Florida is home to some of the hottest real estate markets in the country. Especially if you’re in the Orlando, Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg, or Miami area, now is a great time to get into real estate. Need help determining the best online real estate school in Florida to help you launch your new career?
We analyzed your top options and chose the six best online real estate schools in Florida. You can get the essential information from our quick chart, but keep reading to learn the nitty-gritty details of each school.
6 Best Online Real Estate Schools in Florida for 2020
| Online Real Estate School | Starting Cost of Prelicensing Packages | Our Top Pick For |
|---|---|---|
| Real Estate Express | $117 | (Best Overall) Value of prelicensing packages |
| Aceable Agent | $81.90 | Mobile-friendly course material |
| Mbition | $199 | Mastering real estate math with practice problems |
| Gold Coast Schools | $325 | Live exam prep sessions |
| Bob Hogue School of Real Estate | $245 | Audio instruction and one-on-one tutoring options |
| Florida Real Estate School | $399.99 | 24-hour access to instructors |
What to Expect When Enrolling in a Real Estate School
Before we give you the details for each of these online schools, stop and consider how your life can change by enrolling in one of these courses. For less than $300, you can take the required classes that will enable you to earn a Florida real estate license.
After you complete your prelicensing coursework, you need to earn at least 75% on the Florida real estate agent exam. Within 24 months of receiving your license, you will also need to take 45 hours of post-licensing courses. After this first renewal period, you are required to take 14 hours of continuing education (CE) courses every two years.
Now that you know the basics, ready to get that real estate license? Let’s get started learning about each school.
Best Overall Online Real Estate School for Florida: Real Estate Express
Real Estate Express is the best choice among online real estate schools in Florida for many reasons. They have a very user-friendly interface perfect for note taking, top-notch student support from licensed real estate professionals, and fantastic follow-up material to help you launch your real estate business after you’ve passed your exam.
Real Estate Express is also one of the most affordable options on our list; so combined with the fantastic features, it is the clear first choice for future real estate agents from the Sunshine State.
Real Estate Express Pricing
Real Estate Express offers four prelicensing course bundles, starting at $117.
| Package | Price | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| The Basics | $117 | Perfect for a disciplined self-starter who just wants the essentials |
| Exam Preparation | $179 | All the benefits of The Basics + 10 progress exams, five practice exams, flashcards, and 90-day post-licensing boot camp |
| Exam Preparation Plus | $289 | Exam Preparation + 45 hours of post-licensing continuing education |
| Ultimate Learning Package | $399 | Exam Preparation Plus + access to one year of CE courses and a printed text book |
Our Favorite Real Estate Express Feature: Fantastic Exam Prep Options
Our other favorite feature is that three of the four Real Estate Express packages come with top-notch exam prep. They even include flashcards. Why doesn’t every real estate school do this for their students?
We also like that by purchasing one of their top-two bundles, you are off the hook for buying any other classes until four years into your career. For only $289, you receive 108 hours’ worth of real estate training.
Real Estate Express: Most Useful Real Estate Continuing Education Course
McKissock, a partner company of Real Estate Express, offers continuing education courses for Florida agents. Although many of the classes are highly rated, one course, “Millenials Are Changing Real Estate: Are You Ready?” has a 4.59 out of 5 customer rating. Almost 20,000 users recommended this course that discusses the lifestyle preferences of Millennials as well as marketing to and working with people in this age group.
Where Real Estate Express Could Improve
We are so impressed with Real Estate Express that it is difficult to find too much wrong with the program. Some reviewers were frustrated that most of the material is given through text-heavy slides. They found the content challenging to wade through because there was so much information.
Unfortunately, this may be true for all of the real estate schools. You may feel that some of the material is boring. If you have a difficult time reading and understanding text, you may want to look at a course that has more videos of live instructors, such as the fully narrated courses offered by the Florida Real Estate School.
Try Real Estate Express
Real Estate Express has affordable packages, and you won’t have to spend extra money to purchase exam prep materials. You can also work at your own pace, which may enable you to get your license faster than average.
