Is Acquaint CRM cloud-based?

Its own FAQ answers that directly — “Is Acquaint cloud based? The software is loaded on to your desktop.” Its technical specification states that Acquaint requires a Microsoft Windows Operating System to run, and that client PCs must be running Windows 8.1, 10 or 11 even when the data is hosted off-site. So the database can sit in a data centre while the application stays an installation on each machine — a different thing from a browser-based product like EstatePilot, where there is nothing to install on any device.

Does Acquaint CRM run on a Mac?

Not on its own. Its technical specification lists Windows desktop clients, and Mac support means buying a Windows licence and running Acquaint inside Parallels or another virtual machine. EstatePilot runs in the browser, so a Mac, a PC and a tablet all get the same version and there is nothing to install.

Does Acquaint CRM include online bidding or live auctions?

Not in the CRM. Offers are recorded on the property record after they arrive, and website bidding comes from 4Property’s 4Bids — a separate product, priced per property and switched on as a module of a 4Sites website. Neither acquaint.ie nor 4property.com describes a live auction with bidders in the room. EstatePilot takes private-treaty offers through the Widget on your own site and runs live auctions in the product, with online and in-room bidders in the same lot.

How much does Acquaint CRM cost?

Its Irish site publishes a rate per user licence, which is more than we do — cloud hosting is charged separately on top of it, and 4Bids is priced per property. The figures are not restated here because a rate card is theirs to change; follow the sources at the top of this page. EstatePilot publishes how its pricing works instead: per-agency modules plus usage fees, including a per-listing charge when online bidding runs, with a written quote at the end of the first call.

What does it take to move from Acquaint CRM to EstatePilot?

Migration is part of onboarding rather than a paid extra: listings, vendors, applicants, tenancies and match history come across, client-account balances are signed off against your own books before go-live, and both systems run in parallel until you are satisfied — there is no cut-over weekend.

Comparison

EstatePilot vs Acquaint CRM (4Property)

Facts about Acquaint CRM come from its Irish site (opens in a new tab), its developer’s site (opens in a new tab) and 4property.com (opens in a new tab). Last reviewed 18 August 2026 · If something is wrong or outdated, tell us and we will correct it.

Acquaint is a long-established incumbent in the Irish market — its distributor 4Property cites over 200 offices, and its Irish site describes itself as Ireland’s leading provider of estate and letting agent CRM software. The product is developed in England by Bright Logic Limited (“Founded in 2006, Bright Logic the developers of Acquaint CRM”, per its About page) and sold, installed and supported in Ireland by 4Property.

It is also a different kind of software from EstatePilot. Acquaint’s own FAQ describes an installed application — “the software is loaded on to your desktop” — and its technical specification states that “Acquaint requires a Microsoft Windows Operating System to run”, with Mac support only through a bought Windows licence and a virtual machine. Hosting the data off-site does not change that: the same specification notes that client PCs must still be running Windows 8.1, 10 or 11. The cloud option covers the database, not the application. Around it, websites (4Sites) and online bidding (4Bids) are separate 4Property products, bought and priced on their own. EstatePilot is one browser-based system built in Ireland: the CRM, the website, private-treaty bidding and live auctions are modules on the same data, so a bid, an enquiry or a viewing lands on the same client record.

The comparison that matters is not a feature count — it is the shape of the two stacks. Dimension by dimension below, with the honest gaps on both sides, and every claim about Acquaint checkable against the sources linked above.

EstatePilotOur product

One browser-based system, built in Ireland.

Runs in the browser on Mac, PC and tablet — nothing installed
CRM, website, private-treaty bidding and live auctions on one client record
PSRA files and CJA 2010 checks built into the workflow
Migration off Acquaint is part of onboarding

Acquaint CRMacquaint.ie · 4property.com

A Windows desktop application, with an add-on family around it.

