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Real Estate · head to head

CREXi vs Zillow

CREXi logo

CREXi

Real Estate

Commercial real estate marketplace with a genuinely free core listing tier, monetised through PRO subscriptions for brokers and a separate Intelligence data product

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zillow logo

Zillow

Real Estate

Consumer property search site whose actual product, Premier Agent, is paid lead placement sold to agents and brokers, not the free listings buyers browse

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only CREXi has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CREXi the genuinely useful lead-conversion features, full contact details and priority placement, sit behind PRO subscriptions with unpublished pricing, so the free tier is a lighter product than it first appears.; Zillow leads are frequently sold to multiple agents at once, so an agent is often bidding against competitors for the same buyer rather than buying an exclusive introduction.
  • They diverge on capability: CREXi covers Free unlimited listings, Zillow covers Consumer listing search.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CREXi and Zillow actually diverge.

Attributes where CREXi and Zillow differ
AttributeCREXiZillow
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree core marketplace; paid PRO subscriptions and separate Intelligence data productquote
Free tierYesNo

Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Real Estate).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in CREXi

  • Free unlimited listings
  • Online auctions
  • PRO subscriptions
  • CREXi Intelligence
  • Deal management
  • Lead analytics

Only in Zillow

  • Consumer listing search
  • Premier Agent placement
  • Lead connections
  • Performance dashboards
  • Zillow Flex
  • Agent profile and reviews

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

CREXi

  • A broker or owner wanting free, unlimited listing exposure without committing to a paid tier up frontnot Zillow
  • A seller wanting a native online auction process rather than a traditional offer negotiationnot Zillow
  • A firm wanting a CoStar alternative for property records and comps without a CoStar contractnot Zillow
  • A broker who has outgrown the free tier and wants priority placement and full lead contact details through PROnot Zillow

Zillow

  • An agent in a competitive metro wanting listing-page visibility on homes they do not personally representnot CREXi
  • A team wanting predictable lead volume to feed a follow-up system, accepting shared, non-exclusive leadsnot CREXi
  • A brokerage evaluating Zillow Flex as a pay-on-closing alternative to upfront advertising spendnot CREXi
  • A buyer or renter using the free consumer search, who is not Zillow paying customer at all and should understand that agent placement on a listing does not mean that agent represents the sellernot CREXi

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

CREXi

  • The genuinely useful lead-conversion features, full contact details and priority placement, sit behind PRO subscriptions with unpublished pricing, so the free tier is a lighter product than it first appears.
  • CREXi Intelligence is sold as a separate product from PRO listing subscriptions, so a broker wanting both marketing tools and data access is paying two distinct, unpublished prices rather than one bundled fee.
  • As a newer entrant against CoStar decades of proprietary data collection, CREXi Intelligence coverage and data quality in less-active markets may not match CoStar depth.
  • Auction infrastructure is a differentiator but only useful for sellers actually wanting a bid-based process, which is a minority of commercial transactions.
  • Free-tier listings compete for visibility against PRO-tier paid placement, so a broker relying only on the free product accepts lower search prominence than paying competitors.

Zillow

  • Leads are frequently sold to multiple agents at once, so an agent is often bidding against competitors for the same buyer rather than buying an exclusive introduction.
  • Reported lead-to-close conversion of roughly 1 to 3 percent means most paid connections do not become closed transactions, and the advertising spend has no guaranteed return.
  • Cost per connection varies heavily by ZIP code and competition, so budgeting is unpredictable and can spike in desirable areas without warning.
  • The agent shown as a contact on a listing is frequently not the listing agent, which has drawn criticism for consumer confusion about who actually represents the seller.
  • Placement is rented, not owned; an agent who stops paying loses visibility instantly, unlike a website or CRM investment that continues to compound in value.

Pricing, plan by plan

CREXi

Free
  • Marketplace (free)Free
    • Unlimited property listings
    • Basic property details and lead information
    • Marketplace search access
  • Listing PRO / All PRO / Enterprise PRO$undefined/month
    • Priority search placement
    • Full lead contact details
    • Targeted email campaigns
  • CREXi Intelligence$undefined/year
    • 153M+ property records, comps and ownership data
    • Sold separately from PRO listing subscriptions
    • Pricing not published, quote required

Zillow

On request
  • Premier Agent$undefined/month
    • Consumer search and listings are free; agents pay for lead placement
    • Average cost per connection roughly $139 (non-major metro) to $223+ (major metro)
    • Monthly spend commonly $200-600 small markets, $1,500-5,000+ major metros

Which should you pick?

Choose CREXi if

  • You need free unlimited listings.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want online auctions.
CREXi review

Choose Zillow if

  • You need consumer listing search.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want premier agent placement.
Zillow review

Questions people ask

Is CREXi or Zillow better?
Neither clearly leads. CREXi starts at Free and Zillow at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CREXi or Zillow?
CREXi has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CREXi and On request for Zillow.
Does CREXi or Zillow run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use CREXi for free?
Yes. CREXi has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Zillow starts at On request.
What is CREXi best used for?
CREXi is most often used for a broker or owner wanting free, unlimited listing exposure without committing to a paid tier up front, a seller wanting a native online auction process rather than a traditional offer negotiation, a firm wanting a costar alternative for property records and comps without a costar contract, a broker who has outgrown the free tier and wants priority placement and full lead contact details through pro. Of those, a broker or owner wanting free, unlimited listing exposure without committing to a paid tier up front and a seller wanting a native online auction process rather than a traditional offer negotiation are not what Zillow is typically brought in for.
What can CREXi do that Zillow cannot?
CREXi covers Free unlimited listings, Online auctions, PRO subscriptions, CREXi Intelligence. Zillow covers Consumer listing search, Premier Agent placement, Lead connections, Performance dashboards.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CREXi: Is CREXi really free?

The core marketplace, including unlimited listings, is free. PRO subscriptions and CREXi Intelligence data are separate paid products layered on top.

Zillow: Do home buyers or sellers pay Zillow?

No. Consumer search, Zestimates and listing browsing are free. Zillow revenue comes from agents and brokers paying for Premier Agent placement and leads.

CREXi: Is CREXi Intelligence the same as PRO?

No. PRO is about listing placement and lead tools; Intelligence is a standalone property data product with 153 million-plus records, priced and sold separately.

Zillow: Does the agent shown on a Zillow listing represent the seller?

Not necessarily. Premier Agent placement can show a paying advertiser as the contact even when they are not the actual listing agent.

CREXi: Does CREXi compete with CoStar or LoopNet?

Yes on both fronts: the marketplace competes with LoopNet for listings, and CREXi Intelligence competes with CoStar and Reonomy for property data.

Zillow: Is there a cheaper alternative to paid placement?

Zillow Flex offers a pay-on-closing model instead of upfront ad spend in select markets, trading a lower risk of wasted spend for a referral fee on closed deals.

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