Want more information about becoming a real estate agent in the state of Florida? We’ve put together a step-by-step guide just for soon-to-be Florida real estate agents, check it out!
Best School for Mobile-friendly Course Material: Aceable Agent
If you’ve got all the time in the world to complete your coursework from your couch or home office, any of the providers on our list will offer a great experience on a desktop or laptop computer. But, if you’re busy, constantly on the go, and want a Florida real estate prelicense course that is designed to look great and be super-accessible on mobile devices too, Aceable Agent is for you.
Aceable Agent Pricing
- Florida Real Estate Online Course: Aceable offers a single course option for Floridians looking to get their license. It comes with the required 63 hours of instruction, access to their seamless mobile app, and their Ultimate Exam Prep Guide, as well as expert support from licensed instructors and general support from the Student Concierge team seven days a week. Normally $117, on sale for $81.90.
Our Favorite Aceable Agent Feature: Amazing Mobile Experience
If you’ve ever tried to look at PowerPoint slides on a phone before, you know that it isn’t a great user experience. You can make out what is being said (sort of), but there is clearly something missing from the experience.
Aceable Agent has designed their app experience so that users taking their classes on a mobile device get a better experience with well-designed visuals, swipe-ability, and a way to easily pick up where you left off if you’re consuming your course just a few minutes at a time.
Where Aceable Agent Could Improve
Currently, Aceable Agent doesn’t offer any continuing education options in the state of Florida. For agents who get their license by way of the Aceable Agent course, it would be great to be able to fulfill their post-licensing and continuing education requirements too.
Try Aceable Agent
Aceable Agent offers a fantastic mobile-first option for anyone looking to get a real estate license. If you need the flexibility of getting your class time in on a computer, tablet, or even mobile phone, you should give Aceable Agent a try.
Best School for Additional Help With Math Prep: Mbition
Mbition has stood the test of time by being a major player in real estate education for 50 years. Formerly known as OnCourse Learning, Mbition also provides real estate training in all 50 states. This and their longevity certainly make them an authority on the subject.
Better yet, Mbition offers a feature called MathMaster. For those who want a little more math support, Mbition provides specific instructions on how to complete the math formulas you need to know to pass the Florida real estate exam and function during your career as an agent.
Mbition Pricing
- Florida Real Estate Pre-licensing Silver Solution: $129 gets you 63 hours of text-based instruction + their exclusive MathMaster program.
- Florida Real Estate Pre-licensing Gold Solution: An upgrade to the Pearson test prep materials (premium content, higher production value, and so on) as well as the Pearson online coursework. $169.
- Florida Real Estate Pre-licensing Platinum Solution: $199 gets you the upgraded Pearson materials, printable course materials, and flashcards. It also comes with a recorded review session that goes over national real estate topics.
Our Favorite Mbition Feature: MathMaster
We love Mbition’s MathMaster feature. This is a unique offering, and it’s helpful for those who have a phobia regarding numbers and math classes.
Mbition: Most Useful Real Estate Continuing Education Course
Mbition doesn’t offer individual continuing education courses for Florida as they do for other states. You can purchase the 14-hour required courses for only $18.99. The work can be completed online, and will fulfill your continuing education requirements for two years.
Where Mbition Could Improve
Since Mbition offers prelicensing classes for every state, some of the state-specific materials may be less than impressive. The test prep materials that come with the Platinum package cover mostly national topics and only one portion is about Florida-specific issues.
If you would like a more Florida-specific real estate education, you may consider enrolling in one of the local schools, such as Gold Coast Schools.
Try Mbition
Mbition has an easy-to-navigate, attractive website that is easy to use. Give them a try if you think their MathMaster program is right for you.
Best Online Florida Real Estate School With Live Exam Prep: Gold Coast Schools
Since Gold Coast Schools has been around since 1970, they have a proven track record of helping more than 1 million people obtain their Florida real estate licenses. Those numbers must mean they are doing something right.
