Z vs RDFN: Zillow vs Redfin Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Zillow is a digital real estate marketplace monetizing audience through Premier Agent advertising, while Redfin is an employed-agent brokerage competing on lower fees and technology tools. Zillow has the larger audience and platform economics; Redfin has the more differentiated lower-fee agent model but higher operating leverage and cash burn challenges.
Z vs RDFN is marketplace audience monetization versus employed-agent brokerage disruption — Zillow wins when housing volumes recover and agent spending increases; Redfin wins if its lower-fee model captures market share as the NAR settlement reshapes real estate agent commission norms.
Z and RDFN are closely matched — they split the tracked metrics evenly.
- →want real estate marketplace exposure with dominant consumer audience and platform economics
- →believe housing market volume recovery will drive Premier Agent advertising spending recovery
- →value Zillow's rental platform expansion as a large new revenue stream beyond for-sale homes
- →prefer marketplace economics over employed-agent fixed cost operating leverage risks
- →believe Redfin's lower-fee employed agent model is the right answer to real estate commission disruption
- →think NAR commission settlement reshaping will accelerate Redfin's market share capture
- →want higher-risk, higher-reward digital real estate disruption at a lower absolute valuation
- →are comfortable with cash burn during the housing market recovery period
| Metric | Z | RDFN |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 26.8 | N/A |
| AI rank | #2550 | N/A |
| Latest close | $32.16 | N/A |
| 1M return | +0.41% | N/A |
| 6M return | -52.82% | N/A |
| 1Y return | -59.22% | N/A |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | Z | RDFN |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $4.08K (-59.2%) started 2025-07-14 | N/A |
| 5Y ago | $3.04K (-69.6%) started 2021-07-14 | N/A |
| 10Y ago | $8.68K (-13.2%) started 2016-07-14 | N/A |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | Z | RDFN |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $7.35B | N/A |
| Trailing P/E | 128.56 | N/A |
| Forward P/E | 10.65 | N/A |
| Price/Sales | 2.73 | 1.37 |
| EV/Revenue | 2.60 | N/A |
| Analyst target | $58.33 | N/A |
| Target upside | +81.50% | N/A |
| Metric | Z | RDFN |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 18.40% | N/A |
| Earnings growth | 533.30% | N/A |
| EPS growth | +533.30% | N/A |
| FCF margin | +10.60% | N/A |
| Operating margin | N/A | N/A |
| Profit margin | 2.27% | N/A |
| ROIC proxy | 1.33% | N/A |
| Return on equity | 1.33% | N/A |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | N/A |
| Beta | 1.95 | 0.94 |
| Debt/equity | 9.73 | N/A |
| Current ratio | 2.29 | N/A |
| Quick ratio | 1.68 | N/A |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | Z | RDFN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -59.22% | N/A |
| CAGR | -59.25% | N/A | |
| Sharpe ratio | -1.87 | N/A | |
| Max drawdown | 67.44% | N/A | |
| Max daily drop | 16.54% | N/A | |
| Max wkly drop | 20.96% | N/A | |
| 5Y | Growth | -69.65% | N/A |
| CAGR | -21.22% | N/A | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.29 | N/A | |
| Max drawdown | 75.85% | N/A | |
| Max daily drop | 24.92% | N/A | |
| Max wkly drop | 36.26% | N/A | |
| 10Y | Growth | -13.22% | N/A |
| CAGR | -1.41% | N/A | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.15 | N/A | |
| Max drawdown | 86.51% | N/A | |
| Max daily drop | 26.92% | N/A | |
| Max wkly drop | 39.72% | N/A |
| Category | Z | RDFN |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Zillow Group, Inc. | Redfin Corporation |
| Sector | Communication Services | Communication Services |
| Industry | N/A | N/A |
| Core business | Leading US real estate marketplace connecting buyers, sellers, renters, and agents. Zillow earns revenue through Premier Agent advertising, rentals, and mortgage. Zillow exited iBuying (Zillow Offers) in 2021 and refocused on its marketplace model with enhanced agent services. | Technology-powered real estate brokerage that employs its own agents on salary (vs commission-only independent agents) and charges lower listing fees. Redfin also operates Bay Equity mortgage and has expanded into rentals. |
| Investor focus | Premier Agent revenue as housing market volumes recover, rentals platform growth, Zillow Home Loans mortgage attach rate, and touring and ShowingTime+ technology adoption. | Agent productivity and efficiency, gross profit per transaction, Bay Equity mortgage integration, and whether Redfin's agent model can achieve profitability. |
- →Zillow is the #1 destination for home search in the US with 200M+ monthly unique visitors — a dominant audience that agents must access
- →Rental platform is growing rapidly as Zillow expands beyond for-sale homes into the large rental market
- →Enhanced Markets strategy integrates Zillow's buyer services, agent matching, and mortgage into a connected transaction experience
- →Redfin's employed agent model with lower fees (1% listing vs traditional 2.5-3%) appeals to cost-conscious home sellers
- →Technology tools for Redfin agents improve productivity and allow agents to handle more transactions per agent
- →Rentals marketplace expansion diversifies Redfin beyond for-sale transactions
- →Housing transaction volumes are highly cyclical — high mortgage rates suppressed Zillow's Premier Agent revenue significantly from 2022 through 2024
- →Premier Agent revenue model depends on agent spending, which directly tracks housing market health
- →Competition from Realtor.com, Homes.com (CoStar), and Redfin in digital real estate listings
- →Redfin's employed agent model carries high fixed costs — when transaction volume falls, losses accelerate faster than traditional brokerages
- →NAR commission lawsuit settlement reshapes the traditional commission model — Redfin's lower-fee pitch may become less differentiated
- →Cash burn has been significant through the housing downturn — profitability timeline has extended multiple times
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