Platuni vs Zillow Rental Manager
A landlord with six units lists a vacancy on Zillow, screens the applicants and collects the first month's rent, all inside Rental Manager, and pays nothing for the software. The costs are real but they land elsewhere: renters pay a $40 application fee, and tenants who pay rent by card pay a fee on top. That split is where this comparison starts.
Choose Platuni if
Where the product looks mature
- You manage 10 or more units and want reconciliation and custom reports, which Zillow's help center does not list.
- You manage for other owners and need an owner portal.
- You need your city's or province's rules and deadlines tracked for Canadian or US rentals.
Choose Zillow Rental Manager if
Where the product looks mature
- You own a handful of rentals and want software that costs you nothing.
- You want your listing to appear on Zillow itself, which states more than 30 million monthly visitors.
- You prefer that renters carry the screening cost. Zillow's reports are free for landlords and renters pay a $40 application fee.
Fit check
Which one fits your portfolio?
Four questions. Your answer highlights the rows below that matter to you.
Based on your answers
Leans Platuni
Zillow Rental Manager charges landlords $0 for software; renters pay $40 per application and tenants pay card/debit fees.
- PlatuniA portfolio of 10 or more units tends to need reconciliation and reports. Platuni Growth lists both, while Zillow's help center has no accounting or reports section.
- Zillow Rental ManagerZillow Rental Manager is built around the self-managing landlord: list, screen, sign leases and collect rent in one place, with no software fee.
- PlatuniPlatuni Growth tracks rules and deadlines by jurisdiction for Canada and the US. Zillow offers localized lease templates in 36 states, but its pages list no rules or deadlines tracker.
What you'd give up with Platuni: a free software tier, free screening on the landlord side, and Zillow's own renter audience. Platuni Starter is USD $0.99 per unit per month.
Platuni
Starter: USD $9.90/mo
Growth: USD $59/mo (minimum applies)
Zillow Rental Manager
$0
Free software for landlords · renters pay $40 application fee · tenants pay 2.95% card / $9.95 debit (ACH free)
Zillow shows dollars without naming the currency. Payment and screening fees are paid by tenants/renters.
Side by side
Feature by feature
Each row answers one buyer question, with the vendor's own page as the source.
| What you need | PlatuniGrowth plan unless noted | Zillow Rental ManagerFree for landlords unless noted |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
Software price How much does the software cost each month? | Starter USD $0.99, Growth USD $1.49 per unit per month (CAD $1.39 and $1.99). No free plan. Source: platuni.com/pricing | Free for landlords. Currency not stated. Source: zillow.com/rental-manager |
Optional upgrades Are there paid listing upgrades? | •Not applicable Platuni sells no paid listing upgrades. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Per-use fee Premium listing $39.99 per listing, one time, up to 90 days. No refund if you end it early. Source: help.zillowrentalmanager.com/hc/en-us/articles/4427056916755-Paying-for-a-premium-listing |
| Getting started | ||
Free trial Can I try it before paying? | •Included 30 days of Growth, no card. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Included Not applicable. The software is free to start. Source: zillow.com/rental-manager |
| Payments | ||
Online rent payments Can tenants pay online and what are the fees? | •Included Card and bank, Canada and US, at Stripe's rates with no Platuni markup. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Included Free for landlords. Tenants pay 2.95% by card and $9.95 by debit. ACH is free. Funds can take up to 5 business days. |
Faster payouts Can rent reach my bank account faster? | •Not listed Not listed on Platuni's public pages. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Partial Zillow says Fast Payments can reach your account in as little as two business days. Its fee is not stated. |
| Leasing | ||
Tenant screening Who pays for applicant screening? | •Per-use fee Charged per report, price not published. Landlord pays by default. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Per-use fee Free for landlords. Renters pay a $40 application fee that covers credit, background, eviction history and income documents. |
E-signed leases Can I sign leases digitally? | •Included Free and unlimited. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Included Lease tools are free. Uploads your own lease or uses a template with e-signature. No dollar amount shown. |
Lease templates Are localized lease templates included? | •Included Canada and US compliance support on Growth. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Included Localized templates in 36 named US states, plus pet and parking addenda. |
Listings and leads Where do my vacancy listings appear? | •Included A listings workspace with a lead inbox. The rental sites listings reach are not named. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Included Listings on Zillow, a lead management tab and tour scheduling. Source: zillow.com/rental-manager |
| Shared living | ||