Gold Coast’s online training includes self-checks, diagrams, summary tables, and videos. Students also have access to certified instructors through email and phone calls.
Even though this article focuses on online training options, Gold Coast Schools offers live classroom options as well. Both the online and live classrooms are available for those who speak Spanish.
Gold Coast Schools Pricing
Gold Coast has two packages from you to choose from based on your preferred resources.
| Package | Price | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $325 | Basic course material, two sample examples, access to course material for up to one year |
| Full-Service | $425 | Basic + a printed textbook, 2½ day “Exam Cram” weekend test prep course, and access to live classroom sessions in certain regions |
Our Favorite Gold Coast Schools Feature: Varied Instruction Options
We love Gold Coast’s mixture of self-paced online classes with a live “Exam Cram” weekend. You can review for the test with an instructor and other students in these fast-paced, 2.5-day study sessions.
We also like that you have access to live classrooms in five locations as you go through the program. Classes are in Boca Raton, Tamarac, North Miami, Orlando, West Palm Beach, and South Dade.
Finally, Gold Coast also hosts career fairs throughout the year. Instead of finding a broker on your own, meet all the key players in your area without scheduling separate interviews at each broker’s location.
Gold Coast Schools: Most Useful Real Estate Continuing Education Course
Gold Coast offers its continuing education courses in one bundle. Instead of picking from a list of courses that pertain to your interests, you purchase the 14 hours of continuing education in one easy package.
Once you purchase the continuing education, you have immediate access to the 30-question, multiple choice exam. You can then browse the material to find the answers to the test. Once you pass the test, your license will be good for another two years.
Where Gold Coast Schools Could Improve
We aren’t super impressed with Gold Coast’s continuing education options, but we will forgive them since this article’s focus is on prelicensing classes. If you would like more choices for continuing education classes, look to Real Estate Express.
Most of the online reviews are rather complimentary of Gold Coast’s program even though most of the reviews are about the live classroom options. There are some complaints regarding specific instructors, but overall the students seem happy with the material.
Try Gold Coast Schools
If you feel you could benefit from a live, 2.5-day review session, try Gold Coast. The session comes with the Full-Service package.
Best for Audio Instruction: Bob Hogue School of Real Estate
Many of the Florida real estate schools on our list have been around for a while. The Bob Hogue School of Real Estate has been instructing new agents since 1978.
Similar to Gold Coast, Bob Hogue’s School offers live classes as well as online options. The onsite courses are clustered in the Tampa area. You can sign up for courses in St. Petersburg, Largo, Palm Harbor, New Port Richey, Tampa, Riverview, Valrico, and Ellenton areas.
Of course, Bob Hogue School also includes an online option as well. Let’s learn about the packages available on their website.
Bob Hogue School of Real Estate Pricing
The Bob Hogue School pricing depends on if you’re interested in live or online classes.
| Package | Price | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Online Course | $245 | 63-hour prelicensing class, access to a licensed instructor, comes with a frameable diploma |
| Live Course | $299 | 63-hour in-person prelicensing class, printed textbook, and supplemental materials |
Our Favorite Bob Hogue School of Real Estate Feature: Helpful Add-ons
There are two features that we would like to highlight for the Bob Hogue School. Unfortunately, both of these features are not available with either of the above packages.
First, we like that you can buy a three-CD set that reviews the prelicensing materials. Why not take advantage of your travel time and listen to an audio review of the content while you are in your car? Also, many people learn better by listening to material rather than reading it.
We also like that the Bob Hogue School offers one-on-one tutoring options. The price is not listed on the website, but you may find that personal tutoring may be a more efficient use of your time as opposed to weekend-long review courses.
Bob Hogue School of Real Estate: Most Useful Real Estate Continuing Education Course
The Bob Hogue Real Estate School offers a 14-hour course bundle for all your continuing education classes. You can take these online, in a classroom, or via mail correspondence. You can also take a three-hour standalone course on law or a three-hour session on ethics.
