Each WordPress website needs its own MLS Import subscription, even when one person or one team runs all of them. Six websites means six subscriptions. They can all sit under one MLS Import account, with one login for billing and the plugin keys of every site. Each site picks its own plan by how many MLS boards it pulls from, and each can be billed monthly or yearly; current prices are on the pricing page.
Do I need a second subscription for a luxury or neighborhood site?
No, not if it is a section of your main site. Yes, if it is its own WordPress website. A page like yourbrokerage.com/luxury runs on your one subscription. You add one more import task that pulls only the listings you want, like homes over $1M or one city or ZIP code. A site on its own domain, or a subdomain with its own WordPress install, needs its own subscription.
| How you build it | MLS Import subscriptions | What you set up |
|---|---|---|
| Section of your main site (yourbrokerage.com/luxury) | 1 (the one you have) | A second import task filtered by price, city or ZIP |
| Subdomain on its own WordPress install (luxury.yourbrokerage.com) | 2 | A second install, its own subscription, its own MLS approval |
| Separate domain with its own site (yourtownluxury.com) | 2 | A second install, its own subscription, its own MLS approval |
| WordPress multisite network | 1 per site in the network | Each site saves its own settings. It saves you hosting, not subscriptions. |
Agent and office pages work the same way: one import task per agent or office, filtered by their MLS ID, on the site’s one subscription. See one website or one website per office.
Most brokerages start with a section on the main site. Your listing pages stay on your own domain, so all the SEO juice stays in one place. You also have one site to keep updated.
Your MLS is a separate question. Some boards charge for each extra website that shows their listings, and their approval names the website. Ask your MLS: “Does a separate domain, a subdomain or a page on my main site count as another website?”
Want a catchy luxury domain without a second site? Ask us before you point it at a page on your main site. We will tell you how your plan counts it. To keep a listing from showing in two places, read avoiding overlapping import tasks.
Client sites built by an agency
You or your client can pay for each client site’s subscription. Keeping every client site on one MLS Import account puts all renewals in one place, and volume discounts start at five sites on one account; see MLSimport at scale.
The MLS side never moves between clients. Each client applies to their MLS in their own name, for their own domain, and one client’s feed or credentials cannot be used on another client’s site. Put in each client contract who pays the subscription, the board fee and the hosting, and who keeps the subscription if the client leaves.
There is no master settings panel: import tasks, field setup and health records live in each WordPress install, and a change on one site does not reach the others. Build one clean reference site and copy that setup, and keep an inventory of each client’s MLS, connection owner, cron status and theme mode. How agencies bill, bundle and run client sites is in MLS websites for teams, agencies and multisite.
How many MLS boards one site can use
Since version 7.2, one site can pull from more than one MLS. Each board gets its own connection on the Connections tab, with its own login details from that board, its own field setup and its own import tasks. How many boards you can add depends on your plan: 1, 3 or 7. So an agent in three MLSs can run one website on the 3 MLS plan; here is what a three-board site costs in total, with board fees and hosting. You still need an approved feed from each board. If both boards list the same house, your site shows it once. Multi-MLS does not work in Live Mode. See how to connect two MLS boards to one website.
Plan the split by website, not by brand: count your websites first, then the MLS boards each site needs. Two offices that share one company site are one website with two import tasks.
What a second site needs
- Its own MLSImport subscription, held by the person who holds the MLS membership (see who can use MLSImport).
- Its own approved RESO Web API access from the MLS or the data platform serving it.
- A supported theme, or standalone mode, so the imported properties have somewhere to display.
- Hosting sized for the number of listings it will hold.
The MLS approval is the part with a lead time. The subscription and the plugin are ready in minutes, and the data access application is measured in days or weeks depending on the board.
How your account sees your sites
Once a day each installation reports a short heartbeat to your MLSImport account: the site address, the WordPress environment type, and counters for how many properties were imported, updated and deleted. That is how support can tell which website a subscription is running on without asking you.
It is also why a staging copy shows up as its own entry. A staging site is a separate installation reporting a separate address.
Tell us before you run a real import on a staging or development copy, and agree how your plan covers it. Ask your MLS whether the staging address needs its own approval, import a small test set, block search engines, and turn off email alerts so staging cannot act like a second live site.
Frequently asked questions
My colleague has access to a second MLS. Can we share it?
Only if the MLS grants your website its own approved access. The data licence is between the member and the board, and it names what may display it.
Related
- Moving MLSImport to a new domain
- Who needs to hold the credentials
- Managing your MLSImport subscription
- MLS approval processes that take time
- What an import task is, and creating your first one
Tell us how many boards and how many websites you are planning and we will tell you what each one needs.
