Collected directly from counties
PropertyLayer collects assessor, tax, recorder, and GIS data from the counties themselves. No third-party data vendor sits between the source and the delivered record.
PropertyLayer vs RealEstateAPI
Search deep county property records by address, point, parcel ID, area, or supported criteria. Every match returns the complete available API record for one credit, with MCP and bulk files available from the same catalog.
- 10M
- property requests each month
- Direct
- from county sources
- 3
- API, MCP, and bulk access
Why PropertyLayer
One county record, however you need to access it
PropertyLayer supports on-demand lookups, agent workflows, and complete geographic extracts without changing providers or field definitions.
One property. One credit.
Every field available through the API is returned with the property. Higher plans change volume pricing, not which record fields you receive.
Keep it in your product
Paid customers may retain records and use them in internal systems or as part of customer-facing applications. Standalone resale or redistribution of the data is excluded; the license controls final use rights.
PropertyLayer and RealEstateAPI, side by side
Both products offer property APIs and parcel boundaries. PropertyLayer centers the complete county record, simple per-property billing, MCP access, and complete geographic files.
Decision factorPropertyLayerRealEstateAPI
Complete property record
PropertyLayerDeeper county record
820 documented fields span ownership, addresses, buildings, land, legal descriptions, valuations, taxes, transfers, source details, and geometry.
RealEstateAPI
A unified property payload combines property facts with mortgage, valuation, sales, and investor signals.
Coverage and boundaries
PropertyLayer
160M property records across 3,000+ U.S. counties, with parcel geometry where available.
RealEstateAPI
A GeoJSON parcel-boundary endpoint is available; subscription access begins on Growth.
Search and retrieval
PropertyLayerComplete record per match
Search ownership, addresses, parcel identifiers, geography, acreage, land use, zoning, values, sales, taxes, and other supported criteria. Every match returns the complete available API record.
RealEstateAPI
Property search endpoints support property, mortgage, valuation, comp, and investor-oriented workflows.
Pricing and activation
PropertyLayerEvery API field on every plan
100 properties are free each month. Paid month-to-month API and MCP access activates immediately at a $100 monthly minimum; one property costs one credit. Email support is included.
RealEstateAPI
Promotional pay-as-you-go pricing is $0.10 per record with no minimum; subscriptions start at $599 for 30,000 credits.
Delivery and use rights
PropertyLayerAPI, MCP, and complete files
API, MCP, and eight bulk formats cover individual properties through nationwide files. Paid records can be retained inside internal or customer-facing applications. Bulk purchases include one year of refreshes.
RealEstateAPI
API access is the main delivery path; Bulk Endpoints are included on the Pro plan. Retention and application rights depend on plan terms.
Questions
Before you choose
Is PropertyLayer a RealEstateAPI alternative?
Yes for address, parcel ID, point, polygon, and record-field searches backed by county property data. It is not a drop-in replacement for mortgage, skip-trace, AVM, comps, or MLS features.
Which API costs less for a small monthly volume?
PropertyLayer is free through 100 returned records each month. Above that, compare its $100 monthly minimum with RealEstateAPI’s promotional $0.10-per-record pay-as-you-go option, which currently has no minimum.
Can both APIs return parcel boundaries?
Yes. PropertyLayer can include geometry with supported property requests. RealEstateAPI has a separate boundary endpoint; Growth and Pro subscriptions list boundary access, while pay-as-you-go advertises access to every endpoint except autocomplete.
Start with the counties you need
Start immediately with 100 free properties through the API or MCP. Paid plans are month-to-month and return the complete available API record for one credit per property.