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Real Estate Platform Comparison· Updated July 15, 2026
A side-by-side breakdown of returns, liquidity, fees, and trustworthiness to help you decide where to invest your money.

DiversyFund marketed a $500-minimum, non-accredited growth REIT that reinvested all cash flow instead of paying regular dividends. The product you may remember no longer exists for new investors: the SEC permanently suspended the second fund's Regulation A exemption in June 2023 (a settled order with no fines and no admission of wrongdoing), the original fund's SEC filings show mounting losses and minimal distributions ($11,822 paid to all investors in the first half of 2025), and a shareholder lawsuit continues with three surviving claims after a June 2025 ruling. The company now markets a separate accredited-only fund. Existing investors are effectively waiting on asset sales with no redemption option.

Fundrise is a hands-off way to gain real estate exposure with a $10 minimum and a 1% fee, but investors trade liquidity, transparency, and rent income for that simplicity. Returns have been mixed in recent years (about +1.5% in 2022, -7.45% in 2023, recovery since) and dividends are paid quarterly, not daily.
At a Glance


Pros & Cons

Real multifamily assets in the portfolio
DF Growth REIT's SEC filings show roughly $66.8 million in rental real estate (net of depreciation) and $97.9 million in total assets as of June 30, 2025. Unlike some failed platforms, there is a real, reported portfolio behind investor shares.
Current SEC reporting
DiversyFund's funds still file semiannual and annual reports with the SEC, so investors can track the portfolio, cash position, and litigation status through primary sources rather than marketing updates.
Low minimum brought new investors into real estate
The original $500 minimum with no accreditation requirement made private multifamily investing accessible to people who had never had access before, and helped prove demand for low-minimum real estate products.
SEC matter resolved without fines or fraud findings
The SEC's June 2023 order permanently suspended REIT II's Regulation A exemption, but the settlement imposed no fines or penalties, and in August 2023 the SEC closed its investigation without recommending enforcement action against the company, its funds, or its principals.
The original product is closed and there is no way in or out
REIT II's offering ended in 2022 and its Regulation A exemption was permanently suspended in June 2023. The original growth REITs never offered a redemption program, so existing investors cannot withdraw; they are waiting on property sales that have not yet returned meaningful capital.
Mounting losses and a thin cash position
Per the fund's own SEC filing for the first half of 2025, DF Growth REIT reported a $2.38 million net loss for the period (after a $7.9 million net loss in 2024), an accumulated deficit of $26.3 million, and cash of $305,385, down from $1.95 million at the end of 2024.
Ongoing shareholder litigation
A shareholder suit filed in December 2022 against the funds, DiversyFund, Inc., and its principals was largely dismissed in April 2024, but after an amended complaint, a June 2025 ruling allowed three claims to proceed. The company disputes the claims and says it will contest them; the parties were preparing for discovery as of the fund's most recent filing.
Pivot to a high-minimum accredited fund
While original investors wait, DiversyFund now markets a separate fund for accredited investors with dramatically higher minimums. The $500-minimum retail product that built the brand is not available to new investors.