Loaded on to the desktop, on Windows; mobile is a separate companion product
Websites (4Sites) and private-treaty bidding (4Bids) are separate 4Property products; no live auction shown
Developed in England, distributed and supported in Ireland by 4Property
Publishes its rates, with client accounting part of the product

Ten dimensions, side by side

Acquaint’s column quotes its own published wording wherever we could find it — check any line against the sources linked at the top.

EstatePilot compared with Acquaint CRM across 10dimensions, as published on each vendor’s own website. Last reviewed 18 August 2026
Dimension	EstatePilot	Acquaint CRM
System architecture	Zero-install web app. Works on any browser, on any device, with everyone on the same version. Real-time concurrent editing. Multiple agents can work on the exact same property file at the exact same time. No “record in use” errors, and nobody gets locked out while a colleague is updating a file.	Requires local installation. Windows only — on a Mac you buy a Windows licence and run Parallels or a virtual machine. Client PCs: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10 or 11, with Microsoft Word and Outlook required on each machine. Servers: Windows Server 2000, 2003, 2008, 2012, 2016 or 2019, running Microsoft SQL Server 2005, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017 or 2019. Cloud hosting extra, billed on top of the licence, and its published rate is a minimum — the charge grows as you open branches and your stored data builds up.
Agents out on the road	Same system, any device. A viewing lands on the agent’s phone with the client, the price and a link to the bids.	Separate companion product. Acquaint Anywhere is a separate mobile version alongside your existing installation.
Who builds it, who supports it	Built in Ireland. One team, from the first call onwards.	Developed in England by Bright Logic Limited. Resold and managed in Ireland by 4Property.
How the pieces fit	One system. Website, Widget bidding, live auctions and email filing share one client record.	Website is separate. 4Sites, sold by 4Property. Bidding is separate. 4Bids, priced per property, switched on as a module of the 4Sites website. One-way import. 4Bids’ setup FAQ describes property import from Acquaint, not bids syncing back.
Online bidding / auctions	Native private-treaty bidding. On your own site, every competing bidder emailed the moment a bid is confirmed. Live auctions built in. Online and in-room floor bidding, with AML approval and a held deposit where you set one before a paddle.	Not in the CRM. Offers are recorded on the property record after the fact. Private treaty only. 4Bids runs bidding on your website; neither site describes a live auction.
Compliance (PSRA / AML)	Logged as you work. CDD documents, event logs and audit trails shaped for the 2011 Act and CJA 2010.	PSRA compliant, with a list of balances you can produce for them. Bidder checks in 4Bids. Its terms require ID and supporting documents before a bid, held by you rather than the platform.
Lettings & client accounting	On the same records. Tenancies, rent, arrears and landlord statements, with a segregated client account and monthly balancing.	Client ledgers included, with a list of balances for your accountant.
Switching cost	Migration included. Listings, clients and tenancy history come across, verified by you before you switch.	They migrate you in. 4Property imports your legacy data when you move to Acquaint.
Getting your team up to speed	Learned in an afternoon. Your data is migrated and signed off against your own books, and the team is working in it the same day. Nothing to study. A modern interface an agent already knows how to use — no manuals, no academy, and no course to sit before you can add a listing.	Heavy, paid training. Full-day sessions at the developer’s offices in Wallingford, England, or at yours, charged per head. An academy per role. Separate learning paths for sales, lettings, admin and bookkeeping, so four curricula stand between a new hire and a working office. Enterprise bloat. Its FAQ says every customer gets the top-level version, with elements hidden from view so you only see what is pertinent to your business. The parts you do not need are concealed, not absent.
What you pay for	Per-agency modules, plus usage fees including a per-listing charge when online bidding runs. Hosting included, with a written quote at the end of the first call.	Licensed per user. Its Irish site publishes the rate. Cloud hosting extra, charged separately on top per its FAQ. 4Bids priced per property.

The test that settles it

Bring one live listing and one awkward tenancy. We will run both through EstatePilot on the call — the viewing on a phone, the bid on the record, the client-account balance at the end — and you can hold it against what Acquaint does today.

