Everything is free. Here's a complete guide to every feature on the site.
No account needed to browse. Use the search page to filter by location, rent, room type, and lifestyle preferences.
Enter a city or town name on the search page or homepage. You can also browse by state or city from the Cities page.
Narrow by rent range, room type (private, shared, entire place), move-in date, furnishing, pets, smoking policy, and gender preference. Toggle between list view and Map view using the buttons at the top of results.
If you and the poster have both completed the compatibility quiz, a match percentage appears on the listing card — helping you prioritize the best fits before you reach out.
Click a listing and send a message. You need a free account for this step. After your first message the conversation moves into your inbox where you can chat in real time or start a video call.
Free, takes about 3 minutes. Ads stay live for 60 days and can be renewed with one click.
Sign up with your email. Email verification is required before your ad goes live.
Select "I Have a Room" if you're offering a room, or "I Need a Room" if you're looking. You can also post a joint listing with a partner — two people looking for an apartment together.
Add your location, rent, room type, available date, amenities, lifestyle tags, and a description. Aim for at least 100 words — detailed listings get 3–5× more responses.
Up to 8 photos per listing. Listings with photos receive significantly more inquiries. JPG, PNG, GIF, and WebP supported, up to 8 MB each.
Your ad goes live immediately. Manage it from your dashboard — edit details, swap photos, pause it, relist when it expires, or remove it. Removed ads are held for 30 days before permanent deletion so you can restore them if needed.
All messaging is free. No limits, no paywalls, no unlocking replies.
On any listing page, click the contact button to send an initial message to the poster. Your message lands in their inbox instantly.
After the first exchange, the full conversation lives at Messages in the navigation. Each conversation is grouped by listing so nothing gets mixed up across multiple searches.
Messages appear instantly when both users are online — no page reload. You'll see a typing indicator ("typing…") while the other person is composing, and a double blue checkmark when they've read your message.
Free, browser-based video calling built directly into every message thread. No app download, no Zoom account, no cost.
Go to Messages and open any conversation. You need at least one message exchanged first — the video call button lives inside the thread.
The green 📹 Video Call button is in the top-right corner of the chat header — next to the person's name. Tap it and confirm the prompt. The call room opens immediately in your browser.
An in-app notification goes to the other person instantly, plus a join link is automatically posted as a message in the chat thread. They can join from any browser — desktop, tablet, or phone — by clicking that link.
Use the in-call toolbar to mute/unmute, toggle your camera, share your screen, turn on captions, or switch to tile view. A call duration timer appears at the bottom of the screen.
Click the red End Call button at the bottom of the screen. Both users are returned to the message thread. Calls also close automatically after 4 hours of inactivity.
A complete profile gets 3–5× more responses. Your dashboard shows a profile strength score with specific tips on what to fill in next.
Upload a jpg, png, or gif (max 4 MB) on your Profile page. Auto-cropped to a square. Shows on your profile, messages, and listings.
Your legal first and last name (private, used for ID matching) and a public display name and bio. A bio describing your lifestyle dramatically increases response rates.
Add your mobile number on your profile. It's kept private — never shown publicly or shared — and helps keep accounts accountable.
Link your LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook profile. Social links help potential roommates feel more confident reaching out.
ID verification is optional and free. Verified users get noticeably more responses.
Go to Verify Your ID. Upload a photo of your driver's license or passport, then take a selfie. The face-matching check runs entirely in your browser — your biometric data never leaves your device. Typically takes under a minute.
Once approved, a green ✓ Verified badge appears on your listings, profile, and messages. This is the single biggest factor in getting responses.
24 questions about your lifestyle habits. Takes about 3 minutes. Generates a compatibility percentage shown on potential roommate profiles.
Go to Compatibility Quiz. Answer questions about sleep schedule, cleanliness, guests, noise, shared food, smoking, pets, and more.
After completing the quiz, you receive one of five roommate personality types: Organizer, Chill, Introvert, Social, or Diplomat.
When both you and another user have completed the quiz, a match percentage appears on their profile and on listing cards in search results. Higher = more compatible lifestyle habits.
Never miss a new listing that matches what you're looking for.
Search with your filters set on the search page.
Click "Save this search" below the filter bar. Choose your alert frequency: instant, daily, or weekly.
When a new listing matches your saved criteria, we send an email with a direct link. Manage your saved searches at Saved Searches.
Listers offer available slots. Seekers book them. No back-and-forth emails needed.
From your listing page or dashboard, go to Tour Booking and add available time slots. Choose in-person or video tour type for each slot.
On a listing page, if the lister has open slots, a "Book a Tour" option appears. Pick a time and add a short note.
Both the lister and the seeker get an in-app notification. Manage your bookings at My Tour Bookings.
A free tool that walks you through creating a written roommate agreement. Print or save when done.
Covers how rent is split, the security deposit, payment method, and due date.
Utility responsibility, cleaning schedule, quiet hours, and guest policy.
Notice period required, early termination rules, and what happens to the deposit.
When finished, print directly from the browser — the UI chrome is hidden automatically for a clean letter-sized agreement page.
Split rent equally, by room size, or by income. Handles utilities and shared costs. Open calculator
On any listing page, enter your workplace to see drive, transit, cycling, and walking times. Powered by OpenStreetMap.
