Letfold vs Alto — modern CRM without the Zoopla lock-in

Alto exists because Zoopla wanted to sell estate agents more than just listing slots. The pitch makes sense if you're already locked into a Zoopla contract and want a CRM rolled in. It's less compelling if you want the best CRM on its own merits. The thing most letting agents discover after six months on Alto: it's primarily a sales-side CRM with lettings retrofitted on top. The lettings workflows feel like an afterthought — separate tenancy area, separate compliance tracker, separate rent ledger that doesn't talk back to the dashboard. Letfold is built lettings-first. Every screen assumes you have tenants, deposits, certificates, S21 deadlines and bank transfers to reconcile. Read the matrix below and decide which model fits your day.

Feature	Letfold	Alto by Zoopla
Lettings-first design	✓	Sales-first, lettings bolted on
Per-user pricing	No — flat plan	£60-130/user/month
Annual contract minimum	None	12 months
Setup / onboarding	Free, self-serve	£500-1,500
30-day no-card trial	✓	Sales call
Migration from another CRM	Included	Quoted separately
Tenant portal	✓	✓
Landlord portal with auto-statements	✓	Limited
Contractor portal	✓	—
E-signature on AST	✓	Add-on
Multi-branch with RBAC	✓	✓
Per-agency SMTP (your domain)	✓	—
Compliance certificate tracker	✓	✓
Right-to-Rent verification (built-in)	£10/check	Manual
Tenant referencing (built-in)	From £15	Via Vouch/Let Alliance
Rent collection + bank-CSV reconciliation	✓	Manual
Late-rent auto-escalation	✓	Manual workflow
S21/S8/S13 generator with compliance gate	✓	—
Maintenance ticketing	✓	✓
Bulk-email tenants/landlords from your domain	✓	Limited
API access	Coming Q3 2026	Enterprise tier only
UK data residency	✓	✓

I'm already paying for Zoopla — does Alto come free? +

No. Alto is a separate subscription on top of your Zoopla portal contract. Many agents discover this only after signing up. If you want Zoopla listings *plus* a CRM, both have line items on your invoice.

Can I migrate from Alto to Letfold? +

Yes. Alto exports your tenants, properties, tenancies and contacts as CSV from the standard menu. Our wizard ingests those CSVs, normalises UK postcodes/phone numbers/dates, runs a dry-run summary, then commits. Typical migration: under an hour. We include this in every plan, even Starter.

Will I lose features by switching? +

For 95% of day-to-day letting workflows, no — and you gain Letfold-specific features like the compliance gate on S21, per-agency SMTP, contractor portal, and built-in Right-to-Rent. The one thing you'd lose is Zoopla listing automation; if you need that, keep the Zoopla portal but cancel the Alto CRM.

What about pricing predictability? +

Alto's per-user model means every new hire adds £60-130/month. Letfold is flat — Pro at £79/month covers up to 10 users with no add-on fees. Predictable forever.