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Comparison
Zillow Alternative: EMG vs Zillow Premier Agent and Zillow Preferred
Zillow puts you in front of buyers who are already on Zillow. You pay for every connection, and on Zillow Preferred you give up 15 to 40 percent of your commission at closing. EMG builds a lead system that belongs to you, so every closing is yours to keep.
Zillow rents you access to its audience. You pay for each connection, through ad spend on Premier Agent or a success fee of 15 to 40 percent of your commission on Zillow Preferred, and the buyer started on Zillow's platform. EMG builds your own website, Google presence, and content so buyers and sellers find you directly, with no referral fee on any closing.
At a glance
How do Zillow and EMG compare side by side?
The short version: Zillow is a fast way to buy connections. EMG is a way to stop needing to.
| Zillow | Evolution Media Group | |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Premier Agent: advertising by ZIP code, priced by demand. Preferred: 15 to 40 percent of your commission at closing, and 40 percent on seller connections. | A flat monthly fee for the services you choose. No referral fee on any closing. |
| Who owns the relationship | The consumer starts on Zillow, and you pay again for every new connection. | Buyers and sellers find you directly, through a website, profile, and content in your name. |
| Lead routing | Premier Agent phone leads can ring up to 10 agents at once, and the first to answer gets the lead. Preferred routes connections by performance score. | Every lead is exclusive to you. |
| Required tools | Follow Up Boss is required for Preferred. Zillow Pro seats carry a 12-month term. | Follow-up automation is available as its own service, built around how you work. |
| Contract and changes | Preferred is invite-only with performance standards, and Zillow can change fees with 15 days notice. | No contracts. 60-day notice to cancel. |
| What builds over time | Nothing you keep. When you stop paying, connections stop. | Rankings, reviews, content, and a growing database that keep producing. |
| Best for | Teams with strong inside sales who convert fast, or new agents with no database yet. | Agents who want to own their pipeline and keep their full commission. |
Sources: Zillow Preferred FAQ and Flex pricing page; Zillow help center article on agent capacity and lead routing; The Close, July 13, 2026, on Zillow Pro. Accessed November 2026.
How it works
How do Zillow Premier Agent and Zillow Preferred work?
Zillow sells buyer connections from the traffic on its portal. With Premier Agent, agents pay for advertising share in a ZIP code, and Zillow sets the price by demand. It does not publish a standard cost per lead.
Zillow Preferred, the program formerly called Flex, has no upfront cost. Instead, you pay a success fee when a deal closes: 15 to 40 percent of your commission depending on the ZIP code and price, and 40 percent on seller connections. Zillow says it can change fees with 15 days notice. Preferred is invite-only, requires Follow Up Boss, and routes more connections to agents Zillow scores as stronger converters.
In July 2026 Zillow launched Zillow Pro nationwide, a per-seat tool suite with a 12-month initial term and an early termination fee, which is becoming a main path to a Preferred invite.
Sources: Zillow Preferred FAQ; Zillow Flex pricing page; The Close, July 13, 2026. Accessed November 2026.
The trade-offs
Why do agents look for a Zillow alternative?
Zillow works for some agents. The ones who leave usually point to the same four problems.
The fee comes off the top
On a $10,000 commission, a 35 percent success fee is $3,500, taken before your brokerage split. An agent lawsuit filed in January 2026 describes fees of up to 40 percent as well above the typical 25 percent referral fee. Zillow denies the claims in that suit.
Source: HousingWire, January 21, 2026.
Your volume is decided by Zillow's scoring
Preferred sends more connections to agents Zillow rates as stronger performers. When the scoring, the fee, or the program changes, your lead flow changes with it, and you have no say.
Source: Zillow Preferred FAQ.
You do the work, they take the cut
Portal leads arrive early and cold. You still do the calls, the showings, and months of nurture, and the referral fee comes due only after you have done all of it.
It is a race to answer first
Zillow's own help center says Premier Agent phone leads can ring up to 10 agents on a team or advertiser list at once, and the first to pick up gets the lead.
Source: Zillow help center, Agent Capacity and Lead Routing.
"Those lead companies are working off a big referral fee. They capture low quality leads, send them to the agent to do all the work of conversion and nurture, and then take a big piece of the commission when they close."
Harrison Smith, founder of Evolution Media Group
Being fair
When is Zillow the right choice?
Zillow is not a bad option for everyone. For some businesses, at some stages, it is the right one.
You run a team with strong inside sales
If you have ISAs and follow-up systems that convert fast, paying at closing with no upfront cash can be a profitable trade.
