On the hunt for an apartment? Try these 9 Craigslist alternatives (2024)

Let’s get real: Craigslist is the best way to find an apartment in the Bay Area. Replete with loads of listings and images, it’s where most people score a home in the city. But it’s not the only place to look. If you’re looking for a pad in San Francisco, give these alternative outlets a shot. While they can’t promise you a sweet deal on a living space—the median rent in San Francisco hovers around the $3,700 mark for a one-bedroom apartment—they can offer you a slew of apartments to peruse.

Besides, no one should have to sleep in a bunkbed for $1,200 per month.

Apartments.com

This site, which is one of our favorite alternatives, has some exclusive features. It lets you draw your own neighborhood rather than sticking to the boundaries of a neighborhood that has been defined for you. (Ideal for large neighborhoods like SoMa and the Richmond.) There are property videos, 3-D tours, and more than 1,600 rentals currently available in San Francisco. There's also an option to plan your commute for each listing.

Zumper

Zumper has been making a big effort in the San Francisco market with an outdoor advertising campaign. The interface is easy to use, and you can check availability of apartments and apply to most through the site itself. It also vets all of its listings, meaning that you won't get scammed. Like many other Craigslist competitors, Zumper can suffer from low inventory, and many of its listings are from the city's bigger, newer buildings.

Apartment List

Apartment List starts the rental search process with an interactive questionnaire that asks you about your ideal apartment, from size and price to pets and amenities. It even double-checks your income to make sure you are qualified for the price range you are looking at. Apartment List will email you new matches to make sure that you see all of the latest apartments that come on the market, but the downside is that you're not allowed to see your matches until you pony up your contact details.

Nextdoor

It will only be useful if you want to move within your own neighborhood, but this local posting board often has ads from people looking for roommates. You can only sign up for the neighborhood that you currently live in, so it works as a great resource if you need to move but want to stay in the same area. Postings are irregular and there's no search tool, but you just might come across something here that doesn't show up anywhere else.

Padmapper

This site is based around a map search tool. It pulls data from several other sources, including Craigslist and Airbnb, to show listings. You can add filters to narrow down data both by normal search criteria like size and price and also what sites you want to pull from. There's also the option to add commute time. There are a lot of listings, but the interface isn't quite as slick as those on other sites.

Hotpads

Hotpads started out as a rental website but was acquired by Zillow last year and now shows properties available both to rent and buy. You can see how many people have recently looked at the listing and how often the listing's owner has been contacted lately, along with lots of stats about the neighborhood. It's easy to send the landlord a message through the site, but unfortunately many of the listings are weeks old.

Roomiematch

The slogan of this roommate-finding website is "We take out the trash for you," meaning that humans review all roommate profiles to weed out the "scam, spam, or scum red flags." The site uses IP addresses to determine a potential roommate's exact location and has "roommate behavior ratings" that delete anyone who sounds "insincere, completely off base, or completely unwell."

Roomster

This site allows people to look both for roommates and for entire places, something that many of the Craigslist competitors are missing. You can connect with other site members using social networks like Facebook to verify that people are who they say they are. Roomster has been around since 2003 and operates in 192 countries but still doesn't seem to have dethroned Craigslist as the place to go to look for a new roommate.

Facebook’s Marketplace

Facebook’s MarketPlace now comes with housing listings, including rentals. While the offerings are not as bountiful as the other sites listed above, it might have a home or two that’s not found anywhere else.

On the hunt for an apartment? Try these 9 Craigslist alternatives (2024)

FAQs

How much should rent be of income? ›

Here is an overview of financial guidelines for how much of your income should go to rent. The 30% rule. This classic budgeting “rule” recommends that people not spend more than 30% of their gross income on rent or housing, and it asserts that spending more can put you at a financial disadvantage.

What is the best website to look for apartments in NYC? ›

Several trusted websites offer comprehensive listings to help you navigate this journey, including Zillow, Apartments.com, June Homes, uhomes, and StreetEasy.

Is ApartmentGuide.com a safe site? ›

Only use reputable websites to hunt for an apartment. New apartment search sites pop up all the time, so be sure to go with a trusted name, like ApartmentGuide.com. With a reputable site, you can be sure that the information connected to the apartment community is legitimate and has been verified.

How to find an apartment in Boston? ›

Utilize online resources like Apartments.com, Zillow.com and Boston Pads for detailed listings. Set a realistic budget that includes rent, utilities, groceries, and other monthly expenses. Consider renting a room instead of an entire apartment as a budget-friendly option. Weigh the pros and cons of using a broker.

What is the 50 20 30 rule? ›

The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals. Let's take a closer look at each category.

Is 30 of income too much for rent? ›

How much should you spend on rent? It depends. One popular guideline is the 30% rent rule, which says to spend around 30% of your gross income on rent. So if you earn $3,200 per month before taxes, you could spend about $960 per month on rent.

How can you tell a fake rental? ›

How Can You Tell If a Rental Property Listing Is a Scam?
  1. They Don't Want to Meet You in Person. ...
  2. They Want You to Move in Immediately, Without Seeing the Property. ...
  3. They Ask for Rent or a Security Deposit Before Signing a Lease. ...
  4. The Price Is Too Good. ...
  5. The Listing Has Typos, Poor Grammar, or Excessive Punctuation.
Jun 12, 2023

Are there fake listings on apartments com? ›

Note: We cannot guarantee 100% accuracy of listings submitted to Apartments.com, but we do monitor the site to create a safe marketplace for all. But if you come across a suspicious listing, we want to know!

What is BNB apartments? ›

Airbnb is an online marketplace that connects people who want to rent out their property with people who are looking for accommodations, typically for short stays. Airbnb offers hosts a relatively easy way to earn some income from their property. Guests often find that Airbnb rentals are cheaper and homier than hotels.

What part of Boston has the cheapest rent? ›

  • Hyde Park – Cheapest Place to Live in Boston Is a “Small Town in a Big City”
  • West End – One of the Cheapest Places to Live in Boston Near Downtown.
  • Dorchester – Diverse, Accessible, and One of the Most Affordable Boston Neighborhoods.
  • Brighton – Cheapest Place to Live in Boston for Students, Millennials & Young Families.
Oct 31, 2023

Why is rent high in Boston? ›

Boston has a high demand for housing due to its thriving job market and educational institutions but a limited supply of available housing drives prices up!

When the rent is the lowest in Boston? ›

Renting an apartment is cheapest if you move in January or February.

Is 40% of my income too much for rent? ›

Spending around 30% of your income on rent is the golden rule when you're trying to figure out how much you can afford to pay.

Is 50% of your income too much for rent? ›

Spending more than 50% of your income on rent isn't recommended, as you'll be living paycheck to paycheck. You won't be able to save or invest money for the future. If you're currently overspending on rent, solutions include raising your income, finding more affordable housing, or getting a place with a roommate.

What is the best rent to income ratio? ›

The gold standard in the industry is 30%, meaning no more than 30% of a tenant's gross income should go to rent. People who spend more than 30% of their gross income on rent are considered to be housing-cost burdened, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Should rent be 10 percent of income? ›

My #1 housing expense guideline to follow is to keep housing expenses to no more than 10% of your annual gross income. Although the general rule is to keep housing expenses to no more than 30% of your gross income, you will NOT feel like you're getting ahead at 30%. Instead, you'll feel like you're running in place.

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