Where Bob Hogue School of Real Estate Could Improve
Although Bob Hogue is cheaper than other local schools, their classes are not as versatile. You either sign up for the online course or the live classroom experience.
The packages through this school do not come with any exam prep. They offer a weekend cram session, similar to Gold Coast, but prepare to pay either $49 for the online version or $75 for the classroom instruction. The exam prep courses are given in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Sarasota, Manatee, and Polk counties.
Also, even though any resident of Florida can have access to the online classes through this school, those wishing to take a course with a traditional teacher can only do so in the Tampa area.
Try Bob Hogue School of Real Estate
Check out the Bob Hogue School of Real Estate website to learn more about their prelicensing classes and see which package is right for you.
Visit Bob Hogue School of Real Estate
Best School for 24-hour Access to Instructors: Florida Real Estate School
The Florida Real Estate School is located in Miami and marketed as a state-specific real estate school, but there are no onsite courses or review sessions available. All three of their packages offer online training.
Florida Real Estate School Pricing
Florida real estate school has three pricing options to accommodate different budgets.
| Package | Price | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Sales Associate Pre-License | $399.90 | Fully narrated online materials with six months of access to the course |
| Package to Passing | $599.99 | Sales Associate + math e-book, 500 digital flashcards, an online exam prep course, and access to the course material for one year |
| Unlimited Package to Passing | $799.99 | Package to Passing + unlimited access to the course material |
Our Favorite Florida Real Estate School Feature: Unlimited Instructor Access
The Florida Real Estate School is proud to declare that its students have access to instructors 24 hours a day. Though not stated explicitly, we assume this means by both email and phone.
Florida Real Estate School: Most Useful Real Estate Continuing Education Course
Unlike most of the other schools on our list, the Florida Real Estate School has three continuing education packages.
The packages range from $39.90 to $69.95. All the packages cover the 14 hours of material that the state of Florida mandates. The differences among the packages are whether or not a book is provided, and the number of attempts you have to pass the final course exam.
Where Florida Real Estate School Could Improve
Florida Real Estate School is more expensive than the other options on this list. This extra cost comes with the benefit of unlimited 24/7 support, so if high quality support is crucial to you, this extra cost might be worth it while you learn the real estate ropes.
Try Florida Real Estate School
Check out the packages offered by the Florida Real Estate School.
Visit Florida Real Estate School
Florida Real Estate School FAQs
Got questions? We’ve got answers! Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about real estate school in Florida.
Are Florida real estate classes hard?
The 63 hours required to qualify for the Florida real estate exam aren’t a walk in the park, but they are very doable if you’re willing to put in the work and learn the material. Remember, real estate agents are the shepherds for some of the most important financial moments of their clients’ lives; they need to make sure they know the ins and outs of the business and are qualified to make their transactions successful.
Should I attend a Florida real estate school online or in person?
The answer to this question depends on your learning style and your schedule flexibility. If you need to be face-to-face with someone, interact with them verbally, and study with classmates to really get a grasp on new material, an in-person class is the way to go. If you’re looking for flexibility in terms of when and where you take your classes, online is going to be the right choice since you can complete your class hours at your convenience.
Will my online real estate school qualify me to become a Realtor?
As long as you pass your real estate licensing exam, you are qualified to become a Realtor! A Realtor is the name for someone who is a member of the National Association of Realtors, the nation’s largest professional trade association for those in the real estate industry. Take your classes, pass your tests, and before you know it, you’ll have your lapel pin!
Final Thoughts
Looking for more information about becoming a real estate professional? The Close has you covered. Start by checking out our ultimate guide to getting a real estate license. Then, head over to our national review of the best real estate schools—a list that includes many of the Florida schools. Finally, if you’re still on the fence about getting your real estate license, check out our guide on becoming a part-time real estate agent to see if starting slow is the right move for you.
Thank you, this is very thorough!
Hi Beth –
Glad to help, that’s what we’re here for.
Chris
Thank you for the information, it really helps me make an inform decision on what I’m looking for and the school pricing. I will be saving and contracting one of these school to start my training courses.
Again thank you