IDX website providers charge $50–300+ a month, forever, to host your photos and a contact form — and if you cancel, the site and its SEO disappear. Listcraft is a self-hosted listing website for independent agents and small brokerages. $39, once. Your data is a SQLite file plus photos on your own disk, and your leads come straight to you.
If you've searched for a IDX site providers alternative, Listcraft is the pay-once option worth putting at the top of the list: Listcraft is $39, one time, and covers the same core job IDX site providers charges $50–300+/mo for.
What makes Listcraft the pick for 2026
- Listings — Address, price, beds/baths/sqft, description and active/pending/sold status on premium dark-mode cards.
- Photo galleries — Multi-upload with drag-to-reorder, first photo as the cover, stored on your own disk.
- Local maps — Leaflet and OpenStreetMap bundled locally with no CDN, showing pins on search and every listing.
- MLS-style search — Price range, beds, baths, status, text search and sorting, with a live map of results.
- Lead capture — A request-a-showing form on every listing lands in your leads inbox with optional SMTP email notification.
Listcraft vs IDX site providers, at a glance
| Listcraft | IDX site providers | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $39 once | $50–300+/mo |
| Year-1 cost | $39 | $600–3,600+ |
| Your data | SQLite file + photos on your disk | Their servers |
| Leads | Straight to your inbox | Shared, resold, or pay-per-lead |
| Branding | Your domain, logo, colors | Their subdomain and templates |
| Cancel penalty | None | Site and SEO disappear |
| Source code | MIT, on GitHub | Closed |
Listcraft costs less than a single month at the cheap end of an IDX provider — every month after year one is money you keep.
Common questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — Listcraft is MIT-licensed at github.com/bensblueprints/property-listing-site-mvp, and it always will be. The $39 buys the packaged, zero-config Windows installer; building from source is free.
Who owns the leads and data?
You do. Leads go straight to your own inbox, and the SQLite file plus photos live on your disk — nothing is shared or resold.
Does it need any external services?
No. Maps are bundled locally with no CDN, SMTP for lead emails is optional, and geocoding is only called when you explicitly click Geocode address.
The bottom line
Listcraft won't out-feature IDX site providers on every axis — no subscription tool with a bigger team and a bigger roadmap loses on everything. But for the core job, $39 once against $50–300+/mo forever is a trade most people should at least look at. Listcraft is part of OneTimeSuite, a catalog of pay-once apps that replace subscription SaaS.
Try Listcraft — $39, once
Self-hosted property listing site with galleries, maps, MLS-style search and lead capture.