Bankrate vs Zillow mortgage leads: which is better for loan officers, and where does LendingTree fit?
By Yath Regmi, Founder, Kodec
Verified on Updated Published
Short answer
No one wins on price per lead alone, so judge by cost per funded loan. In our example, a cheap shared lead that closes 1 in 100 costs about $5,000 per loan. A $175 rate-table lead that closes 3 in 100 costs about $5,800. Buy leads only if you call within minutes and know your top price for one funded loan.
When this is the right call
Each one can be the right call for the right team. Bankrate fits a team that texts and calls inside minutes, has budget, and lives on volume. LendingTree fits a shop with a call center or dialer already in place that accepts thin margins. Zillow fits buyer-stage leads if you already run Mortech and want mid-search home shoppers. A solo loan officer with no follow-up system is better off with unpaid partner referrals, a site and past clients, since a lead only pays if someone calls it back fast.
Cost per funded loan
Example
| Source | Cost per lead | Close rate | Cost per funded loan |
|---|---|---|---|
| LendingTree | $50 | 1% | $5,000 |
| LendingTree | $50 | 3% | $1,667 |
| Bankrate | $175 | 3% | $5,833 |
| Bankrate | $175 | 9% | $1,944 |
| Zillow | $100 | 2% | $5,000 |
These inputs are invented. Prices sit inside reported ranges, and the close rates are vendor claims or our assumptions, so change them. Vendor guides report about $3,750 to $5,000 gross pay on a $500,000 loan, and less after splits. At 1 in 100, the lead cost alone is about that much, before overhead and your time.
Side by side
Bankrate
| How it works | The borrower sees about 6 lenders on a rate table and picks one, per LeadPops.1 |
|---|---|
| Reported price per lead | $100 to $250+ per LeadPops. $100 to $200 per HousingWire, with a $20,000 monthly minimum. $150 to $230 per BankingBridge (2023).3 |
| Reported close rate | 3% to 5% on average and 8% to 10% well run, per LeadPops.1 |
| Published rate card | None found |
| Who sells this number | LeadPops sells first-party lead generation. |
LendingTree
| How it works | Compare and match. A lead goes to up to 5 lenders, per LeadPops, which also says "5+".1 |
|---|---|
| Reported price per lead | $30 to $100, per LeadPops, HousingWire and BankingBridge.1 |
| Reported close rate | 0.5% to 2% on average, about 3% at best, per LeadPops. BankingBridge says its customers report about 3%.5 |
| Published rate card | None found |
| Who sells this number | HousingWire discloses affiliate links. BankingBridge sells lead tools. |
Zillow (Connect and Custom Quote)
| How it works | Cost per lead, prepaid. Revenue counts when a user contacts a lender, in the filings we read.6 |
|---|---|
| Reported price per lead | $75 to $150, per LeadPops and BankingBridge (2023).2 |
| Reported close rate | No independent figure found. |
| Published rate card | None found |
| Who sells this number | Zillow's filings give no price per lead. |
| What it is | Bankrate | LendingTree | Zillow (Connect and Custom Quote) |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it works | The borrower sees about 6 lenders on a rate table and picks one, per LeadPops.1 | Compare and match. A lead goes to up to 5 lenders, per LeadPops, which also says "5+".1 | Cost per lead, prepaid. Revenue counts when a user contacts a lender, in the filings we read.6 |
| Reported price per lead | $100 to $250+ per LeadPops. $100 to $200 per HousingWire, with a $20,000 monthly minimum. $150 to $230 per BankingBridge (2023).3 | $30 to $100, per LeadPops, HousingWire and BankingBridge.1 | $75 to $150, per LeadPops and BankingBridge (2023).2 |
| Reported close rate | 3% to 5% on average and 8% to 10% well run, per LeadPops.1 | 0.5% to 2% on average, about 3% at best, per LeadPops. BankingBridge says its customers report about 3%.5 | No independent figure found. |
| Published rate card | None found | None found | None found |
| Who sells this number | LeadPops sells first-party lead generation. | HousingWire discloses affiliate links. BankingBridge sells lead tools. | Zillow's filings give no price per lead. |
Vendor by vendor
Bankrate
HousingWire reports $100 to $200 per lead with a $20,000 monthly minimum. LeadPops lists $100 to $250+ (checked Nov 14, 2026). No published rate card.3
Good
- The borrower sees about 6 lenders on a rate table and picks one, so the lead is comparing and ready to choose.1
LendingTree
Reported $30 to $100 per lead (HousingWire, Oct 27, 2025). No published rate card.3
Zillow
Reported $75 to $150 per lead (LeadPops, 2026; BankingBridge, Apr 12, 2023).2
Good
- Buyer-stage leads from people already looking at homes.
Not so good
- To appear on the rate table a lender must reportedly (2023) buy Zillow's pricing engine, Mortech, per BankingBridge.4
- We found no independent close rate.
Another option: unpaid referrals and your own channel
Some loan officers build channels they own: pages for real estate partners, unpaid partner referrals, a site and follow-up with past clients. They track each call from first contact to funded loan. It starts slower. You see which source paid, and nobody else gets the call.
What we found
Original math
Bankrate vs Zillow mortgage leads: cost per funded loan
Cost per funded loan is the cost of a lead divided by the share that fund. A $50 lead at 1 in 100 is $5,000 a loan. The same lead at 3 in 100 is $1,667. The price per lead stays the same while the cost per loan moves 3 times. Decide the most you can pay to fund one loan, then work backward to the lead price you can afford.