Switch to map view on search results to see listings as pins. Click a pin for a photo popup and rent. Open map
Build a verifiable track record as a roommate. Reviews are prompted automatically after a partnership ends — no chasing required.
30 days after a matched roommate connection ends, both parties get an optional prompt to rate and review each other. Anonymous option available.
A shareable, printable profile card showing your bio, quiz answers by category, verification badges, star rating, and active listing. File → Print → Save as PDF in any browser. View yours
Aggregate star ratings and review snippets appear on user profiles and listing cards — helping seekers prioritise trustworthy posters.
A user who is ID-verified and has positive reviews is the strongest trust signal on the platform — comparable to a reference check without the phone calls.
Share your personal referral link. When a friend signs up through it, you both get a reward applied to your account.
Find your unique link at referral.php or in the account menu. Share it anywhere — text, email, social.
When someone signs up through your link, you earn a reward credit applied automatically to your account — no claiming required.
Fill it out with your landlord or roommate the day you move in. Both sign, both keep a copy. If there's a deposit dispute at move-out, this is your evidence.
Every surface covered — entry, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living areas, laundry, exterior. Each item has a Good / Fair / Poor / N/A dropdown and a notes field for specific damage.
No login required. Fill in the browser, hit File → Print → Save as PDF. Both parties keep a signed copy. Pre-fills address automatically if you open it from a listing page.
Printed form includes signature and date lines for both tenant and landlord. A signed checklist plus timestamped photos is the standard evidence in small claims court for deposit disputes.
Built-in tip reminds you of the deposit return timeline for your state (MA = 30 days, CA = 21 days, NY = 14 days) and what landlords can legally deduct for.
Ask a past landlord, roommate, or employer to vouch for you. Their response shows on your profile permanently. SpareRoom charges for this. Ours is free.
Enter the referee's email from your References page. They get a link. They fill in a 2-minute form covering overall rating, reliability, cleanliness, and whether they'd recommend you.
Referees rate you 1–5 on three dimensions plus a yes/no "would recommend." Comments are optional. They can post anonymously if they prefer.
Responses appear on your profile page and your printable Roommate Resume. Aggregate scores are shown to potential roommates on listing cards.
Add a trusted signal that you can pay rent. Human-reviewed, no credit check, no Plaid, no third-party account. Free.
Pay stub, offer letter, bank statement, or W-2. PDF, JPG, or PNG, up to 5 MB. Our admin team reviews it within 1–2 business days and deletes the file once a decision is made.
Once approved, a badge appears on your profile and listings. Your actual income amount is never displayed publicly — only the badge.
Your document is deleted from our servers immediately after the admin decision — approved or rejected. We never store financial documents long-term.
RoommateAds is a Progressive Web App. Install it in one tap from your browser — no app store, no download, no storage cost.
Open RoommateAds in Safari. Tap the Share button (box with arrow). Scroll down and tap "Add to Home Screen." Tap Add. Done — the app icon appears on your home screen.
Open RoommateAds in Chrome. Tap the three-dot menu. Tap "Add to Home Screen" or "Install App." The site installs instantly with its own icon and launches without browser chrome.
The service worker caches the app shell, CSS, and recently visited pages. If your connection drops, you can still browse cached listings and compose messages that send when you're back online.
Once installed (or even just visiting the site), enable push notifications from your profile. You'll get alerts for new messages, listing expiry, and saved-search matches — even with the browser closed.
The RoommateAds chatbot is connected to BostonApartments.com's editorial repository of 7,000+ rental and housing law articles. Ask it anything about renter rights, lease law, or fair housing.
Click the Help bubble (bottom-right on any page). Ask about security deposit limits, eviction rights, fair housing, lease breaks, rent control, subletting, or co-tenant liability. It gives factual answers sourced from BA's rental knowledge base.
Covers MA, NY, CA, IL, DC, TX, FL, WA, OR, CO, and more. Deposit return timelines, rent increase rules, notice-to-quit requirements — answers vary by state and the chatbot knows the difference.
The chatbot explains protected classes, what counts as discrimination, how to document it, and how to file a complaint with HUD (1-800-669-9777). It also covers state-level protections that go beyond federal law.
Chatbot answers are informational, drawn from published editorial content. For advice specific to your situation, consult a tenant rights organisation or attorney. Free legal aid is available in most states.
Green badge on listings and profiles. Face-matched to a government ID. Get verified
Use the built-in video call to confirm the person is real before any in-person meeting. Open any message thread to start.
Every listing has a Report button. Reports are reviewed by our team within 24 hours.
We don't run checks ourselves, but link to screening partners on the background check page. The Verified badge is an ID-and-selfie match only — not a criminal check. See our Disclaimer.
Everything lives on your dashboard. Tabs for Active, Paused, Expired, and Removed listings.
Update rent, description, photos, or preferences at any time. Changes go live immediately.
Pause an active listing to hide it from search without losing your data. Resume anytime.
Expired listings appear in the Expired tab with a green "Relist Free" button that gives you another 60 days instantly.
Deleted listings go to a Removed tab and are held for 30 days before permanent deletion. Hit Restore if you change your mind.
Everything is free — post an ad, find a room, or connect with a potential roommate today.
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