Book a demo

Where Acquaint CRM is stronger

A comparison that concedes nothing is a brochure. Three places where Acquaint has the better answer today.

Published pricing

Its Irish site publishes per-user rates. Ours takes a 30-minute call and ends in a written quote — better for a tailored answer, worse if you just want a number tonight.

Incumbent scale

Over 200 offices cited by 4Property, with an installation and support service on the ground here. There will be someone in your network already running it.

Formal training

Full-day sessions and an Academy path per role — sales, lettings, admin, bookkeeping. If you are onboarding a large back office at once, that structure has real value.

Where that leaves it

Those are arguments for a mature incumbent. They are not arguments for an installed CRM with the website and the bidding sold as separate products.

Switching from Acquaint

The biggest practical barrier to switching to an alternative system is the data inside your current one — years of listings, clients and matches. That is exactly the part we take on.

Migration from Acquaint is part of EstatePilot onboarding, not a paid extra: we import your listings, vendors, applicants and book of business, you check that everything landed, and you switch over when you are satisfied. The point of moving is not the software for its own sake — it is that the hours your team gets back go to clients and new business.

The quickest way to judge it is on your own data: ask us to walk through exactly what the migration covers at the demo.

Listings, vendors, applicants, tenancies and match history come across
Client-account balances signed off against your own books before go-live
You run both in parallel until you are satisfied — no cut-over weekend

Questions about Acquaint CRM

Is Acquaint CRM cloud-based?: Its own FAQ answers that directly — “Is Acquaint cloud based? The software is loaded on to your desktop.” Its technical specification states that Acquaint requires a Microsoft Windows Operating System to run, and that client PCs must be running Windows 8.1, 10 or 11 even when the data is hosted off-site. So the database can sit in a data centre while the application stays an installation on each machine — a different thing from a browser-based product like EstatePilot, where there is nothing to install on any device.
Does Acquaint CRM run on a Mac?: Not on its own. Its technical specification lists Windows desktop clients, and Mac support means buying a Windows licence and running Acquaint inside Parallels or another virtual machine. EstatePilot runs in the browser, so a Mac, a PC and a tablet all get the same version and there is nothing to install.
Does Acquaint CRM include online bidding or live auctions?: Not in the CRM. Offers are recorded on the property record after they arrive, and website bidding comes from 4Property’s 4Bids — a separate product, priced per property and switched on as a module of a 4Sites website. Neither acquaint.ie nor 4property.com describes a live auction with bidders in the room. EstatePilot takes private-treaty offers through the Widget on your own site and runs live auctions in the product, with online and in-room bidders in the same lot.
How much does Acquaint CRM cost?: Its Irish site publishes a rate per user licence, which is more than we do — cloud hosting is charged separately on top of it, and 4Bids is priced per property. The figures are not restated here because a rate card is theirs to change; follow the sources at the top of this page. EstatePilot publishes how its pricing works instead: per-agency modules plus usage fees, including a per-listing charge when online bidding runs, with a written quote at the end of the first call.
What does it take to move from Acquaint CRM to EstatePilot?: Migration is part of onboarding rather than a paid extra: listings, vendors, applicants, tenancies and match history come across, client-account balances are signed off against your own books before go-live, and both systems run in parallel until you are satisfied — there is no cut-over weekend.

The honest picks

Choose Acquaint CRM if

you want a published subscription price, a long-established incumbent, and 4Property’s local installation, training and support service around the product — and an installed Windows CRM with the website and bidding bought separately is a shape that suits how your office already works.

Choose EstatePilot if

you want one browser-based system built in Ireland — sales, lettings, the website, bidding and live auctions on the same client record — agents who can work a viewing off a phone, and a migration path out of Acquaint that is handled for you.

Still weighing more than two products? Read the full Irish estate agency software comparison — four products on five criteria, same method as this page.

See the difference on your own listings

Thirty minutes, real workflows, and a written quote at the end of the call.

Book a demo

Product names and trademarks — including Acquaint CRM, Bright Logic and 4Property — belong to their owners.