Zillow Showcase photos: what you get, who shoots them and what it costs

What a Showcase listing includes

Zillow describes Showcase as "a premium listing marketing package, featuring scrolling hi-res photography, a virtual tour and an interactive floor plan." The agent buys it and it runs on top of the normal listing: once the listing goes live on the MLS, the Showcase listing goes live on Zillow automatically.

• Photos. High-resolution scrolling hero images, organized room by room. Zillow's AI picks the top 3 to 5 photos for the hero, and you can change the selection.
• Virtual tour and floor plan. A 3D tour and an interactive floor plan are part of every Showcase listing.
• Video. Since late September 2025, one video of up to 120 seconds, included at no extra cost. It must come from the same photographer as the rest of the media and can't carry persistent agent or brokerage logos.
• Virtual staging. AI staging in eight styles, from Modern and Scandinavian to Unfurnished; shoppers slide between the staged and the original room.
• SkyTour. Aerial views where available, only with a Zillow Media Experts premium package.
• Reach. Zillow sends dedicated emails to shoppers whose search criteria match the home's features.

Who takes Showcase photos

Three options, according to Zillow's getting-started guide: Zillow's own Media Experts, a Showcase Select photography company, or your own photographer. "You can invite your own photographer to capture Showcase media," but they "will need to verify technical requirements" first, because the media "requires photographers with specific equipment and training." The finished media is delivered through Zillow's Aryeo platform.

RE/MAX's FAQ for its agents confirms the photographer choice is separate from Showcase itself: if agents can get the required elements on their own, "they won't need to use (or pay for) Zillow Media Experts." For RE/MAX affiliates, Media Experts packages cost $249 (Essential) or $429 (Premium).

Showcase photo requirements

Zillow says Showcase's "requirements include HD photos, a virtual tour and interactive floor plan." It doesn't publish a minimum number of photos or a resolution for Showcase that we could find. RE/MAX tells its agents that converting a listing to Showcase needs "10 photos and a Zillow 3D Tour."

Zillow's general photo rules apply to every listing, Showcase or not: at least 330 × 220 pixels, with 1536 × 1152 suggested. Our photo size requirements guide has the MLS and portal numbers side by side.

What Showcase costs

Zillow doesn't publish a price. Its seller page says "Your agent will purchase Showcase from Zillow" and that in select markets Showcase is complimentary when you sell with a Zillow Premier Agent partner. The agent pays when the Showcase listing is created, using an available Showcase listing from the agent's plan, the agent's own payment method or credits, and Zillow says no refund is available once a credit has been used for a listing. The published figures all come from others:

So a Showcase listing is two bills: Showcase itself and the media that meets its requirements. For what ordinary listing photos cost, see our real estate photography cost guide.

Does Showcase sell homes faster? Zillow's numbers

Zillow's agent fact page (last updated July 8, 2026) makes these claims, all from Zillow's own comparisons with similar non-Showcase listings:

• Engagement: "84% more page views, 77% more saves, 93% more shares" on average, from data through June 2026.
• Speed: Showcase listings are "10% more likely to go pending in the first 14 days."
• Price: Showcase listings "sell for 2% or on average $7K more" than similar listings in the same metro area.

Treat them as marketing numbers. Zillow's seller page still says 75% more views, saves and shares, and its September 2025 press release said 79%, 76% and 91%. And Showcase listings are not a random sample: they are the listings agents chose to pay extra for, which a comparison with "similar" listings can't fully adjust for.

Adoption is growing but still small. Zillow's shareholder letters put Showcase on 3.2% of new US listings in Q3 2025, 4.3% in Q1 2026 and "about 5%" in Q2 2026, and on more than 10% of new listings in its top 10 markets. Zillow said in 2025 that Showcase "is designed to not exceed 10% of listings in a market." The fact page itself says Showcase listings "represent less than 1% of listings on Zillow", a different count from the share of new listings.

Without Showcase: what a regular Zillow listing can have

• Photos from the MLS. Zillow says "a majority of Zillow's photos are provided by real estate agents through the MLS via a listing feed." Good photos on the MLS are good photos on Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com at once.
• A free 3D tour and floor plan. The Zillow 3D Home app is free, and Zillow calls its interactive floor plans and 3D Home tours "a free, easy and effective way" to boost listings. Our October vs Matterport and Zillow 3D Home guide compares the options.
• Video is the gap. HousingWire, reporting Baird & Warner's announcement, says Showcase listings "are the only listings on the portal that can include video." A walkthrough still works in the MLS virtual tour field, on your website and on social media.

Where October fits

October isn't a Zillow Showcase provider and doesn't make 3D tours or floor plans. What it makes is the part every listing needs, Showcase or not: listing photos and a walkthrough video, from one guided walk with the October app on an iPhone 12 or newer, usually back within a few hours. The photos are AI-generated from your capture: an AI image model draws each one with a daylight look and loose items left out, and is told to keep walls, floors, windows, fittings and the view. Check each photo, label it as AI-altered where your MLS requires, and you own the photos.

For a listing without Showcase, that is MLS-ready photos that flow to Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com, plus a walkthrough for the virtual tour field and social, at $49 a place for photos, $99 with a walkthrough or $199 with 4K; your first place is free. If you do buy Showcase, its media has to come from a photographer who meets Zillow's requirements. See pricing and our guide to how many photos a listing needs.

As captured

Delivered by October

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