Top Real Estate Crowdfunding Platforms Compared

Fundrise

Minimum: $10. Accreditation required: No. Investment type: Diversified funds (eREITs, eFunds). Annual fees: ~1% (advisory + management). Best for: Beginners and hands-off investors who want diversified exposure with a low entry point.

Fundrise is the largest platform by investor count, with over 380,000 accounts. Their fund structure spreads your investment across dozens of residential and commercial properties. Returns have ranged from approximately 1.5% to 23% depending on the year. Redemptions are available with a 1% penalty for shares held less than 5 years.

CrowdStreet

Minimum: $25,000 (individual deals), $25,000 (funds). Accreditation required: Yes. Investment type: Individual property deals and diversified funds. Annual fees: No direct investor fees (sponsors pay platform fees). Best for: Experienced accredited investors who want to select specific commercial properties.

CrowdStreet offers a marketplace model where individual sponsors list deals for investor funding. The platform vets sponsors and deals, reportedly approving fewer than 5% of submissions. Investors access detailed offering documents and can evaluate each property, sponsor, and business plan independently. Individual deal projected returns typically range from 12% to 20%+ IRR with 3 to 5 year holds. The 2023 Nightingale Properties incident, where a sponsor was accused of misusing investor funds, highlighted the risks of individual deal selection.

EquityMultiple

Minimum: $5,000 (Alpine Notes), $10,000 to $20,000 (equity/funds). Accreditation required: Yes. Investment type: Debt, preferred equity, common equity, and funds. Annual fees: 0.5% to 1.5% servicing fee plus deal-level fees. Best for: Accredited investors who want flexibility across different deal structures.

EquityMultiple offers the widest variety of investment structures on a single platform. Alpine Notes are short-term debt instruments targeting 5% to 7%. Preferred equity offerings target 8% to 12%. Common equity deals target 12% to 18%+ IRR. Their fund products provide diversified exposure. This range allows investors to build a complete crowdfunding portfolio on one platform.

RealtyMogul

Minimum: $5,000 (MogulREIT), $15,000+ (private placements). Accreditation required: No (for REITs), Yes (for private placements). Investment type: Non-traded REITs and individual deals. Annual fees: 1% to 1.25% (REITs) plus deal-level fees. Best for: Investors who want both accessible fund products and accredited-only individual deals on one platform.

RealtyMogul operates two non-traded REITs open to all investors: MogulREIT I (income-focused, targeting 6% to 8% distributions) and MogulREIT II (growth-focused). Accredited investors can also access individual private placement deals. This dual structure allows investors to start with the accessible REITs and transition to individual deals as they gain experience and accreditation.

Groundfloor

Minimum: $10. Accreditation required: No. Investment type: Short-term residential debt. Annual fees: None (Groundfloor earns a spread between borrower rates and investor rates). Best for: Investors who want short-term real estate debt exposure with very low minimums.

Groundfloor focuses exclusively on short-term residential bridge loans (6 to 18 months). Each loan is graded from A to G based on risk factors, with higher-risk grades offering higher interest rates (5% to 14%+). The short duration allows frequent reinvestment and quicker access to capital compared to equity investments.

Arrived Homes

Minimum: $100. Accreditation required: No. Investment type: Fractional ownership of individual rental properties. Annual fees: 1% AUM fee plus property management costs. Best for: Investors who want to invest in specific rental houses with low minimums.

Arrived allows you to buy shares in individual single-family rental homes and vacation rentals. Quarterly dividends come from rental income. The model is easy to understand because each investment corresponds to a real, identifiable property. Hold periods are typically 5 to 7 years, with a share price update reflecting property value changes.

Choosing a Platform

For non-accredited investors with less than $5,000, start with Fundrise or Groundfloor. For non-accredited investors with $5,000+, consider adding RealtyMogul's MogulREIT products. Accredited investors with $25,000+ should evaluate CrowdStreet and EquityMultiple for individual deal access alongside fund products. Using 2 to 3 platforms provides both diversification and a broader range of investment options.

For a complete introduction to real estate crowdfunding, see What Is Real Estate Crowdfunding?.