When you start shopping for a way to show listings on your website, you’ll run into three acronyms: IDX, DDF® and VOW. They all put MLS® listings on a website, but they work differently. Here’s how to choose.
Quick answer
- DDF® is CREA’s national feed. It’s available to REALTORS® across most of Canada, it’s free to members, and one feed can cover listings from many boards.
- IDX is run by your local board. Availability, rules and costs depend on your board.
- VOW is a password-protected feed with extra data, like sold prices, under stricter rules.
For most Canadian agents who want local listings on a WordPress website, DDF® is the simplest place to start.
What is IDX?
IDX stands for Internet Data Exchange. REALTOR.ca describes it as a system that lets brokerages, through reciprocal agreements, display each other’s listings on their websites for advertising.
IDX is common in the United States, where it’s fairly standardized. In Canada, IDX is offered by individual boards and associations, so what you get, and what it costs, varies from board to board.
What is DDF®?
DDF® stands for Data Distribution Facility. It’s operated by REALTOR.ca Canada Inc., a CREA subsidiary, and it distributes MLS® listing content to websites nationwide. Like IDX, it’s for advertising listings.
There are two feed types: the National Shared Pool (listings from participating brokerages across Canada, except Quebec and Manitoba) and Member Website Feeds (your own or your brokerage’s listings). New to DDF®? Start with What is CREA DDF®?
What is VOW?
VOW stands for Virtual Office Website. Visitors register with a password to search listings, and VOW feeds often include data like private remarks and sold prices. Because of that extra data, VOWs follow different and stricter rules than IDX and DDF®. They’re usually set up at the brokerage level.
DDF® vs IDX: side-by-side
| DDF® | IDX (Canada) | |
|---|---|---|
| Run by | REALTOR.ca DDF® (CREA) | Your local board or association |
| Coverage | National (participating brokerages) | Usually your board’s area |
| Cost of the data | Free to CREA members | Varies by board |
| Setup | Create a feed in your REALTOR® member tools | Apply through your board |
| Same rules everywhere? | Yes, one national policy | No, each board sets its own |
| Data delivery | DDF® Web API (modern) | Varies by board |
When DDF® is the better choice
- You want one setup that works no matter which board you belong to.
- You sell near a board boundary or in more than one market.
- You want to avoid extra data fees.
- You use WordPress and want a plugin that works the same way for every Canadian agent.
When IDX may be the better choice
- Your board’s IDX includes listings or fields you can’t get through DDF® in your area.
- Your brokerage already pays for and supports an IDX solution.
- You’re in Quebec or Manitoba, where boards don’t participate in the National Shared Pool.
What matters more than the acronym: how listings appear on your site
Whichever feed you use, the way your website displays the listings has a bigger effect on SEO than the feed itself.
- Iframe or embedded widgets show listings hosted on someone else’s server. Search engines treat that content as belonging to the other site, so it does little for your rankings.
- Imported listings are saved to your own website as real pages. Each listing can be indexed by Google, and your site gets fresh content every time the feed updates.
We explain this in more detail in Real estate website SEO in Canada.
How Realtie fits in
Realtie is a WordPress plugin for the CREA DDF® Web API. It imports listings into WordPress as real, indexable pages on your domain, keeps them in sync automatically and removes listings that come off the market. It works with SEO plugins like Yoast and Rank Math.
FAQ
Can I use both DDF® and IDX on the same website?
Technically yes, but you’d likely get duplicate listings. Most agents pick one.
Is DDF® “real” MLS® data?
Yes. DDF® distributes MLS® listing content from participating brokerages.
Which is faster to set up?
DDF® is usually faster. You create the feed yourself in your member tools instead of applying to your board and waiting for approval.
Does DDF® include sold prices?
DDF® is for advertising active listings. Sold data is typically a VOW feature with its own rules.
The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS® and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by CREA. DDF® is a trademark owned by CREA.