Alternative
Zillow Rent Reporting Cost With the CreditClimb Fee and Which Bureaus Get Your Rent
Zillow runs two rent reporting programs. If your landlord collects rent through Zillow Rental Manager, you can opt in for free and Zillow reports on-time payments to Experian and Equifax, but not TransUnion. If you pay rent anywhere else, CreditClimb, run by Zillow's partner Esusu, reports to all three bureaus for $20 a year. Both can add up to 24 months of past rent on your current lease, and neither reports a payment that is 30 days late. CreditPal is not a rent reporting service. It reads your credit file and tells you whether a rent tradeline would move the score your next lender actually pulls, so you know whether either program is worth turning on.
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Side by side
CreditPal vs Zillow Rent Reporting
| Capability | CreditPal | Zillow Rent Reporting |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay | From $7 a month ($84 billed yearly, or $9 month to month) | Free through Zillow payments, or $20 a year through CreditClimb |
| What it is | An AI credit coach that reads your file | A rent reporting option inside Zillow's renter tools, in two versions |
| Who can sign up | Anyone, read-only connection | Free version: only renters whose landlord collects rent on Zillow. CreditClimb: any renter |
| Bureaus | Not applicable | Free version: Experian and Equifax. CreditClimb: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion |
| Past rent | Not applicable | Up to 24 months on your current lease |
| Late payments | Not applicable | Not reported. Zillow counts a payment as on time up to 30 days after the due date |
| Credit check | None | No soft or hard pull, per Zillow |
| Tells you whether a rent tradeline moves the score your lender uses | ||
| What-if simulator before you act |
Comparison reflects general product positioning and is provided in good faith. Verify current capabilities with each vendor.
The field
What the tools cost and who each one is for
| Tool | What it actually is | Typical price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zillow rent reporting (free) | On-time rent paid through Zillow payments, reported to Experian and Equifax, with up to 24 months of past rent on the current lease | Free, and paying by bank transfer is free too | Renters whose landlord already uses Zillow Rental Manager |
| CreditClimb by Esusu (through Zillow) | Reports rent you pay anywhere to all three bureaus, with up to 24 months of past rent on the current lease | $20 a year | Renters whose landlord does not use Zillow, or who need TransUnion |
| Esusu direct | The same company sold on its own site, through a read-only bank link | $59 a year on one Esusu page and $120 a year on another | Rarely the better buy now that the Zillow price exists |
| Boom | Links your bank and finds rent paid by Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, ACH or check | $5 a month billed $60 a year, plus $25 once for past rent | Renters who want an account that follows them when they move |
| CreditPal | Not a rent reporting service and not a lender. An AI credit coach that reads your file read-only and simulates whether a rent tradeline would change the score your lender pulls | From $7 a month | Anyone deciding whether rent reporting is worth turning on at all |
Zillow terms were read on 23 October 2026 from Zillow's rent reporting page, the rent reporting help article in Zillow Rental Manager's help center and Zillow Group's rent reporting announcement (updated 16 October 2026). Esusu and Boom prices come from each provider's own pages on our earlier checks and change without notice, so confirm before you subscribe. CreditPal is educational only: not a lender, not credit repair, not a rent reporting service, and never a promise of a score or a date.
How much does Zillow rent reporting cost?
Nothing, if your landlord collects rent through Zillow. Zillow's help center says the service "is free, when using Zillow payments," and paying rent by direct bank transfer is free as well. If you pay rent somewhere else, Zillow sells CreditClimb, run by its partner Esusu, for "an exclusive annual rate of $20." That works out to about $1.67 a month.
That $20 is the cheapest price we have found for three-bureau rent reporting with past history. Most services that read your bank account charge $5 to $10 a month. Esusu's own site lists its direct membership at $59 a year on one page and $120 a year on another, so if you were about to buy Esusu directly, the Zillow route is the same company for a fraction of the price. Compare the whole field in our guide to how much rent reporting costs.
Which credit bureaus does Zillow report rent to?
It depends on which program you use. Zillow's FAQ says: "When you report rent with Zillow x Esusu, your payments are reported to the three major bureaus: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. When you report with Zillow payments your payments are reported to Experian and Equifax." The free version skips TransUnion.
That gap matters more than the price. A card or auto lender that pulls only TransUnion will not see a free Zillow rent tradeline at all. Mortgage lenders pull all three reports and usually use the middle score, so a tradeline on two files can move two of the three numbers. If your next application is with a TransUnion lender, the $20 CreditClimb version is the one that shows up. You can check which bureau a card issuer tends to pull before you choose.
Does Zillow report late rent payments?
No. Zillow says rent paid more than 30 days past due "won't be reported to Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion." Its help center defines an on-time payment as "any payment processed on our platform within 30 days of the due date." That is far more forgiving than most services. TurboTenant, for example, does not count a payment made one day after the due date, even inside a grace period.
There is a catch in the same help article. If you go three months without an on-time payment, Zillow unenrolls you automatically, and you cannot opt back in on that lease. The same is true if you opt out yourself: "Once you opt out of Zillow rent payment reporting on a current lease, there is currently no way to opt into the program again." Think before you switch it off.
