Zillow mortgage leads: how the marketplace works, what it costs, and an alternative

What Zillow sells to lenders

Zillow Group's FY2023 annual report describes mortgages revenue as including "advertising sold to mortgage lenders and other mortgage professionals on a cost per lead basis" through "our Custom Quote and Connect services" (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1617640/000161764024000022/z-20231231.htm). The FY2021 report notes that "Certain of our mortgage marketing products are operated by our wholly owned subsidiary" Zillow Group Marketplace, Inc., a licensed mortgage broker (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1617640/000161764022000013/z-20211231.htm).

The two products, as BankingBridge describes them (https://www.bankingbridge.com/post/why-mortgage-lenders-use-zillow):

• Custom Quotes. Rate-table advertising. A shopper enters loan details, sees quotes from participating lenders, and clicks a lender's logo into a lead funnel. "your company only pays when a lead is actually generated for your company." To participate "you need to have Mortech in place as your product pricing engine (PPE)", and Zillow syncs with Mortech to keep your rates current.
• Zillow Connect. An earlier-stage product where consumers answer questions to find a local lender. Lenders get "a dedicated Strategic Relationship Manager" and choose the locations they serve. "Connect leads are generally more affordable than Custom Quote ones because they usually require more work to close."

Leads come from all Zillow brands, including Trulia (same source).

The automated-quote mechanics go back to 2008, when HousingWire reported that lenders using Zillow's API "receive the full set of details the borrower entered in an automated fashion" and return quotes through their pricing engines (https://www.housingwire.com/articles/zillow-rolls-out-automated-mortgage-quotes/).

How much do Zillow mortgage leads cost

Zillow does not publish a rate card. Reported figures:

The SEC filing language on billing is "cost per lead" (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1617640/000161764024000022/z-20231231.htm). Treat every dollar figure above as a report, not a Zillow price.

Exclusivity

Zillow does not state on public pages whether a Custom Quotes lead goes to one lender or several. leadpops lists Zillow exclusivity as "Varies" (https://leadpops.com/blog/best-mortgage-lead-providers-2026). What is clear from the product design is that the consumer clicks a specific lender's quote, so you are the lender the consumer chose, in contrast to LendingTree's up-to-five match. Whether the same consumer then clicks a second lender is up to the consumer.

The Zillow Home Loans overlap

Zillow owns a lender. The FY2023 report describes "Zillow Home Loans, our mortgage originations business and affiliate lender" and says the company offers customers the option "to connect with our mortgage partners through our mortgage marketplace" for purchase and refinance (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1617640/000161764024000022/z-20231231.htm). leadpops reports that Zillow Home Loans "appears on the same rate table as the lenders paying to advertise there" (https://leadpops.com/blog/zillow-mortgage-leads-review-2026). Lenders should ask Zillow directly how placement is decided when its own lender is in the table.

Who Zillow suits

Custom Quotes suits a lender that already runs Mortech, can price competitively, and can fund $2,500 a month before the first lead arrives. Connect suits a lender with a nurture process, since those consumers are earlier in the journey; leadpops reports "Some LOs report booking 2–5 calendar appointments per month through Zillow Connect" (https://leadpops.com/blog/zillow-mortgage-leads-review-2026). Neither suits an originator without a pricing engine or without the cash to prepay.

Trade-offs lenders report

Reported by named sources, not measured by us.

• Prepayment and minimums. BankingBridge reports a $2,500 monthly floor for Custom Quotes and a deposit for Connect (https://www.bankingbridge.com/post/why-mortgage-lenders-use-zillow). leadpops calls the channel "wrong for month-to-month operators" for that reason (https://leadpops.com/blog/zillow-mortgage-leads-review-2026).
• Conversion depends on operations. leadpops gives 0.5 to 2% for average operations and 3 to 5% for well-run ones, and states that loan officer experiences it quotes "are not individually verifiable" (https://leadpops.com/blog/zillow-mortgage-leads-review-2026).
• The platform competes with you. The affiliate lender sits in the same marketplace (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1617640/000161764024000022/z-20231231.htm).
• Tooling requirement. Mortech is a precondition for the rate table (https://www.bankingbridge.com/post/why-mortgage-lenders-use-zillow).

How Radian Leads differs

Radian Leads sells exclusive mortgage live transfers. No rate table, no pricing engine, no prepaid advertising balance.

• Live transfer. A homeowner submits an opted-in form. Our qualification specialist calls back inside the consent window, asks your criteria one at a time on a recorded line, and transfers to your loan officer with a 15-second handoff. The borrower never repeats the basics.
• Exclusive. One client per transfer. No resale of the same borrower.
• Replaced on criteria failure. If the recording shows a criteria miss, the transfer is replaced. The recording decides, not a dispute form.
• 3-minute billable threshold. You are billed only when your loan officer has 3 minutes (180 seconds) or more of conversation. Shorter calls cost nothing.
• Recording and dashboard. Dual-channel recording of every transfer, scored against your criteria, with credits purchased, used and returned, at client.radianleads.com.

We buy transfers in blocks of credits and draw down per billable transfer. We are not a lender, not a broker, not a government agency and not affiliated with the VA. Published first-week figures from one October 2026 cash-out campaign: 71% of connected calls met the 3-minute threshold and 41.7% of billable transfers completed a loan application on the first call. One campaign, published in our release, not a guarantee.