The average realtor makes a 5-6% commission on a home sale. That’s around $20,000 per house sold. So, if you only sell a house every two months… well, you do the math!
Sound enticing?
Your next step is to earn your real estate license, which means passing exams, which means—you guessed it—studying. Two of the best online real estate courses come from Colibri Real Estate and the CE Shop.
To decide which is best for you, I’ll show you the results of my deep dive into the course pricing, features, and guarantees. By the end of this article, you’ll know which course is the best to help you earn your license and officially join the real estate industry.
Let’s go!
Choose Colibri if…
- You want maximum career-building resources. Colibri’s Career Booster Pack includes job aids, action plan templates, and career coaching videos to help launch a successful real estate career.
- You’re looking for engaging lectures. Colibri’s instructors are praised for their ability to simplify complex topics with relatable examples, making the learning process smoother.
- You’re on a budget but want more features. With competitive pricing and a 100% money-back guarantee, Colibri offers excellent value without cutting corners.
- You appreciate advanced technology. Their award-winning student dashboard organizes materials, tracks progress, and provides tailored recommendations to keep you on track.
Choose The CE Shop if…
- You need extra time to complete the course. CE Shop offers 12 months of access for most courses, which is double Colibri’s six-month period.
- You prefer a strong mix of live and on-demand content. CE Shop balances live webinars and on-demand materials, with about half of the course content available anytime.
Meet the Competitors: Colibri vs CE Shop
First things first: let’s take a look at the competitors in the arena to get an idea of how this battle is going to go down.
Colibri Real Estate Overview
Colibri is an unavoidable name in the real estate education industry—and for good reason. With over 520,000 alums, 132+ local instructors, an ARELLO® award-winning student dashboard, a 100% money-back guarantee, and a 4.4-star rating on Google Reviews, Colibri Real Estate is a force to be reckoned with.
They focus on:
- Pre-Licensing Education
- Passing Your State’s Licensing Exam
- Post-Licensing Courses
- Continuing Education
- License Upgrades
However, in this article, we’re going to focus mostly on their pre-licensing courses, which help you fulfill state-mandated education requirements and prep you to pass your licensure exam.
To summarize what Colibri is all about: as one of the first real estate education providers to offer online courses, Colibri has a proven track record that they’re determined to uphold. Their goal is to help you pass your exam. Even more so, however, they want to help students launch a successful career in real estate that, like Colibri, stands the test of time.
“The self-paced nature of the program allowed me to balance my studies with my daily life, making it manageable and flexible. Whenever I had questions, I was able to reach out to my instructor and received prompt responses and valuable feedback, which made the learning process smooth and stress-free. Real estate has always been a dream and passion of mine, and thanks to Colibri Real Estate, that dream has become a reality.”
Gregory B.
CE Shop Overview
CE Shop is another beloved entry in the online real estate school world. Like Colibri, they offer courses for nearly every stage of your journey, from passing those pre-licensing exams to bolstering your professional development resume.
Based in Colorado, they emphasize being a one-stop shop for everything a realtor could need, whether they’re dreaming of a real estate career or are an industry veteran with a six-figure income. They’re prolific award winners, with honors from companies such as ARELLO®, Denver Business Journal, and the National Association of Mortgage Brokers.
The CE Shop’s pre-licensing courses feature a 96% student satisfaction rate, live webinars, professional development courses, and a pass guarantee.
“I’ve used the CE Shop for ConEd Michigan Real Estate in the past. Bought the course for the Florida Real Estate Sales Associate Exam and passed first time. I’ve been happy with the CE Shop and will continue to use it in the future.”
Michael B.
Colibri vs The CE Shop Course Comparison
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Price Range | $141-$899 | $285-$1,049 |
| Discounts | Save 50% | Save 40% |
| Financing |  | |
| Access Length | Up to 6 Months | 6 to 12 Months |
| Guarantees | 100% Money-Back Guarantee | Exam Fee Refunded Upon Failure |
| Live Classes | | |
| Practice Materials | Simulated Practice Tests, Flashcards, Readiness Assessment, Audio Review Guides | Digital Flashcards |
| Career Resources | 20+ Real Estate “How-To” Videos, Job Aids for New Agents, Buyer and Seller Checklists, Action Plan Templates, Career Coaching Videos via Buffini & Company | Career Builder Guides (ex. Interviewing Brokers, Finding Your Niche), Professional Development Kickstarter Program |
Why Colibri Outpaces CE Shop
While CE Shop is an excellent choice, Colibri Real Estate’s courses come out on top. The biggest differentiator is the sheer number of materials you get with Colibri’s pre-licensing packages, particularly when you consider that they’re priced slightly lower and have a stronger pass guarantee than CE Shop.
Colibri has everything you could ever want and more: simulated mock exams, live and on-demand video lessons, extensive resources for career building, and even audio recordings of the written material with real-time word highlighting and adjustable speeds.
But don’t take my word for it. Let’s dive into the features so you can get a good look for yourself.
Course Content
If live versus on-demand and written versus video content matters to you, this section is going to be important.
Colibri Real Estate offers live classes, but only for some states, as regulations require. If live classes are unavailable, your class may be reading-heavy. Meanwhile, CE Shop tends to have around 50% of the content in a course be live-only, while the other 50% is readily available for on-demand access.
While Colibri doesn’t offer as much video content, they offer some study resources that CE Shop lacks, such as simulated practice exams, audio review guides, the Exam Crammer webinar series, and printed textbooks.
Verdict
I hate ties, but it’s impossible to choose here because the “right answer” depends on what you need. Some students need a lot of video content to succeed, and if you live in a state where Colibri doesn’t offer live stream classes, it may not be the right pick. However, Colibri offers an ample amount of features that CE Shop does not, so choosing which is better relies on your unique priorities.
