The real-time evaluation (RTE) approach has been applied in humanitarian assistance for two decades. Its spread seems to be as much a result of entrepreneurial evaluators who aim to demonstrate expertise to potential clients as it is a response to actual demand for immediate feedback of results to decision makers. As RTE has come under scrutiny recently, this study aims to demystify the concept of RTE and looks beyond textbook descriptions of its advantages in order to understand its practical application in humanitarian action.