Ben managed six units and collected rent through Zillow Rental Manager because it cost nothing, then wondered whether RentRedi’s flat plan was worth paying for. Both platforms list units, screen tenants, and collect rent, but they differ on price, maintenance tools, and where tenants find the listing. Ben compared them on his own six units, and the answer surprised him: the price gap was tiny, so the features decided everything.
RentRedi is a landlord platform with a flat monthly price covering listings, applications, screening, rent collection, and maintenance tracking for a whole portfolio. Zillow Rental Manager is Zillow’s free landlord tool, covering listings on Zillow, applications, tenant screening paid by applicants, and rent collection, with no monthly landlord fee.
Ben found the price gap between free Zillow collection and a RentRedi flat plan was tiny, and this guide compares them on six units.
You will learn how each platform prices, what features each one includes, and what the difference costs a six unit landlord in a year. The sections that follow compare the two in order, with a full numbered example at the end.
What Is the Short Answer?
Choose Zillow Rental Manager if you mainly need Zillow listings and rent collection for free, and choose RentRedi if you want maintenance tracking, wider listing syndication, and flat pricing across a growing portfolio. The yearly price gap for a small portfolio is under 100 dollars once you value the maintenance tools, so choose on workflow, not on the free label.
Free is not free when it lacks the tool you need.
A landlord who manages six units from a phone and answers maintenance fast needs tracking more than a free badge, while a landlord with two units and a simple routine may never miss it. Count your units, count your repair volume, and let those numbers choose.
How Does RentRedi Pricing Work?
RentRedi pricing is flat, meaning one monthly price covers your portfolio rather than charging per unit, which makes it cheaper as you add units. The core plan includes listings syndication, online applications, tenant screening, rent collection by bank transfer, and maintenance request tracking, with optional add ons for extra services.
Flat pricing rewards growth.
For Ben, the example flat plan cost 20 dollars a month, which is 240 dollars a year for all six units, or 40 dollars per unit per year. That arithmetic is why flat pricing suits landlords who are still adding doors, because the seventh unit costs nothing extra.
How Does Zillow Rental Manager Pricing Work?
Zillow Rental Manager charges landlords nothing per month, with listings on Zillow, applications, and rent collection included free. Tenant screening is paid by applicants, as with Zillow’s standard screening, so the landlord’s cash cost is zero, though the platform’s reach is centred on Zillow rather than syndicated widely.
Zero dollars, centred on Zillow.
For Ben, the yearly landlord cost was zero dollars, which beats 240 dollars on price alone, before valuing any feature difference. The question is what the free platform lacks, and whether that lack costs more than 240 dollars a year in time or vacancies.
Which Features Differ Most?
Listings reach differs first: RentRedi syndicates to multiple listing sites, while Zillow Rental Manager lists primarily on Zillow, which is large but not everywhere. Maintenance tracking differs second: RentRedi includes request threads with photos and status tracking, while Zillow Rental Manager’s maintenance tools are lighter, so landlords who handle many repairs feel the gap.
Reach and repairs decide the comparison.
Rent collection is comparable on both, with autopay and online payments, though fee handling for card payments differs, so read each fee schedule before choosing. Read both fee schedules before you commit, because card fees change the yearly total more than the headline price suggests. Screening is comparable too, with applicants paying in both cases, so the screening decision matters less than the listings and maintenance decisions.
How Do You Get Started This Week?
This week, list your units, your current platform costs, and your monthly repair volume, then trial the platform that matches your answers with real units for at least one rent cycle. Test the two moments that matter: a tenant paying rent, and a tenant reporting a repair, because those moments reveal the platform’s real quality.
One rent cycle tells you more than any demo.
Use the trial to check listing reach as well, by noting where enquiries come from and how many arrive per listing. A platform whose listings draw fewer enquiries costs vacancies, and vacancies cost more than any subscription.
What Should You Review Every Quarter?
Every quarter, compare the platform’s cost against the hours it saved, the vacancies it helped fill, and the repairs it tracked. A platform that saves five hours a month at 30 dollars an hour is worth 150 dollars a month, while a platform that saves nothing is expensive even at zero dollars, because it costs time instead.
Quarterly numbers prevent yearly surprises.
Also review your unit count each quarter, because flat pricing gets cheaper per unit as you grow, while a free platform’s value stays flat. Tenant rights and responsibilities still apply however you collect rent, so keep notices and records consistent across any platform change.
