Can’t decide between The CE Shop and RealEstateU?
We’re here to help.
The CE Shop is a popular online real estate school that specializes in self-paced continuing education available in all 50 states. In recent years, they quickly became known for also offering excellent pre-licensing education, as well as a variety of other courses.
As for RealEstateU, it didn’t start as a real estate school. Its founders just wanted to share tips on how to invest in real estate. Due to the large number of enrollees, they started offering online real estate courses.
Rest assured, both online real estate schools are trustworthy.
But which one is better?
Let’s find out in this The CE Shop vs RealEstateU comparison review.
The CE Shop vs RealEstateU – Comparison Chart
Here is a quick comparison chart of The CE Shop and the RealEstateU:
| The CE Shop | RealEstateU | |
| Available In: | All 50 states and DC | 14 states CA, FL, GA, MI, MS, NY, NC, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI |
| Course Options: | Pre-Licensing Exam Prep Post-Licensing Continuing Education | Pre-Licensing Exam Prep Continuing Education |
User Experience: | A text-based course that includes interactive activities Easy to use LEAP platform Mobile-friendly | Includes engaging videos and audio lessons Each course is broken into smaller chapters |
| Pricing*: | $129-$445 | $149 |
| Reviews: | 4.5/5 stars on Indeed.com | 4.4/5 stars on Indeed.com |
| Features: | LEAP Platform Pass Guarantee Fully-Online | Fully-online Refund Guarantee Mobile-friendly |
Availability
As we saw from the table above, The CE Shop excels in availability.
Its Continuing Education and Exam Prep are offered in all 50 states, plus Washington DC.
As for pre-licensing education, this is available in 43 states and Washington DC. Post-licensing education is available in 25 states.
To help you out, here is a complete list of the states that do NOT have pre-licensing courses from The CE Shop:
- Alaska
- Maine
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Jersey
- South Dakota
- Wyoming
So if you’re from these states, then you can’t take pre-licensing education from The CE Shop.
And here is a complete list of the 25 states that can avail of The CE Shop’s post-licensing education:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- California
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- North Dakota
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
Okay, now onto RealEstateU.
As we saw, it only offers pre-licensing courses and exam prep to 14 states. These are:
- California
- Florida
- Georgia
- Michigan
- Missouri
- New York
- North Carolina
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
That said, RealEstateU promises to make itself available to more states soon.
NOTE: just because the courses are available in a state does not mean that it is approved. Please make sure that it is approved to satisfy your state requirements first.
Course Options
Let’s look at each school’s course options one by one.
The CE Shop
Pre-Licensing
The pre-licensing courses cover all state’s educational requirements. In most states, students can choose from three to four packages (see table below).
| Course Only | Standard Package | Value Package | Premium Package |
| *State-specific course *Downloadable Resources *Study schedule *Digital flashcards *Glossary *Career *Business e-books | *State-specific course *Downloadable Resources *Study schedule *Digital flashcards *Glossary *Career *Business e-books *Exam Prep Edge *Pass Guarantee | *State-specific course *Downloadable Resources *Study schedule *Digital flashcards *Glossary *Career Resources *Business e-books *Exam Prep Edge *Pass Guarantee *Business building courses | *State-specific course *Downloadable Resources *Study schedule *Digital flashcards *Glossary *Career Resources *Business e-books *Exam Prep Edge *Pass Guarantee *CE Package / Post-Licensing/ First Renewal |
Post-Licensing or First Renewal
If post-licensing is required in your state, the CE Shop offers fully online and approved post-licensing courses in 25 states.
The online course is interactive and straightforward. The CE Shop constantly updates its courses to ensure that students keep up with industry changes.
Exam Prep
Preparing for the state exam can be challenging, but with The CE Shop’s Exam Prep, everything will be much easier.
The good news is, this program is available in 50 states and Washington DC!
You will take an initial assessment and receive feedback on which topics you should focus on and which ones are your strengths. Lessons are also given by topic to help you master each one.
What’s more, you can take unlimited simulated exams to help you pass the state exam on your first try.
Continuing Education
The CE Shop specializes in continuing education, offering it to brokers and agents in all 50 states and Washington DC.
Here, you can choose mandatory and elective lessons or purchase the whole course in a package. The CE Shop creates a customized package for those who need continuing education classes in multiple states with no additional fees.
RealEstateU
Now let’s focus on RealEstateU’s course options.
Pre-Licensing
Pre-licensing is the main course offered by RealEstateU.
