Yopa Vs Purplebricks- Which Agent Should You Use?

Yopa or Purplebricks?

Fair warning; you’re probably not going to like the answer I’m about to serve up!

The reality is, I’m a feeble, blubbering fool, so I’m unable to provide you with a definitive answer. But nonetheless, hopefully you’ll find some value in the nuggets I’m about to drop…

Purplebricks is considerably more popular, but in all honesty – and don’t shoot the messenger – I don’t think it actually matters which one you choose out of the two, because they both pretty much do the same thing for the same price, which is as follows:

Estate Agent	Rating	Duration	Includes / Notes	Price
Yopa	Rating 4.6 TrustPilot Reviews	Duration 12 Months	Includes / Notes Pay Now Core package Key features Rightmove listing Zoopla listing Photograghs Floorplan Negotiation For sale sign In-person valuation *Selling fee of £1,499 in a few specific London postcodes.	Price*£999 Inc VAT	Visit WebsiteBook Free In-Person Valuation
PurpleBricks	Rating 4.5 TrustPilot Reviews	Duration 12 months	Includes / Notes Pay now package Key features Rightmove listing Zoopla listing Photograghs Floorplan Negotiation For sale sign In-person valuation Money-back guarantee *Selling fee of £1,499 in London and surrounding areas.	Price*£999 Inc VAT	Visit Website

I know, I know! I’m like a wishy-washy hippy, that’s just bumbling through life without conviction. I need to grow a pair. I need to pick a winner.

But really, it’s kind of like comparing McDonalds with Burger King. They’re kind of just the same thing, innit? I’m sure I’ll rub a few of the fast-food enthusiasts and their rumbling bellies the wrong way with my soulless comparison, but you know what I’m saying, right? Right.

So if it’s a choice between the two, either pick the cheapest (Yopa) if saving one £100 is enticing enough (which it should be), or may I simply suggest tossing a coin and leaving it to the hands of fate?

Why Yopa or Purplebricks? And what about the rest of the competition?

See, this is where I really wanted to steer the conversation, because I find it rather more interesting. Perhaps controversial, too.

Firstly, why is it Yopa Vs Purplebricks?

The thing is, many people don’t even realise there are other options beyond the two titans.

Well, there are. Real good options, too.

The only reason the standoff is usually between Yopa Vs Purplebricks is because they’ve got the deepest pockets – they’ve received the most amount of investment and spent a shitload more on marketing and brainwashing. Their branding is literally at every turn – plastered on billboards, bus-stops and even condoms (probably) – seeping into our subconscious.

But the reality is, there’s a bigger world out there, with many more choices and hidden gems, that are arguably just as good, if not better, and certainly wonderfully cheaper!

Of course, there’s Strike (formerly Housesimple) (who also deserve an honourable mention among the big two, because they’re also rather popular, but not quite up there), 99home, and DoorSteps, just to name a few. Here’s the full list of the online estate agents I recommend.

So if your world has been Yopa and Purplemove up until now, consider yourself enlightened.

Just to clarify, I don’t have anything personal against Yopa or Purplebricks. In fact, they’re both fine choices. Comparatively expensive, mind you, but fit for purpose.

However, I personally wouldn’t use either of them. Why, you ask? The bottom line, they’re just so much more expensive compared to most of the other options available, who, more-or-less, offer the same service.

Other Hybrid Online Estate Agents

So, technically speaking, Yopa and Puplebricks are hybrid agents (i.e. not strictly an “Online estate agent”), which essentially means they offer the best of both worlds- both a real life agency experience, combined with a virtual one.

In practical terms, it means that once you purchase a home-selling service online via their website, you’ll then get assigned a local agent (that doesn’t work out of a local branch, but typically their home), to visit your property to conduct a property valuation and offer the option of hosted viewings, and they work with you throughout the sale until completion.

That’s the theory anyways.

