replacement for Zumper tenant screening?

Tenant Screening
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replacement for Zumper tenant screening?

Matt Williams
Member since 2024 · 29 posts · 9 votes

I have been using Zumper for many years, and been very happy with it.  At $35 per person (they pay) it is the most reasonable I could find. Now Zumper is ending this service and I need to find a new one.  What are your favorites?  They all seem so expensive at $55 for most of them, I feel sorry for the  applicants.  seems like a racket to me.

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Jimmy LieuBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2019 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
3mo
Quote from @Matt Williams:

I have been using Zumper for many years, and been very happy with it.  At $35 per person (they pay) it is the most reasonable I could find. Now Zumper is ending this service and I need to find a new one.  What are your favorites?  They all seem so expensive at $55 for most of them, I feel sorry for the  applicants.  seems like a racket to me.

Hi Matt! Yes, I’ve seen the same frustration from a lot of landlords lately, the screening costs have definitely crept up and it does feel like tenants are getting hit with fees from every direction. When it comes to alternatives, a lot of investors I know have shifted to platforms that bundle screening with applications so you’re not paying separate fees per step, and some of them also let you absorb the cost instead of pushing it fully to the applicant, which can actually help with better quality leads and faster fill times. The tradeoff is usually you either pay a bit more as the landlord or you risk slowing down your leasing process if applicants hesitate at checkout. In practice, most people end up choosing whichever service integrates best with their listings and property management workflow rather than just going with the cheapest per-person fee, since speed and reliability tend to matter more than a few dollars difference when you’re trying to place a tenant quickly.
[email protected]614-300-7535
Jimmy Lieu, Red 1 Realty4.9120 Reviews
WebsiteView Page
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  • Drew SygitBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    3mo
    Quote from @Matt Williams:

    I have been using Zumper for many years, and been very happy with it.  At $35 per person (they pay) it is the most reasonable I could find. Now Zumper is ending this service and I need to find a new one.  What are your favorites?  They all seem so expensive at $55 for most of them, I feel sorry for the  applicants.  seems like a racket to me.


     Zillow offers something similar, but it misses a lot of public information about evictions & criminal history.

    Maybe look into Tenant Turner

    [email protected]248-209-6824
    Logical Property Management4.9451 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Cole Farrell
    Lender · Easton, PA · Member since 2019 · 90 posts · 32 votes
    3mo

    Are you using a dedicated PM software like Buildium or Appfolio? They have their own versions that integrate that are fantastic. You can also charge an app fee on top as well. If you don't want to do that, I like Zillow a lot.

    1Reply
  • Jimmy LieuBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2019 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    3mo
    Quote from @Matt Williams:

    I have been using Zumper for many years, and been very happy with it.  At $35 per person (they pay) it is the most reasonable I could find. Now Zumper is ending this service and I need to find a new one.  What are your favorites?  They all seem so expensive at $55 for most of them, I feel sorry for the  applicants.  seems like a racket to me.

    Hi Matt! Yes, I’ve seen the same frustration from a lot of landlords lately, the screening costs have definitely crept up and it does feel like tenants are getting hit with fees from every direction. When it comes to alternatives, a lot of investors I know have shifted to platforms that bundle screening with applications so you’re not paying separate fees per step, and some of them also let you absorb the cost instead of pushing it fully to the applicant, which can actually help with better quality leads and faster fill times. The tradeoff is usually you either pay a bit more as the landlord or you risk slowing down your leasing process if applicants hesitate at checkout. In practice, most people end up choosing whichever service integrates best with their listings and property management workflow rather than just going with the cheapest per-person fee, since speed and reliability tend to matter more than a few dollars difference when you’re trying to place a tenant quickly.
    [email protected]614-300-7535
    Jimmy Lieu, Red 1 Realty4.9120 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • John McNeil
    Abington, MA · Member since 2023 · 14 posts · 9 votes
    3mo

    I do TurboTenant and would highly recommend it. You can actually get a lot of functionality from it if you create a free account

    1Reply
  • Jim Johnson
    Real Estate Agent · Memphis · Member since 2026 · 541 posts · 312 votes
    2mo

    I was surprised to hear Zumper is discontinuing it as well. It filled a nice niche, especially since the applicant paid a reasonable fee.

    If I were looking for a replacement, I'd be comparing more than just the price. I'd want to know:

    • What reports are included (credit, criminal, eviction, income verification, etc.)
    • How easy the application process is for tenants
    • Whether the applicant pays or the landlord pays
    • Whether reports can be reused for multiple applications

    I agree that some of the newer pricing feels hard to justify, especially if an applicant is applying to several properties and paying a separate screening fee each time.

    I'm curious what others have switched to. Has anyone found a service that's close to Zumper in both cost and ease of use? That seems to be the gap a lot of landlords are trying to fill right now.

    0Reply
  • Kyle MccawBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Keller, TX · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3w

    @Matt Williams

    Tenant screening is the last place I’d try to save $20.

    In Texas, the applicant typically pays the application/screening fee, but either way I want the best information I can get. Application fraud has become a huge issue. A credit and background report alone isn’t enough anymore.

    The big one for us is independent income verification. We want a single source of truth by connecting directly to the applicant’s bank or payroll data through services like Plaid, BoomPay, VeriFast, or similar tools. Paystubs and PDFs are simply too easy to manipulate now.

    A bad tenant can cost thousands in lost rent, damages, legal fees, and vacancy. Spending $50–$60 to properly screen someone who may occupy a $200k–$400k asset is not a racket. It’s cheap risk management.

    I’d choose the screening product based on accuracy and fraud prevention, not which one is $15 cheaper.

    McCaw Property Management4.4900 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
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