Can Zillow report my past rent payments?
Yes, up to 24 months, but only on your current lease. Zillow's rent reporting page says you "can include up to 24 months of past payment history on your current lease in order to establish positive credit history faster," and you pick those payments when you set up the account. Rent from a previous apartment or a previous landlord does not qualify.
Back history is the reason many renters pay for a service at all, because two years of on-time payments on day one does far more for a thin file than one new month at a time. Rental Kharma reports every month at your current rental for a $75 enrollment fee; Zillow does it free or for $20. If you have been at the same place for a year or more, the past months are the most valuable part of the deal.
Will Zillow rent reporting raise my credit score?
It can, if the score your lender uses reads rent. Zillow's own help article lists the scores to watch: "FICO 9/XD/10/10T and VantageScore 3.0/4.0." FICO Score 8, still the score most card and auto lenders pull, is not on that list, and neither are the classic FICO scores most mortgage lenders still use. Esusu publishes an average gain for consistent reporters, but it is a vendor figure with no guarantee.
Rent reporting helps most when your file is thin: few accounts, a short history, or no score at all. If your score is low because of a late payment, high card balances or a collection, a rent tradeline does not touch the cause. That is the question to answer before you pay even $20, and it is the one CreditPal is built for: it reads your file, shows what is actually holding your score down, and lets you simulate a rent tradeline in the credit score simulator.
Zillow rent reporting for buying a home
Zillow pitches rent reporting as a step toward a mortgage, and part of that is real. The Federal Housing Finance Agency has authorized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to accept loans scored with VantageScore 4.0, which reads rental history. Lenders are moving to it gradually, though, and many still use the classic FICO mortgage scores, which ignore rent.
If you plan to buy within a year, ask your loan officer which score they use before you count on rent history. If the answer is a classic FICO score, the faster gains usually come from paying card balances down before the statement date and fixing errors on your report. Our guide on how to increase your credit score for a mortgage walks through the steps that move those scores.
Zillow rent reporting reviews and complaints
Most frustration with Zillow rent reporting comes from the fine print, not the reporting. Renters who opted out to stop an email cannot get back in for the rest of the lease. Renters who paid by check or another app for three months were dropped automatically. And renters whose landlord never set up Zillow payments find the free version is not available to them at all.
Zillow also reserves "the right to terminate this service at any time," so treat the free program as a perk of your current landlord's software, not a permanent account. It does not follow you when you move unless your next landlord also collects rent through Zillow. CreditClimb does follow you, because it is tied to your bank account rather than the landlord's platform.
Where CreditPal fits
CreditPal answers the question before you sign up: will a rent tradeline move the score your next lender pulls? It connects read-only, explains in plain English what is helping and hurting your score, and lets you simulate adding a rent account before you decide. If the real drag on your file is a late payment, high utilization or a collection, CreditPal shows you that, so you spend your effort where it counts.
If your landlord uses different software, read our RealPage rent reporting review or the TurboTenant rent reporting review. For the company behind CreditClimb, see our Esusu rent reporting review, and to compare every service on price and bureaus, the best rent reporting services.
Straight answers
Questions people ask before they buy
Is Zillow rent reporting free?
Yes, if your landlord collects rent through Zillow payments. You opt in from your renter account and Zillow reports on-time payments to Experian and Equifax at no cost. If your landlord does not use Zillow, the CreditClimb program through Esusu costs $20 a year and reports to all three bureaus.
Does Zillow report rent to TransUnion?
Only through CreditClimb. The free Zillow payments program reports to Experian and Equifax. CreditClimb, the $20 a year program run with Esusu, reports to TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. If a lender you are applying to pulls TransUnion, the free version will not show up there.
What is CreditClimb on Zillow?
CreditClimb is Zillow's paid rent reporting option, run by its partner Esusu. It costs $20 a year, works for renters who do not pay rent on Zillow, reports to all three bureaus, and can add up to 24 months of past rent on your current lease. Late payments are not reported.
How long does Zillow rent reporting take to show up?
Zillow says reported payments should appear on your credit report within 60 days of the date they were reported, and to allow at least 30 days for your score to update. Pull your free weekly reports at annualcreditreport.com to confirm the tradeline before you rely on it for an application.
Can I opt back in to Zillow rent reporting after opting out?
Not on the same lease. Zillow's help center says that once you opt out on a current lease there is no way to opt in again, and the same applies if you are unenrolled after three months without an on-time payment. A new lease starts fresh.
Does Zillow check my credit to report rent?
No. Zillow says it does not do any soft or hard credit pulls as part of rent reporting. It shares your name, address, date of birth, lease data and payment data with the bureaus each month so they can match the tradeline to your file.
Is Zillow rent reporting worth it?
The free version is worth turning on if your landlord already uses Zillow payments and you pay on time. The $20 CreditClimb version is worth it if your file is thin and your next lender uses a score that reads rent, such as VantageScore or FICO 9 and 10. It does little if FICO 8 or a classic mortgage score decides your application.
Other comparisons
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Connect read-only, transparent pricing, no credit card. Educational only, never a lender or financial advice. Decide for yourself.