Lectures
Colibri’s lectures feature passionate instructors who leverage decades of real-world experience to truly teach students in a way that’s easy to understand—even if you don’t have a shred of real estate experience.
One happy Colibri student summarizes it best as a student of Jeff Haring, an instructor for California pre-licensing:
“Having Jeff Haring as my instructor was amazing. He made this journey a breeze. His way of teaching made it a lot easier for me to understand the information we were learning. The examples and scenarios he used to teach us really helped put the information into perspective. It was a great pleasure meeting you and having you as my instructor.”
The CE Shop’s lectures tend to earn less praise in terms of entertainment value, but that by no means makes them ineffective. It’s really tough to find any course where the teaching is informative and engaging, especially in the real estate space, but CE Shop gets the job done, even if it does feel a little dry at times.
One successful student puts it bluntly:
“It got boring and repetitive for me but I did all three courses and passed each practice exam twice with an 80% or better and breezed through my official exam with ease! So it was boring and a grind, but it worked.”
Ultimately, Colibri’s lectures tend to be more interesting, but both succeed in helping students learn the material and pass their exams.
Verdict
I prefer Colibri Real Estate’s lectures over the CE Shop’s. They’re a lot more engaging, which is an essential factor in learning. However, if you don’t mind grinding and taking notes, the CE Shop can be a helpful exam prep course as well.
Technology
Colibri’s tech advantage comes from its ARELLO® award-winning student dashboard. The dashboard seamlessly collects all of your courses and resources in one easily accessible location, making personalized recommendations for the resources that will best help you achieve your goals, which you can set on a weekly basis. You can view your progress bar for a visual representation of how far you’ve come and how far you have left to go. This pairs well with your motivation statement for a quick, daily boost of, “Let’s do this!”
Meanwhile, your course cards do the heavy lifting for you, so your study materials are effortlessly organized. The cards feature course access, progress tracking, certificate progress, notes on the course outline and instructor details, regulatory requirements, and downloadable notes.
CE Shop doesn’t offer anything unique in the technology department, but that doesn’t make them any less valuable or effective.
Verdict
If unique tech is a priority for you, you’d prefer Colibri’s courses. Their dashboard is also a fantastic organization tool if you tend to be messy and lose documents in the folder abyss (I know the struggle!).
Value
Generally speaking, Colibri’s courses are more competitively priced than CE Shop’s. However, pricing can vary by state. In a few states, CE Shop’s courses are more affordable than Colibri’s— though these are exceptions, not the norm.
So, if price is a major factor, compare your state’s pre-licensing courses on each website.
Value-wise, though both companies offer phenomenal online classes for your real estate journey, Colibri offers more resources overall. In particular, they excel in featuring career-building resources, and the importance of career planning during this stage of your path is impossible to overstate. You’ll use very little of the exam content in your actual career. Most of what you’ll need to know revolves around people skills and marketing. Colibri’s Career Booster Pack is a must for aspiring realtors.
Plus, Colibri’s 100% money-back guarantee makes it a safe investment for every student, nearly assuring that if you’re willing to put in the work, you’ll succeed.
Verdict
More often than not, Colibri’s courses are more affordable and comprehensive than CE Shop’s. However, it’s the added value of the Career Booster Pack that helps Colibri pull ahead.
Support and Access
Notably, Colibri features 132+ state-approved local instructors across the country who teach live classes. Students have the opportunity to engage with their instructors and participate in Q&As to get clarity on the concepts that are keeping them stuck.
Similarly, the CE Shop offers live Q&A with instructors, many of whom are also of excellent caliber.
The main difference between the two is access, not support. Here’s where CE Shop gets a chance to shine! Most of their courses offer a 12-month access period, double the length of Colibri’s six months. You may be paying a little more, but if you have a hectic schedule, investing in CE Shop for that added access may be worthwhile.
Verdict
Both providers demonstrate similar levels of live instructional support; however, the CE Shop’s 12-month access wins in this category.
Colibri Discounts
Want to pay less for your prelicensing courses? Of course you do. See what I did there?
…I’ll see myself out.
Seriously though, prep courses are pricey enough. Shop smart and save money with our exclusive coupons on Colibri discounts.
The CE Shop Discounts
Or, if you think that The CE Shop is the better option for you, check out these CE Shop promos.
Final Verdict: Who’s the Winner?
Drumroll, please…
Colibri Real Estate is the winner of this battle! They easily take home the prize for best lectures, technology, and value, while CE Shop wins the access face-off—the two tie in terms of course content.
Colibri’s 100% money-back guarantee, career-boosting resources, engaging live lectures, award-winning student dashboard, glowing reviews, and affordable pricing are just a few reasons why Colibri is an outstanding selection for your real estate pre-licensing prep course.
Whichever course you choose, reading this article proves that you’re taking this seriously. I know you have it in you to succeed. Now, it’s your chance to earn that real estate license and pursue your dream. You’ve got this!
FAQs
Yes, Colibri Real Estate is accredited by both ARELLO and IDECC. These reliable organizations ensure that you’re investing in a quality education for your real estate career.
Yes, Colibri Real Estate is approved by the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) and other state regulatory agencies.
Yes, but it can be challenging without guidance. Courses like Colibri or The CE Shop provide structure, support, and resources to boost your chances of passing.
The CE Shop stands for “Continuing Education Shop,” reflecting its focus on real estate education, including licensing and CE courses.
Depending on your state, you can complete pre-licensing education and pass the exam in as little as 2-3 months with focused effort.