You are new and have no database yet
A new or relocated agent with no sphere or brand can use a success fee to get first closings while a long-term system is built.
Building your own system takes time. If you need closings this quarter and cannot invest in building, staying on Zillow is a reasonable choice, and many agents run both while their own lead flow ramps up. As Harrison puts it: "Buying leads keeps you busy right now. Building your own system keeps you busy forever."
The EMG difference
What does EMG do differently for real estate agents?
We build a lead generation system that covers every place buyers and sellers look, so you are the most visible local agent and the leads come to you first.
Your website
A fast site in your name with pages for every neighborhood and service you offer, built to rank and to turn visitors into conversations.
Google Business Profile
Fully built out and posted to every week so you show up in the map pack when people search for an agent near them.
Google search
SEO that ranks your pages for the searches buyers and sellers make before they ever open a portal.
AI answer engines
AEO so tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews can find you, trust you, and recommend you by name.
Social media
Weekly posting and short-form video that keeps you top of mind with your sphere and your farm.
YouTube
Market updates, neighborhood tours, and how-to videos that build trust long before the first call.
Strategy built for your business
We start with your market, your margins, and your goals, then decide which channels to build first. No packaged campaign copied from the last client.
Leads that are yours alone
Every call, form, and message comes to you because someone found you. No other business gets the same lead, so you compete on trust, not on who dials fastest.
Results
What happens when you own your lead flow?
One agent we work with moved to a new market with no sphere and no leads. Here is what an owned system produced.
Making the switch
How do you move off Zillow without losing deals?
You do not have to quit cold turkey. Most of our clients run both for a while, then shift spend as their own system takes over.
- Keep Zillow runningDo not cut off your current pipeline. Keep closing the deals you have while we build.
- Build the foundationWebsite, Google Business Profile, and your first neighborhood and service pages go live, followed by content and social.
- Track cost per closing by sourceMeasure what each Zillow closing really costs after the fee, next to what your own leads cost. Our calculator makes this simple.
- Shift as your own leads growWhen your own system covers enough closings, reduce what you buy. Every closing you replace keeps its full commission.
Zillow Preferred costs nothing upfront and takes its fee at closing. EMG is a flat monthly fee, and you keep every commission from the leads your own system produces.
Here is an example. Four Zillow closings a month at a $10,000 commission with a 35 percent fee is $14,000 a month in referral fees. SEO and AEO ($1,497), Google Business Profile ($497), and ads management ($997) total $2,991 a month, or $2,542 with the 15 percent three-service bundle discount. Your results will depend on your market, and owned marketing takes months to ramp, which is why most agents run both at first.
Every EMG service is month to month with a 60-day notice to cancel. Bundles of 2, 3, or 4 or more monthly services save 10, 15, or 20 percent. Ad spend, if you run ads, is paid directly to Google or Meta.
Questions
Zillow vs EMG questions
Is Zillow Preferred the same as Zillow Flex?
Yes. Zillow renamed Flex to Zillow Preferred. Agents who were in Flex on or before October 15, 2025 became Preferred partners automatically, according to Zillow's FAQ.
How much does Zillow Preferred cost?
There is no upfront cost. Zillow charges a success fee of 15 to 40 percent of your commission depending on the ZIP code and price, and 40 percent on seller connections. Follow Up Boss is also required. Check Zillow's pricing tool for your ZIP.
Are Zillow leads shared with other agents?
On Premier Agent, phone leads can ring up to 10 agents on a list at once, and the first to answer gets the lead. Preferred connects a consumer with one partner agent, with routing weighted by performance.
Can I use EMG and Zillow at the same time?
Yes, and most agents do at first. Keep your current pipeline while your own system ramps up, then shift spend as your own leads replace portal connections.
How long does it take to replace Zillow leads?
It depends on your market and starting point. A complete Google Business Profile and ads can produce leads within weeks. SEO and AEO usually take several months to build, and then keep producing without a per-lead cost.
Is EMG affiliated with Zillow?
No. Evolution Media Group is an independent marketing and media company. This page compares public information to help agents decide.
Ready to keep the full commission on every closing?
Book a free 30-minute strategy call. We will look at where your leads come from today, what they really cost, and what it would take to build a system you own. If Zillow is still the right call for you, we will tell you.
Information about Zillow comes from its public website, help center, filings, and press coverage as of November 2026. Some figures are reported by third parties, and terms change, so confirm current details with Zillow. Zillow is a trademark of its owner. Evolution Media Group is not affiliated with or endorsed by Zillow.