Choose a Cloud workflow
Compare Importer, Aggregator, Monitoring, and Fetcher before creating a job.
The four Cloud workflows
All Cloud jobs run on PropertyDataLabs servers, so the browser does not need to remain open after a run starts. The important difference is what each workflow accepts as input and what it produces.
| Workflow | Start with | Use it when you need |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud Importer | One Zillow search-results URL | A one-time or recurring export from one search |
| Cloud Aggregator | Two or more Zillow search-results URLs | One combined result from several searches |
| Cloud Monitoring | A CSV of property addresses or Zillow listing URLs | Repeated status snapshots and changes over time |
| Cloud Fetcher | A CSV of individual Zillow listing URLs | Advanced property data for a controlled list of listings |
Basic and Advanced data
Basic exports collect the fields available from search results. They are economical for large lists. Advanced exports also visit individual property pages and can return more detailed fields. Advanced processing uses one credit for each primary listing processed, while Basic Importer and Aggregator runs use one credit for each Zillow results page processed.
A results page can contain up to 40 listings, and Export all listings can process up to 20 pages from each source URL. An Advanced 20-page run can therefore use up to 800 credits per source URL. Read Basic vs Advanced exports and Cloud run costs for worked examples and the no-extra-credit rule for units contained within rental building listings.
Monitoring and Fetcher process individual properties. Always review the credit summary shown before creating or running a job. Purchased credit packs do not expire, but plan allowances and eligibility can differ.
Failed listing retrievals do not use credits
For Advanced Importer and Aggregator, Cloud Fetcher, and Cloud Monitoring, a primary listing uses a credit only when its data is successfully retrieved. If PropertyDataLabs cannot retrieve the listing, that listing uses zero credits. Basic Importer and Aggregator runs follow the page-based credit rule instead.
Manual and scheduled runs
Choose Manual when you want complete control over when a job starts. Scheduled choices include hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly where supported. The job detail page shows the next run and whether the schedule is recurring.
Changing a schedule affects future runs. It does not rewrite previous results.
Cloud Importer uses an anchored, timezone-aware schedule and skips missed occurrences instead of starting catch-up runs. See Understanding recurring Importer schedules for worked examples.
Delivery choices
Every completed result remains available in the web app. Depending on the workflow, you can also:
- upload future results to Google Sheets;
- send supported results by email;
- download CSV, Excel (
.xlsx), Parquet (.parquet), or JSON (.json); - create a background export for a large result.
Cloud Importer uses one delivery choice per job: manual export, Google Sheets, or Email. Google Sheets and Email cannot be enabled together. Email delivery uses CSV, while choosing Google Sheets lets each run create a new spreadsheet or add a new tab to a linked spreadsheet.
Connect Google Sheets before selecting it as the delivery method. See Linked accounts and Google Sheets.
Safe job management
Job menus can contain Start, Edit, Copy URL, Open on Zillow, Archive, and Delete. Archiving hides a job from active work while preserving its history. Deleting is permanent and can remove related results; read the confirmation dialog carefully.