How does DealMachine compare to BatchLeads? We've done a competitive analysis on our app vs our competitor BatchLeads. If you were here the last time I wrote an article comparison between the two, you'll already know that even though I work for DealMachine, in this competitive analysis, I will take a non-biased third-party view on both of the softwares.
So if you want to get started in real estate investing by finding off-market properties, negotiating directly with the property owner, and aren’t sure what software is available to assist you, this is the article for you.
Without further ado, let's analyze the most important features of two popular products, DealMachine and BatchLeads, head-to-head.
Like most of the key competitors in the real estate software space, BatchLeads offers a set of standard features encompassing lead generation, marketing and outreach, and data. With BatchLeads you're able to find leads through driving for dollars, virtual driving, or list building. Then within just BatchLeads itself, you are only able to skip trace those leads and send mail marketing.
If you want to be able to call leads, you'll need to subscribe to their partner software BatchDialer. To me, this is an interesting approach to have it separated out from the regular package of software, as it adds another barrier to lead outreach.
One strength I saw within the BatchLeads software is that they did have the ability to add a list of real estate agents for different properties. As someone in the marketing world, I can tell you this mirrors what I have seen in PropStream's expansion of their target audience, as I've noticed they too are branching out with real estate agent audiences. But I digress, we're not here to compare BatchLeads and PropStream, so for more information on how PropStream compares to DealMachine, check out this article.
As previously mentioned, they do offer the standard set of features that most individuals would seek in a platform if they were looking to get started in real estate investing. Also, I was able to get another 7-day trial while still only reactivating my account which was interesting because not many softwares in general have that as an option.
Lastly, an improvement from my last experience using BatchLeads is that they did have an overarching tutorial which I had struggled to find last time.
There were a variety of weaknesses I saw in the software this time around using it.
First, there were bugs in the online platform. Previously, when I used the software it wasn't as buggy on the web version, but it was on the app software. This time that was flipped.
While my driving for dollars experience was not as patience-testing as last time, I did have issues after reactivating my account on the web. Many of my features were grayed out after the reactivation and I could not even add a lead, I could only view some leads list from my previous times using it.
Then, when I tried to reach out to support, the help icon and chat with live support would not even open a chat window. I was honestly shocked when this happened. So, I went to the main website of BatchLeads and eventually was able to chat with support. The response time was pretty quick, and I was informed that there is a down time before full functionality comes back to your account when you reactivate.
The next weakness that I could feel was a lack of cohesiveness between the software. The updated user-interface design, in my opinion, feels very disjointed. It felt as though each of the tabs on the left had a separate design experience and feel to them.
That, combined with the necessity to even export or send leads over to BatchDialer and pay for a whole new software just to be able to dial leads, is not the optimal user experience. So while you can say "yes, BatchServices has a dialer", it truly does not feel like it is a part of BatchLeads, which is what this comparison is about, rather than BatchServices as a whole.
DealMachine over the years has gone from being the software known for its impeccable driving for dollars to truly being an all-in-one software. That's not just all talk either, from DealMachine or its employees—well-known individuals in the real estate space have been pointing that out recently in the summer of 2024 after the latest product release. Brent Daniels even stated, "DealMachine is vacuuming up the industry."
Here are the key features you can find in DealMachine: List Building, Driving for Dollars, Virtual Driving for Dollars, Marketing, and Outreach through the all-new DealMachine AI-powered Dialer or direct mail marketing, vast property data, and an AI Assistant. DealMachine is also the ONLY real estate software to offer true Unlimited Skip Tracing with its automatic inclusion of all the same data you would get with a skip trace already in your lead, but more on that later.
DealMachine's cohesive user experience is just the beginning of the strengths of the software. All products are housed under one package and not separated through different softwares. Plus, the user experience and functionality when you flip through the top headers for each ultimate product functions in similar ways in relation to each other. They all function in the logical way that you would expect.
Putting aside my knowledge of the day-to-day workings of DealMachine, as an outsider you should still be able to see the constant improvements and expansion of the software. Since my last article comparison, there have been not one but two huge product releases through DealMachine Unveiled: the inaugural event (November 2023) announcing DealMachine's new Unlimited Contact Information (meaning there was now going to be actual free skip tracing for everybody), and in the second event (July 2024), the announcement of the AI-Powered Dialer.
While we will dive further into the specific software strengths in the detailed comparison, I will leave this section with one final thought. The support and learning opportunities for DealMachine members is unmatched. Not only is there live chat support and office hours, but also there is a plethora of industry knowledge from The DealMachine Real Estate Investing Podcast, a weekly masterclass session, and the DealMachine YouTube channel.
While it is difficult to poke holes in one's own software, I will say since I included it in the BatchLeads section, I will have to include it here. Real estate agent outreach. In DealMachine, if a house is listed, you are able to see the listing agent and the address, but unlike BatchLeads you cannot pull a list of agents by itself in DealMachine like you can in BatchLeads. However, you do have access to the agent information.
Now let's take a look at some of the core features of the platforms and how they each compare to one another
Since my previous comparison article, BatchLeads did in fact fix the bugginess of their app for driving for dollars. Unlike last time when it was chaotic, not loading, not saving drives, et cetera, this time when I went for my test drive it did save and track the route and let me add tags. The feedback was received, and they did make improvements to have a functioning drive this time, which was nice.
However, if you're looking to drive for dollars with more options, DealMachine hands down wins out. BatchLeads does not have highlights for the filters in their driving software. I also was not able to find any sort of planned routes on my drive with BatchLeads, which DealMachine does have.
