The 12 Best Apps and Sites for Finding Roommates
Let’s face it, roommate search is never fun. Not only looking for a roommate is emotionally demanding, but it takes a lot of time as well. To make your life a little easier, we’ve put together the list of 12 best roommate finders on the Web.
List of Best Roommate Finders
Roommates.com
Roommates.com has been around for years and they offer both free and paid accounts. With a free account, you are able to browse their directory, save your favorites and send messages, but to be able to read messages from others you’ll need a paid account.
Their VIP membership starts at $5.99 (a 3-day trial) which you can upgrade to a 30-day account for $19.99 or a 60-day account for $29.99.Ā Keep in mind that even if you get a paid account, you will only be able to message back and forth with other VIP members who also have a paid account.
Visit Roommates.comCraigslist
Yes, we know what you are thinking. Craigslist is pretty obvious, isn’t it? But we still had to put it at #2 because it is the most effective tool to help you find a roommate. Craigslist actually works and nothing beats the price, which is free! There are a few things to keep in mind to avoid Craigslist scams :
- Deal locally, face-to-faceĀ āfollow this one rule and avoid 99% of scam attempts.
- Do not extend payment to anyone you have not met in person.
- Never wire funds (e.g. Western Union)Ā – anyone who asks you to is a scammer.
- Don’t accept cashier/certified checks or money ordersĀ – banks cash fakes, then hold you responsible.
- Never give out financial infoĀ (bank account, social security, paypal account, etc).
- Do not rent or purchase sight-unseenāthat amazing “deal” may not exist.
- Refuse background/credit checksĀ until you have met landlord/employer in person.
- “craigslist voicemails”Ā – Any message asking you to access or check “craigslist voicemails” or “craigslist voice messages” is fraudulent –Ā no such service exists.
- Transactions are between users only, no third party provides a “guarantee”.
- Beware offers involving shipping –Ā deal with locals you can meet in person.
RoomSurf
RoomSurf was created to help high school and college students find a roommate. People sign up using their FacebookĀ or email profiles, take RoomSurf’s roommate compatibility quiz and meet their matches.
However, if you want to fully engage with your matches and see all their details, you will ultimately need to upgrade to their paid account. According to RoomSurf, if you want to “avoid risking spending your freshman year with a dud of a roommate”, it’s a very small price to pay.
Visit RoomSurfRoomies
Roomies is a free peer to peer platform which allows you to rent out your spare room, find a room and search for roommates. All you have to do is create an account, search through listings, and then send or receive messages directly on the website all for free. They also support upgraded listings, ID verifications and background checks as optional paid add-ons if you want to make your listing more desirable. With mobile verified members and a sophisticated security system that can block fraudulent listings, Roomies offers an all-round platform for finding your next roommate.
Visit RoomiesRoomi
Roomi lets you search potential roommates byĀ shared interests, amenities, and move-in date. They also perform background checks to make the experience safer for their users.
Visit RoomiRoomieMatch
RoomieMatch’s motto is: “Find a roommate without SCAMS and SCUMS”.Ā They use techniques such as the analysis of roommate behavior rankings, IP address tracking and human moderation to “take out the trash for you” and keep your roommate search safe and productive.
Like all other roommate finders, they offer both the free and paid roommate search options.
Visit RoomieMatchSpareRoom
SpareRoom claims to be the busiest roommate finder, with someone finding a roommateĀ every 3 minutes on their platform. They also check all ads manually to prevent fraud and ward off scammers.
Visit SpareRoomDiggz
Diggz can help you find a room or a roommate in big cities. At the moment, Diggz covers 14 major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago,Ā Atlanta, Philadelphia, Austin, Toronto, Boston, Washington DC, Dallas, Baltimore, and Houston.
Visit DiggzRainbow Roommates
Rainbow Roommates is a roommate finder for the LGBT community. They are mostly serving the Greater New York Metro area.
Visit Rainbow RoommatesRoomster
Roomster claims to be the “largestĀ online social network for roommates, with 4 million active listingsā. You can read ourĀ Roomster review here.
Visit RoomsterCircle App
Circle is the first social network for roommate search. The idea behind Circle is that itĀ shows you all your friends and 2nd-degree connections looking for a roommate. So if you have a large social network of friends, Circle might be a perfect app for you.
Visit CircleRentHoop
Rather than scrolling through anonymous creeps, RentHoop shows you potential roommates with whom you have mutual friends and interests. See budget, work history, dealbreakers and other things you’d want to know about somebody you’re going to live with before you talk with them.
Visit RentHoopBonus: Apartment Finders
Moving into a new apartment with a roommate can be a great option in some circumstances, so we included the list of best apartment finders on the web below.
- PadMaper – “Easily search apartments for rent across the US and Canada.”
- Apartments.com – “Rent an apartment and find your home.”
- Zumper – “Find houses and apartments for rent.”
- ApartmentList – “Everyone deserves a home they love.”
- HotPads – “Find the right apartment for you.”
- Zillow – “Find your way home.”
Total hoax.
They bill you for another month without even telling you. They don’t tell you about it in the beginning either. During my subscription I never once got a response from any renters, and I sent many emails. Makes you wonder if they a really real.
Iām having the same experience, I got an email and I paid the fee to open the message, but it just had a heading of hello. I messaged was she interested in my listing and her reply was she couldnāt afford the fees so couldnāt read my messages. ??? I totally felt scammed. Iāve sent around 20 messages to a variety of individuals looking for a place and have not received 1 reply. I donāt think everyone is so insensitive as to not acknowledge my message and reply with a polite, āthanks, but I already found somethingā, ānot what Iām looking forā, etc. I will say, my son used this site and found a great roommate within a week or so. Still feel uneasy about the whole site.
Based on the three Craigslit ads that I have flagged and the fact that the website asked for a photo of my DL, my conclusion, supported by the experience expressed in the previous review, is that the site exists solely to get people’s money.
I got scammed into the $7.95 trial period by some bot message they send. The site is a waste of time and money.
You forgot Facebook Marketplace.
Yeah I have been using this site for a couple months, paid and I probably have sent 200 messages to people and VERY rarely do I even get a reply. I feel like it’s a lot fake accounts and listings that don’t even exist. I even noticed there are a LOT of scammers for major cities.
I tried Roomsterā¦totally useless. I put my budget and preferred location clearly on my profile, which is within the city of Philadelphia. Everyone who contacted me lives in New Jersey, another part of PA (as in 60+ minutes from the city) or blatantly ignored my stated price range. There are barely any new listings each week, so no sense paying. Also, a bunch of fake ads on Craigslist redirect to Roomster, and the advertised rooms donāt appear. Itās the same luxury locations or waaaaay outside the city.
Hello folks,
Helpful collection of apps and sites for finding roommates.
Cool..!
You can also add MatchUpMates to your article and refresh this listing. It helps you find potential roommates based on shared interests, amenities, and the date they moved.
Find it here: https://bit.ly/3vfVsem