Best Online Real Estate Schools in California (2026)

How We Compared California Real Estate Schools

Every school on this page teaches the 135 hours the California Department of Real Estate requires, so we focused on what changes your experience of them. We looked at how each course is taught, which elective comes in the package, how long you have to finish, and how much exam prep you get at each price. Access windows are worth checking in California, since the DRE’s pacing rule means the education alone takes at least seven and a half weeks. AceableAgent publishes this page, so we reviewed our own course the same way and kept the drawbacks in.

AceableAgent

AceableAgent’s California package includes all three DRE-required courses: Real Estate Principles, Real Estate Practice, and Legal Aspects of Real Estate as the elective. Lessons mix videos, games, and pop-up questions, and you can take each course’s proctored final exam from home at no extra cost. The Basic package lists at $199 and includes more than 1,000 review questions, and Ace Mode™ and PrepAgent come with the Deluxe and Premium packages.

• Strengths: At-home proctored finals, audio narration in every package, and a mobile app that saves your place across devices.
• Worth knowing: There’s no live class format, and course finals have to be taken on a laptop or desktop with a webcam, since phones, tablets, and Chromebooks don’t qualify.

The CE Shop

The CE Shop teaches all 135 hours on its self-paced online platform, with Real Estate Finance as the elective. The Courses Only package is $139, the Standard package ($239) adds Exam Prep Edge, and the Premium package ($435) also includes the 45-hour first renewal package.

• Strengths: A low starting price and a Premium package that covers your first license renewal in the same purchase.
• Worth knowing: Each course expires six months after purchase, so plan your study schedule around that window.

Colibri Real Estate

Colibri offers its California course self-paced online or as a livestream class taught by local California instructors, with weekday evening and full-day schedules. Every package includes instructor support, the Rubi AI tutor, and narrated audio. The Basics lists at $181.67 and is often discounted with a promo code, and simulated exams, flashcards, and a readiness tracker start with the Exam Preparation package.

• Strengths: Livestream classes with California instructors, plus an AI tutor and narrated audio in every package.
• Worth knowing: Colibri asks students to finish all 135 hours within six months, and each course has to be completed in the format you started it in.

Kaplan Real Estate Education

Kaplan’s California Exam Prep Package costs $399 and includes Real Estate Principles, Real Estate Practice, and Legal Aspects of Real Estate, plus access to the Live Online Learning Hub, where instructors run sessions nearly every day on national laws, California laws, and real estate math. The Career Launcher package ($699) adds Kaplan’s Real Estate Accelerator program.

• Strengths: Exam prep and live instructor sessions in the starting package, with national law sessions also offered in Spanish.
• Worth knowing: It has the highest starting price on this list.

RealEstateU

RealEstateU teaches its three California courses as on-demand audio lessons, with Legal Aspects of Real Estate as the elective. The course-only package is currently $99, marked down from $149, and a bundle with state exam prep is also available.

• Strengths: The lowest starting price on this list and a format built for students who learn best by listening.
• Worth knowing: Course access lasts six months, and dedicated state exam prep comes in a higher-priced bundle.