easier to learn. Its interface is designed for agents who want to get up and running quickly, and the Agentic OS actually reduces the number of manual configurations required since the AI handles many decisions autonomously. BoldTrail is a more powerful platform overall, but that power comes with complexity—expect to invest 2-4 weeks in training before you are productive. If you are coming from a spreadsheet or a simple CRM like LionDesk, Lofty's transition will feel much more natural.
No. Even Lofty's advanced Agentic Operating System works better when the agent understands AI fundamentals—how to set the right parameters, when to override automated decisions, and how to evaluate AI-generated content for accuracy and compliance. BoldTrail agents need general AI skills even more, since they will likely use external AI tools alongside the CRM. Think of it this way: a CRM is a power tool, but AI literacy is knowing how to use it. That is why the most successful agents in our AI Acceleration program see the biggest gains not from switching CRMs, but from learning structured frameworks like the 5 Essentials and HOME methodology that apply to every AI-powered tool they touch.
Learn the Frameworks