What makes their course stand out is that they offer audio lessons. So if you’re more of an auditory learner, or if you want to do chores while studying, then this is perfect for you.
Here are other things you can expect from RealEstateU’s pre-licensing course:
- Lessons are broken down into several chapters to make it easier for students to master the topics
- Aside from audio lectures, the course includes diagrams and/or supporting documents
- There is a short quiz at the end of each chapter
Once you’ve completed the pre-licensing course, you will be eligible to take the final exam.
Another thing. RealEstateU’s pre-licensing course must be completed within 6 months or one year.
Exam Prep
Are you preparing for the real estate exam but don’t know which concepts you should review?
This one’s for you.
RealEstateU offers exam prep programs in all states listed above except for Wisconsin.
The exam prep is filtered out to help you focus on what you need. You can also jump between lessons if you wish.
This course also includes sample practice tests that mimic the national and state exams.
Continuing Education
RealEstateU also offers online continuing education, but just in New York.
The course will take 22.5 hours to complete and consists of 8 chapters. Just like the pre-licensing course, chapters are broken down into shorter lessons. At the end of each chapter, there will be a short quiz that you need to pass to proceed to the next chapter.
User Experience
The greatest advantage of The CE Shop is its user-friendly interface and custom-designed LEAP learning platform.
Their courses are also mobile-friendly, making it easier for students to complete them on the go. With this, students can easily go to specific sections or go back to previous slides.
What’s more, the LEAP platform has a flow control that prevents students from skipping lessons or sections.
Student progress is automatically saved, too. It will resume where they stopped when they access the course again.
The downside is students don’t have direct access to their instructors. Rather, students can send instructors an email and expect a response within 24 hours.
On the other hand, RealEstateU’s courses include audio lessons and videos. This keeps the students entertained and engaged.
Another thing students like about their program is that they are given enough exercises and tests before taking the final exam.
According to previous students, the lessons are easy-to-understand and contain all the information you need to be a successful real estate professional.
There are a few drawbacks, though, such as they don’t offer real-time online support. Students need to email their instructors or fill up forms and expect a reply within a day or two.
Another drawback is their packages are very basic. If you need additional reviews, exam prep, or textbooks, you have to pay an additional fee.
Pricing
Of course, the prices vary per state. But to give you a clue of which is the cheaper option, let’s look at their pre-licensing courses for California.
For California pre-licensing, The CE Shop offers 4 packages.
If you just want the basics, then go for their cheapest package, costing only $129. But if you want even more resources, then you can go for the higher-end packages, priced at $199, $249, and $445.
You can check The CE Shop prices for your state here.
As for RealEstateU, they only offer 1 package at $149.
You can check RealEstateU prices for your state here.
If we’re comparing the basic packages, then The CE Shop comes out cheaper by only a few dollars. What’s great, though, is that, if you can afford it, they have other packages that provide even more help.
Reviews
The CE Shop is one of the top online real estate schools out there, so it’s no surprise that it received lots of positive reviews from previous students.
Here are some of the reviews:
However, not everyone has a positive experience with The CE Shop. Most negative reviews are about lack of customer support and how the text-based courses can be boring as time goes by.
RealEstateU has lots of positive reviews as well.
Most students are satisfied with the courses it offers.
And like The CE Shop, most negative feedback is about no direct contact with the instructors. But maybe that’s the price you have to pay for an online school….
Here are some reviews for RealEstateU:
Features
Here are some of the favorite features of The CE Shop:
- Custom LEAP learning platform allows students to track their progress and easily follow the lessons
- Topics are broken into individual lessons to help students master the course
- The course is text-based but each lesson has an interactive activity and unit exams
- Pass guarantee on pre-licensing course packages to help students pass the exam on their first try
- All courses are 100% online to give students flexibility
And here are some of the favorite features of RealEstateU:
- RealEstateU has a 30-day refund policy as long as the course is not more than 50% completed. A cancellation fee of $20 may be applied depending on the course.
- ARELLO-certified
- Courses are fully-online which means students can take the course anywhere and anytime
Alternatives
Looking for other online real estate school options?
Here are some of the best real estate schools to check out:
The Verdict
And that completes our The CE Shop vs RealEstateU comparison review.
So which one is better?
That will depend on what YOU are looking for.
Are you looking for CE courses? Maybe you want a package that comes with many resources. If so, then The CE Shop will be the better option.
However, if you’re an auditory learner, or if you want a bit more activity in your lessons, then RealEstateU is your guy.
At the end of the day, you need to choose the best one that suits your learning style.
Good luck!