Verified terms
What the CFPB said about pay-to-play comparison sites
The CFPB issued an advisory opinion on Feb 7, 2023, published in the Federal Register on Feb 13, 2023. It says online mortgage comparison platforms can violate RESPA section 8 when they favor certain providers in return for payments tied to those referrals, instead of presenting them by neutral criteria. The CFPB's own Withdrawn Guidance page, checked on Nov 14, 2026, does not list it among the 67 documents withdrawn in May 2025, so it still stands.9101112
Who wrote this number
Who wrote the numbers you will find
HousingWire's list (Oct 27, 2025) is unranked, discloses affiliate links, names no sources and gives no close rates or cost per funded loan. It does not mention Zillow. BankingBridge (Apr 12, 2023) sells lead tools and cites no sources for its prices. LeadPops (updated Sep 1, 2026) sells first-party lead generation and recommends it. Its author bio says its company built lead systems for Zillow and Bankrate.341
Verified terms
Zillow mortgage leads cost: how Zillow bills lenders
In the Zillow annual reports we read (fiscal 2018, 2020 and 2023), Connect and Custom Quote are cost-per-lead products that lenders prepay. Zillow counts the revenue when a user contacts a lender. Those filings give no price per lead or close rate, so every price above comes from someone selling or reviewing leads.678
Questions to ask
- 01
What is the price per lead, the monthly minimum and the contract length?
A good answer: Terms in writing. None of the three publishes a rate card.
Protects you from: Committing to a spend before you know your cost per funded loan.
- 02
How many lenders get each lead?
A good answer: A number for your product and market, in writing.
Protects you from: Paying full price for a lead that is shared.
- 03
Is the placement based on neutral criteria?
A good answer: A written answer you can show your compliance attorney.
Protects you from: Paying for placement tied to referrals, which the CFPB's 2023 opinion addresses.
How we checked
We read the sources on Nov 14, 2026. Prices and close rates come from HousingWire, BankingBridge and LeadPops, and none give a method, so we mark them as reported and name who sells what. Zillow's billing comes from its annual reports. The CFPB opinion comes from the CFPB's own page, with the withdrawal status from Consumer Finance Monitor. We did not reach any loan officer forum thread, so we quote none. We dropped claims we could not tie to a page. The math table uses invented inputs.
Questions
Vendor guides report roughly $3,750 to $5,000 gross on a $500,000 loan, and less after splits. Bank loan officers are described as earning lower basis points plus a salary. Check your own comp plan before you set a lead budget, since your split changes the answer.
HousingWire reports $30 to $100 and LeadPops agrees. LendingTree publishes no rate card that we could find. Ask for terms in writing, including any minimum spend, then work out cost per funded loan with your own close rate once you have some data.
Reported prices are higher at Bankrate, and so are the reported close rates. Those close rates come from a vendor with no source, and we found no neutral data. Test each with a small budget, call every lead within minutes, and count funded loans by source.
Only if cost per funded loan stays well below your pay on that loan, and you call within minutes. If you cannot tell which lead became a funded loan, you cannot judge it. Count funded loans by source for a few months first, then compare that number with your pay on one loan.
Some buy rate-table leads from Bankrate, LendingTree or Zillow. Others build channels they own: pages for real estate partners, unpaid partner referrals, a site and follow-up with past clients. Whichever you use, count funded loans by source so you know which one paid.
Not for a referral. Paying for advertising at fair market value is different from paying for referrals. Do not pay realtors, builders or sites a share of closed loans or a fee per referral, and ask a mortgage compliance attorney before you sign any lead deal. This is not legal advice.
Sources
- 1.LeadPops: Bankrate vs LendingTree mortgage leads, Mar 9, 2026, updated Sep 1, 2026 (seller of lead generation) accessed Nov 14, 2026
- 2.LeadPops: best mortgage lead providers 2026, Mar 19, 2026, updated Sep 23, 2026 accessed Nov 14, 2026
- 3.HousingWire: 9 top places to buy mortgage leads, Oct 27, 2025 (affiliate links) accessed Nov 14, 2026
- 4.BankingBridge: a review of mortgage lead generation platforms, Apr 12, 2023 (seller of lead tools) accessed Nov 14, 2026
- 5.BankingBridge: comparing the top 4 mortgage lead acquisition platforms, Apr 12, 2023 accessed Nov 14, 2026
- 6.Zillow Group 10-K, fiscal 2023, SEC accessed Nov 14, 2026
- 7.Zillow Group 10-K, fiscal 2020, SEC accessed Nov 14, 2026
- 8.Zillow Group 10-K, fiscal 2018, SEC accessed Nov 14, 2026
- 9.CFPB: advisory opinion on digital mortgage comparison-shopping platforms, Feb 7, 2023 accessed Nov 14, 2026
- 10.Federal Register: advisory opinion text, Feb 13, 2023 (2023-02910) accessed Nov 14, 2026
- 11.CFPB: Withdrawn Guidance list (the 2023 comparison-platform opinion is not on it) accessed Nov 14, 2026
- 12.Consumer Finance Monitor: CFPB rescinds 67 guidance documents, May 16, 2025 accessed Nov 14, 2026
Where to go next
Want to see which of your own calls turned into paying customers? See how Leverage works.
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