Beginner-friendly UX
Fundrise has invested heavily in onboarding and education. The mobile app and web dashboard make it easy for first-time real estate investors to allocate capital and pick a strategy.
$10 minimum
Investors can start with as little as $10 in a Starter account, making Fundrise one of the most accessible real estate platforms for beginners.
Diversified REIT portfolios
Each Fundrise REIT spreads investor capital across dozens of properties, giving instant diversification across geographies and asset classes.
Low headline fees
Fundrise charges 1% per year (0.85% asset management + 0.15% advisory) on real estate funds, competitive with traditional REITs and below most crowdfunding peers.
Redemptions are not guaranteed, and delays are documented
Fundrise designs its products for 5+ year holds. Early redemption requires a quarterly liquidation request, isn't guaranteed, and incurs a 1% fee on shares held under five years. In practice, redemptions have been restricted or delayed during stressed markets: Fundrise limited redemptions in the 2022–2023 downturn, its legacy eREIT redemption plans have been temporarily suspended since October 1, 2025 pending consolidation mergers (per SEC filings), and Better Business Bureau complaints filed in 2025 and early 2026 describe investors who submitted redemption requests and waited months while receiving automated updates about fund mergers and regulatory delays.
Volatile recent performance
Fundrise posted a -7.45% net return in 2023 after a flat 2022, highlighting that NAV-based pricing can swing materially when rates move. Long-term investors are still positive, but the smooth-line marketing hides cycle risk.
Quarterly dividends
Dividends are paid quarterly and are explicitly not guaranteed. That hurts compounding compared with daily- or monthly-payout platforms.
Limited transparency on individual properties
Fundrise publishes fund-level data and a property browser, but investors can't pick which buildings their capital funds. NAV is set by Fundrise itself, not a public market.
Deep Dive
What You're Investing In
Nothing, at the original entry point. The $500-minimum growth REITs are closed. The current DiversyFund offering is accredited-only with a much higher minimum.
Fundrise REITs (residential, industrial, flagship), the Innovation Fund (venture capital), and the Income Real Estate Fund. Investors do not own individual properties; they own shares of a fund that owns the portfolio.
Property Locations
Value-add multifamily properties in various U.S. markets, held directly and through joint ventures.
Fundrise's real estate portfolio skews toward Sun Belt markets: Texas, Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Arizona, with selective exposure to coastal markets like Washington D.C. and California.
Expected Returns
For existing growth REIT investors, returns depend on eventual asset sales. The funds reinvested cash flow by design, so there was never meaningful income along the way, and recent filings show losses: a $7.9 million net loss in 2024 and a $2.4 million net loss in the first half of 2025 for DF Growth REIT, with an accumulated deficit of $26.3 million. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Fundrise's long-run net average return is approximately 7% per year for investors who held through multiple years. Annual results have been volatile recently, roughly +1.5% in 2022, -7.45% in 2023, and a recovery in 2024–2025. Returns are split between modest dividends (recently ~2–3% annualized) and NAV appreciation. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Fees
The funds paid management and other fees to affiliates of the sponsor, detailed in offering circulars and annual reports. The SEC's 2023 order cited inaccurate statements about fees on the DiversyFund website relative to REIT II's offering documents.
Fundrise charges 1% per year on real estate funds (0.85% asset management + 0.15% advisory). The Innovation Fund charges 1.85%. Fundrise Pro is an optional $99/year. Early-redemption fees of 1% apply to shares held under five years, and IRAs incur a $75 annual fee.
Liquidity
Indefinite. The growth REITs never had a redemption program, and the eventual liquidation has not yet returned meaningful capital to investors.
Fundrise products are designed to be held for at least five years. Below that, early redemption is treated as an exception, not a feature.
Who Can Invest
No one, for the original product: the growth REITs are closed to new investment. The company's current offering is limited to accredited investors at much higher minimums.
Open to all U.S. citizens and permanent residents 18 or older. No accreditation required. Fundrise supports taxable brokerage, traditional IRA, Roth IRA, joint accounts, entities, and trusts. International investors are not supported.
The Verdict

DiversyFund is not an option for new retail investors, and that is the most important fact about it: the $500-minimum product that made the brand famous is closed, and its successor fund is accredited-only. Existing growth REIT investors hold shares in funds whose own filings show mounting losses, minimal distributions, thin cash, and unresolved litigation, with no redemption mechanism while they wait. Investors drawn to low-minimum real estate should study the structural lesson here before choosing any platform: products that defer all returns to a sponsor-controlled liquidation leave you with no income and no exit if the plan slips. Platforms with investor-controlled liquidity and regular distributions, such as Lofty, Fundrise, or Arrived, put structurally more control in investors' hands, though each has its own trade-offs worth comparing.
Full DiversyFund review →
Fundrise is a credible, well-known option for hands-off investors who want passive real estate exposure without picking individual properties. Low minimums, low headline fees, and a polished product make it easy to start. But the platform's 2023 drawdown, paused redemptions, internally-set NAV, and quarterly dividends mean Fundrise is best treated as a long-term, illiquid bet, closer in spirit to a non-traded REIT than to a flexible income vehicle.
Full Fundrise review →Bottom Line
Fundrise scores higher (3.0/5) and edges out DiversyFund on our investment quality criteria.
Fundrise is a hands-off way to gain real estate exposure with a $10 minimum and a 1% fee, but investors trade liquidity, transparency, and rent income for that simplicity. Returns have been mixed in recent years (about +1.5% in 2022, -7.45% in 2023, recovery since) and dividends are paid quarterly, not daily.
Frequently Asked Questions
Based on our scoring criteria, returns, fees, liquidity, transparency, minimums, and track record, Fundrise (3.0/5) scores higher than DiversyFund (1.5/5). Fundrise is a hands-off way to gain real estate exposure with a $10 minimum and a 1% fee, but investors trade liquidity, transparency, and rent income for that simplicity. Returns have been mixed in recent years (about +1.5% in 2022, -7.45% in 2023, recovery since) and dividends are paid quarterly, not daily.
DiversyFund's minimum investment is $500 (historical, closed). Fundrise's minimum investment is $10.
DiversyFund: Indefinite. The growth REITs never had a redemption program, and the eventual liquidation has not yet returned meaningful capital to investors. Fundrise: Fundrise products are designed to be held for at least five years. Below that, early redemption is treated as an exception, not a feature.
DiversyFund reports average yearly returns of N/A for new investors; REIT I reported a $7.9M net loss in 2024 and a $2.4M net loss in H1 2025 per SEC filings. Fundrise reports average yearly returns of Historical long-run avg ~7%; +1.5% in 2022, -7.45% in 2023, recovery in 2024–2025. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
One of the most flexible ways to invest in real estate
$50 minimums · Daily rent payouts · No lock-up periods · 24/7 exchange