Not only that but there are just so many more options in DealMachine for a drive. Some of these include: Free Drive, Virtual Drive (yes, both on web and mobile), Planned Routes, Drive from a List, Tap to Add Mode, Tap-to-Add Properties, North Always Up, Camera Point to Add Mode, and more. It truly is a robust feature.
As far as virtual driving for dollars goes, DealMachine also beats out BatchLeads. The way you add leads on a virtual drive on DealMachine is more user-friendly than what I experienced in BatchLeads. Also, DealMachine has virtual driving for dollars on both your mobile device and on your web browser.
Similar to my previous comparison, the ultimate difference between pulling a list in BatchLeads and List Building in DealMachine is that in Batch Leads, it is more of a manual process to add leads to your list. You have to select the leads that fit the filtered criteria in order to be able to add them to a list.
Whereas with DealMachine, you add property filters that are matching the criteria you want, and while you can scroll through the sidebar of those properties, all you simply have to do is click "Build List" and it will pull all of those leads into a list for you.
Let's also touch on data and filters, briefly. Both products have a set of standard filters and each has a few filters that the other does not. However, the way you apply and find filters, in my opinion, is more intuitive in DealMachine, and I process the layout better in DealMachine than in BatchLeads. This is simply because all filters in DealMachine are encased in over-arching groups, and you can click "More" to see the fine data points.
In BatchLeads, it is quite different. There is a scrolling bar within their "Property Search" tab that has some filters, but then if you would like to filter by other data points, it brings up a form-like module that you then add it to.
While both have similar filter sets, I would have to say based on the way you assemble a list of properties, DealMachine wins in the list builder category.
I will keep this section short because I have already touched on skip tracing briefly in strengths and weaknesses.
DealMachine has free Unlimited Contact Information, negating the need to pay for a skip trace or carry out the action. Also, if there is not a data match, DealMachine gives you access to its Private Investigator tool to create your own matches.
BatchLeads recently announced on September 10th, 2024 that they released their version of free skip tracing. While I conducted the rest of my research for this competitive analysis, this feature was not available. However, for the most accurate and up-to-date comparison, we at DealMachine thought this was worth re-evaluating.
So, I hopped back into BatchLeads and immediately noticed one key difference between the two versions of free skip tracing. That difference is that in BatchLeads, you do not have access to the contact information for a lead until you add it to a list (pictured below). I am unsure if this is due to me being on a trial or not, as some other people I know did have access before adding it to a list. This is compared to DealMachine where you can see the contact information on any property without adding it to a list.
Another member of our team also tested the accuracy of the data as they own an extensive portfolio of rental properties, and they did not have his phone number at all on those properties. Additionally, all BatchLeads offers for "person data" is a set of phone numbers and emails. We will continue to look into and test the quality of each software's dataset and provide updates in the near future to this article.
With that in mind, I would say that the immediate availability of the contact information, the Private Investigator tool, and both the quality and quantity of data in DealMachine gives it the edge over BatchLead's newly launched feature.
Marketing and reaching out to leads are essential to getting potential deals, which is why it is imperative that you are able to reach out to leads in the software.
Luckily, this time I was accurately able to test out the mail from both softwares, unlike last time when BatchLeads would not let me send mail on a trial. Both software have a variety of postcards and letter templates, however, DealMachine has the option for handwritten letters and door hangers.
In both softwares, you can send mail on the individual lead level or on a bulk list level and create sequences. I will say, my postcards from BatchLeads did come quite smudged up, and 5 days later than the posted expected date.
Now, let's move on to the mammoth of outreach, a dialer for cold calling. As BatchDialer is a separate software from BatchLeads I did not test it out, because as I stated before, this is not a comparison of BatchServices as a whole.
DealMachine, on the other hand, added an AI-powered dialer completely integrated into the software, all for the same-priced plan on July 1, 2024. With this dialer, you get AI sentiment analysis, so it can help see where the conversation is going and offer suggestions on what to say.
But the AI-integration does not stop there. There is also the ability to drop AI voicemails to leads so you do not have to say the same few sentences over and over again. Also, gone are the days of having to manually take pesky notes on calls, because the DealMachine Dialer has AI-generated summaries at the end of the call.
Even if I had been able to test and factor in BatchDialer, I feel as though with all the extra AI capabilities of DealMachine's dialer, it would still win out. That, combined with the quality of postcards from DealMachine, it also beats BatchLeads in the category of Marketing and Outreach.
Managing leads is a standard function that all real estate investing tools should have. You can do both individual lead uploads and bulk uploads. You also can take "Actions" on your leads on the individual level or bulk level for both softwares. Some of which include lead statuses, lists, and tags.
The main differentiator in the softwares is the way you can create tasks. In BatchLeads, you go to the calendar to create tasks and cannot tie them to specific leads, nor can you create a task from the lead card. In DealMachine, you are able to create tasks directly to a lead from your lead card. You can also manage your tasks and create them in the task tab.
Also, BatchLeads lacks any AI integrations, whereas DealMachine has an AI assistant called Alma, who is there to help you analyze deals. As previously mentioned in the marketing section, there is also AI integration with the Dialer in DealMachine.
Now that you've seen the comparison of BatchLeads and DealMachine, I think it is safe to say that the clear winner for driving for dollars, lead management, and marketing/outreach is DealMachine. The overall cohesive experience and intuitive design of DealMachine make their mission of “giving everyone the power of real estate” well represented. Combined with the continued push toward innovation and a leap forward into the future of real estate with AI, DealMachine truly is a step above the rest.