A Practical Checklist
Before choosing, confirm the price for your exact unit count, which features are included versus add ons, how screening and card fees are charged, and how you export your data if you leave. After choosing, confirm every tenant is onboarded, autopay is offered, and your books reconcile with the platform’s records in the first month.
A checklist used every time beats a memory trusted sometimes.
A Numbered Example: What Six Units Cost on Each Platform
Take Ben, who self manages six units and compares an example RentRedi flat plan against Zillow Rental Manager.
Step 1: Price the RentRedi flat plan at 20 dollars a month, which is 240 dollars a year for all six units, with listings syndication, screening, collection, and maintenance tracking included.
Step 2: Price Zillow Rental Manager at zero dollars a year for the landlord, with Zillow listings, applications, applicant paid screening, and rent collection included, but lighter maintenance tracking. Zero dollars is a strong price, but it is not the whole comparison.
Step 3: Value the maintenance tracking at five hours saved a year, valued at 30 dollars an hour, which is 150 dollars, because tracked repair threads remove the back and forth that phone and text repairs require.
Step 4: Subtract the maintenance value of 150 dollars from the RentRedi cost of 240 dollars, giving a net RentRedi cost of 90 dollars a year after valuing the tracking. Ninety dollars is less than one hour of a contractor’s time.
Step 5: Compare the net RentRedi cost of 90 dollars with the Zillow cost of zero dollars, giving a price gap of only 90 dollars a year, which means the decision should turn on listings reach and workflow, not on price.
The net result is a 90 dollar yearly gap, from 240 dollars of RentRedi cost minus 150 dollars of maintenance value, against zero dollars for Zillow Rental Manager. For a landlord who handles many repairs, the tracking alone closes most of the gap, and for a landlord with few repairs, the free platform wins on price.
How Do the Rules Change by State?
Platform choice does not change state law, but state rules change which platform features matter, especially around screening, fees, and notices. In California, screening fee caps and strict notice rules make compliant screening and written notices more valuable. In New York, tenant protection rules make careful documentation and lawful fee handling essential. In Texas, the rules are generally lighter, but lease terms and federal fair housing law still bind every decision a platform helps you make.
State rules change the deadline, the form, and the penalty, so a step that is safe in one state can fail in another. How long the eviction process really takes shows why timing and written proof matter together when a tenancy turns difficult. Choose a platform whose screening, notices, and records fit your state’s rules, not just your budget.
What Does Doing Nothing Cost You?
Doing nothing costs the subscriptions you already pay for overlapping tools, plus the hours a single platform would save. Ben collected rent through one free tool, tracked repairs by text, and listed units separately, which cost him hours a month that one platform would have saved, while the free label hid the real cost.
Free tools can cost hours, and hours cost money.
One month of vacancy on a single unit costs more than a year of either platform, which puts the whole comparison in perspective. When a tenancy must end, Notice to vacate rules set the timeline that protects the remaining rent, and platform records prove the payment history behind that timeline.
What Mistakes Should You Avoid?
Do not choose on the free label alone, because a free platform without the maintenance tool you need costs hours that a paid platform would have saved. Do not skip the trial, because a platform that looks good in a demo can fail on your real tenants, your real bank, and your real repair workflow.
The most expensive mistake is usually the quiet one.
Do not lock your data in, because a platform that will not export your leases, payments, and tenant records owns your history. Do not switch platforms mid tenancy without telling tenants clearly, because a tenant who cannot pay is a tenant who will pay late.
Common Questions
Can I switch platforms later? Yes, but export your data first, overlap the systems for one rent cycle, and tell tenants the exact switch date, because a messy switch creates missed payments that look like tenant problems.
Is Zillow Rental Manager really free for landlords? Yes, for the core landlord tools, with screening paid by applicants and possible card fees to check, so read the fee schedule before assuming every action is free.
Which suits a landlord with many repairs? RentRedi, because maintenance tracking with photo threads and status updates saves hours that a lighter tool does not, and those hours exceed the 90 dollar net gap quickly. Count your monthly repair volume honestly, because the answer depends on it, not on the marketing.
What if I list only on Zillow anyway? Then Zillow Rental Manager’s reach is enough, and the free platform wins, because paying for syndication you never use is paying for reach you already have.
The Bottom Line
Count your units, count your repairs, trial one rent cycle, and choose on workflow, because the price gap is only 90 dollars a year. For Ben, RentRedi’s tracking closed most of its cost, and for a landlord with few repairs, Zillow’s free platform wins outright, which is why the right platform is the one you actually use.
The landlord who matches the tool to the work saves money twice, once on price and once on hours.
