DoorKeeping vs Zillow Rental Manager: finding a tenant or running the building
Zillow's applications FAQ says the application and screening reports are free for landlords, and that renters pay a $40 application fee covering 30 days of unlimited applications to participating rentals. DoorKeeping costs $2 per unit per month and covers the year-round work: rent matched to deposits, separate books per property, bills, tax reports and an AI you can ask. Zillow is where many owners find a tenant; DoorKeeping is where they run the lease and the building afterward, and you can use both.
A note on the sources
Zillow blocks automated reading of its site, so the one fact used here on price was taken on 2026-10-30 from Zillow's own Rental Manager applications FAQ as returned by a search of zillow.com, not from a full page load. Anything about Zillow's rent payment fees, lease signing, listing upgrades or payout terms that this page does not state is marked as not published here. Check Zillow's own pages before you rely on it.
What Zillow says about applications and screening
Zillow's rental applications FAQ says the application and tenant screening reports are free for landlords. The renter pays an application fee, listed at $40, which includes the screening reports and lets the renter apply to the landlord's listing and to an unlimited number of participating rentals for 30 days.
Example a made-up landlord who gets five applications on a vacant unit pays Zillow nothing for the applications or the screening reports. Each of the five renters pays the $40 fee once, and it covers their applications to other participating rentals for 30 days.
That arrangement moves the screening cost from the landlord to the renter, which is common. It is also why Zillow is a good place to start a vacancy: applications arrive already screened.
What this page cannot tell you about Zillow
A fair comparison needs the numbers Zillow publishes, and several of them were not confirmed from Zillow's own pages on the day this page was checked. They are marked "Not published" in the table below instead of being guessed:
- Fees for rent paid by bank transfer, credit card or debit card, and who pays them.
- Whether sending and signing a lease costs anything.
- The price of premium listing upgrades.
- Any payout terms for rent collected through Zillow.
If any of these matters to you, read the current Rental Manager pages on Zillow before choosing, and compare them with the other published prices.
Different jobs
| Job | Zillow Rental Manager | DoorKeeping |
|---|---|---|
| Price to the owner | Not published here | $2 per unit per month |
| Find a tenant | Listings on Zillow's rental network | Listing page and application link for each unit |
| Application and screening reports | Free for the landlord; renter pays a $40 application fee | Screening passed through at DoorKeeping's cost, no markup; the applicant pays unless you choose to |
| Rent by bank | Not published here | Free, straight to the owner's bank |
| Rent by card | Not published here | A tenant pays a 3% card fee, where state law allows it (credit cards only) |
| E-signed lease | Not published here | Included, with renewal offers |
| Books per property, Schedule E | Not described on the pages read | Yes |
| Bills, late fees, work orders | Not described on the pages read | Yes |
| Ask it in plain words | Not described on the pages read | Yes, from Claude or ChatGPT |
Where the cost really sits
An owner using Zillow for a vacancy spends little money on the search itself. The cost shows up afterward, in the year-round work: following up on rent, handling repairs, coding bills and preparing taxes. Those jobs happen in whatever else you use, and they are what DoorKeeping is priced for.
Example a made-up owner with 12 units pays DoorKeeping 12 x $2 x 12 = $288 a year. The $288 buys the bookkeeping, bill coding, owner statements and tax reports for all twelve units, which the Zillow pages read here do not describe.
When to use which
If you have an empty unit and want eyes on it, Zillow's reach is hard to match. Once the tenant has signed, the work is rent follow-up, repairs, bills and taxes. That is what DoorKeeping is for, and you can use both: find the tenant on Zillow, then run the lease and the books in DoorKeeping. Rent and payments stay in your own bank accounts. DoorKeeping never holds your money and sends a payment only when you approve it. See the compare page for the full price table.
Every fee: Zillow Rental Manager and DoorKeeping
Everything Zillow Rental Manager publishes that an owner, a tenant or an applicant pays, next to DoorKeeping, read from Zillow Rental Manager's own pages (www.zillow.com/rental-manager/rental-applications-faq/). "Not published" means it is not on Zillow Rental Manager's own site.
| Fee | Zillow Rental Manager | DoorKeeping |
|---|---|---|
| Software price | Not published | $2 per unit per month, every feature included (paid by the owner) |
| Minimum or contract | Not published | None. No minimum and no contract |
| Setup or onboarding | Not published | None |
| Rent paid by bank (ACH) | Not published | Free. Tenants pay your own bank directly |
| Rent paid by card | Not published | 3% card fee, credit cards only; bank transfer stays free (paid by the tenant) |
| Tenant screening | Application and screening reports free for the landlord; the renter pays a $40 application fee covering 30 days of unlimited applications to participating rentals | No markup: our exact cost. Paid by the applicant by default, or by you if you choose |
| E-signatures | Not published | Included, no per-document fee |
| Payouts to owners or vendors | Not published | None. DoorKeeping never holds your money and sends a payment only when you approve it |
| Other published fees | Not published | None |
Sources
- Zillow Rental Manager, Rental applications FAQ, read Oct 30, 2026
- DoorKeeping, Pricing, read Oct 30, 2026
- DoorKeeping, Features (live feature list), read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- Who pays for screening on Zillow Rental Manager?
- Zillow's applications FAQ says the reports are free for landlords. The renter pays an application fee, listed at $40, which covers 30 days of unlimited applications to participating rentals.
- What does Zillow charge for rent payments?
- This page does not state it, because it was not confirmed from Zillow's own pages on 2026-10-30. Check Zillow's current Rental Manager pages.
- Can I use Zillow and DoorKeeping together?
- Yes. Zillow can bring the tenant; DoorKeeping handles the lease, rent matching, books and day-to-day work.