So yeah, they’re not the only agents offering that kind of ‘hybrid’ service. Take a look at these, for example, which are like-for-like hybrid packages, so they’re comparable alternatives…

Estate Agent	Rating	Duration	Includes / Notes	Price
Strike (formerly Housesimple) Top Pick	Rating 4.7 TrustPilot Reviews	Duration 6 months	Includes / Notes No fee package Key features Rightmove listing Zoopla listing Photograghs Floorplan Negotiation For sale sign In-person valuation No sale, no fee 13 weeks Sole Agency contract *YES, Strike will give you a 100% free service, no strings attached. However, Strike currently only sells properties in England, and in two forms. They provide a "hybrid" service (i.e. which includes an in-person valuation by a local agent) for properties in the Midlands, North West & Yorkshire etc. Specifically, the following postcodes: B1 - 50, B6 - 99, BB, BD, BL, CA, CH1- 4, CH25 - 34, CH41 - 49, CH60 - 66, CH70, CH88, CH99, CV, CW, DE, DG, DH, DL, DN, DY, FY, GL1 - 20, GL50 - 56, HD, HG, HR, HU, HX, IM, L, LA, LE1-19, LE21, LE41, LE55, LE65 - 67, LE87, LE94 - 95, LN, LS, M, NE, NG1 - 25, NG31 - 34, NG80, NG90, OL, PE10 - 12, PE20 - 25, PR, S, SK, SR, ST1 - 21, ST55, SY, TD, TF, TS, WA, WF, WN, WR, WS, WV, YO. For the rest of England, they provide a "virtual" service, which includes everything listed, but instead of an in-person valuation, you will receive a digital valuation report.	Price Free *Free	Visit WebsiteBook Free In-Person Valuation
I Am The Agent	Rating 4.8 TrustPilot Reviews	Duration 12 Months	Includes / Notes IATA Essential package Key features Rightmove listing Zoopla listing EPC Photograghs Floorplan For sale sign In-person valuation *You need to choose between Professional Photography/Floorplan or EPC. Alternatively, pay extra for the other: £119 for Photos, £65 for EPC.	Price Discount available *£404.1 Inc VAT (Normal price: £449)	Visit Website10% Discount Code: propinv21
99Home	Rating 4.9 TrustPilot Reviews	Duration Until Sold	Includes / Notes High Street package Key features Rightmove listing Zoopla listing OnTheMarket listing Zoopla Premium listing Photograghs Floorplan Negotiation For sale sign In-person valuation Hosted viewings 12 weeks Sole Agency contract Zoopla featured listing (for 1 week)	Price Discount available £989 Inc VAT (Normal price: £1099)	Visit Website10% Discount Code: PIP999

Please note, I try my best to keep the information of each agent up-to-date, but you should read the T&C’s from the agents’ website for the most up-to-date information.

Food for thought, food for thought. Right?

Other Regular/Pure Online Estate Agents

So now, we move onto the “pure” online estate agents.

These agents operate purely online, so you don’t get the “best of both worlds” experience, which means you won’t get a local agent assigned to your case. Instead, you, typically have to figure out the value of your own home (which really isn’t that difficult to do, especially if you use one of these free valuation services), and then shove the advert on Rightmove and process all the enquiries yourself. Essentially, it’s a lot more “hands-on”, and that’s why pure online estate agents are generally a lot more cheaper than hybrid agents (i.e. some packages currently start at £94, which is peanuts).

While I generally believe that you get what you pay for, I don’t think the lower fees plays a factor in my decision to prefer an online agent over a hybrid one. I just don’t think there’s enough value in the premium I have to cough-up for a “local agent”, and in my opinion, it beats the purpose of using an online solution. If I’m using an online agent, it means I want to do it- sell my home- without the traditional high-street solution, so I don’t want a half-baked version. But you know, that’s a rant for another day. Horses for courses.

There’s a lot to take in, and you’d be forgiven for getting lost somewhere along the line, especially considering I haven’t gone into great depth. However, for a much more detailed overview of both online and hybrid agents, along with a more complete menu of your options, may I invite you to the following section of my website…

Complete list of Online & Hybrid estate agents →

Ironically, I may have made the situation a whole lot more complicated for you. You probably came here looking to put the debate between the two market leaders to rest, but now you may leave feeling frustrated because you’re having to choose between several, along with wrapping your head around the whole ‘Hybrid Vs Online agent’ concept (which you may not even known was an actual thing).

On a more positive note, at least there’s scope to spending a lot less on selling your home online than you initially anticipated.

So, when it’s crunch time, who are you going to go with and why?