Per-room leases Can I lease by the room and split bills? | •Included Growth and Enterprise, plus roommate matching and rent split on the student housing page. | •Not listed Not listed. The help center has an article on room-for-rent listings. |
| Accounting | ||
Accounting and reports Can I reconcile transactions and run financial reports? | •Included Reconciliation and custom reports on Growth and Enterprise. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Not listed Not listed in Zillow's help center. |
1099 forms Does it prepare 1099 tax forms? | •Not listed Not listed on Platuni's public pages. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Partial The payments page promises quick access to 1099s for tax season. It does not say Zillow e-files them. |
QuickBooks Does it integrate with QuickBooks? | •Not listed Not available on Platuni. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Not listed Not listed on Zillow's pages. |
| Owners | ||
Owner portal Can third-party owners log in and view statements? | •Included Growth and Enterprise. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Not listed Not listed in Zillow's help center. |
| Compliance | ||
Local rules and deadlines Will it track city or province rules and deadlines? | •Included Growth and Enterprise, Canada and US. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Not listed Not listed on Zillow's pages. Source: zillow.com/rental-manager |
| Accounting | ||
Trust accounting Does it include trust accounting? | •Not listed Not listed on Platuni's public pages. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Not listed Not listed on Zillow's pages. |
| Platform | ||
AI assistant Are AI tools included? | •Included Compliance assistant on Growth and Enterprise. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Not listed Not listed on Zillow's pages. Source: zillow.com/rental-manager |
Open API Can my developer build integrations? | •Partial By contract on Growth and Enterprise. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Not listed Not listed on Zillow's pages. Source: zillow.com/rental-manager |
Mobile app Is there a mobile app? | •Included iOS and Android. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Included A Rental Manager app is offered. Source: zillow.com/rental-manager |
| Operations | ||
Support What support channels are included? | •Included 24/7 in-app help, staffed weekdays 9am to 6pm local time. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Partial Priority support is listed with Premium listings. Other support is not described. Source: help.zillowrentalmanager.com/hc/en-us/articles/4427056916755-Paying-for-a-premium-listing |
| Coverage | ||
Canada Does it work for Canadian rentals? | •Included Canada and US. Source: platuni.com/pricing | •Partial Zillow's Rental Manager pages name no country. Capterra Canada reports Canada among its available countries. |
The trade-offs
Where each one comes out ahead
Where Zillow Rental Manager is the stronger pick
For a landlord with a few rentals, Rental Manager covers the leasing cycle without a subscription: listing, applications, leases, e-signatures and rent collection are all there, and the software is free. The listing appears on Zillow, which states more than 30 million monthly visitors, and the lead management and tour tools sit beside it.
If the work you do is mostly filling vacancies and collecting rent, paying nothing is hard to beat.
Where Platuni is the stronger pick
Platuni starts where Zillow's pages stop. Growth lists reconciliation, custom reports, an owner portal and rules and deadlines tracked by jurisdiction for Canada and the US. Zillow's help center has no accounting or reports section, no owner portal and no rules tracker. A manager who reports to other owners, or who needs to know which notice period applies to which property, will run into that quickly.
The price is the trade-off. Platuni has no free plan, so a landlord with five doors pays USD $4.95 a month on Starter for what Zillow gives away. Platuni also lists no trust accounting, no 1099 forms and no QuickBooks, so a manager who needs those should look elsewhere.
Questions
Common questions
For landlords, the software is. Zillow's pages say rent collection and screening reports are free for landlords. Renters pay a $40 application fee, tenants pay 2.95% on card and $9.95 on debit, and a premium listing is an optional $39.99.
No. Zillow's software costs landlords nothing, and Platuni Starter is USD $0.99 per unit per month. Platuni's case rests on what the subscription adds: reconciliation, reports, an owner portal and local rules tracking.
Renters. Zillow says the application and screening reports are free for landlords, and renters pay a $40 application fee that covers the reports and lets them apply to other participating rentals for 30 days.
Zillow's help center lists no accounting or reports category. The payments page promises quick access to 1099s for tax season, but it does not say Zillow e-files them.
Zillow's Rental Manager pages name no country, and the lease templates are listed for US states only. Capterra Canada reports Canada among its available countries. Platuni supports screening, rent payments and compliance in Canada and the US.
No. Zillow's navigation lists apartment advertising and subscription-based ads separately from Rental Manager. This page compares Rental Manager only.
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