There are hundreds of platforms to find rooms for rent online, including the minefield of Craigslist listings and Facebook groups. However, if you’re reading this, chances are that you haven’t had any luck yet, or you’ve run into some trouble. How can you browse rooms for rent online while protecting yourself from scammers? Will your new home be pet-friendly? Are you moving to a new city by yourself or as a couple? This is where Roomi comes in! This room finder is an all-in-one platform that simplifies your search for rooms with advanced filters as well as access to safe and credible listings. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the pricing plans and features of Roomi vs. Zillow and show you why Roomi is the best Zillow alternative!

Features: What Filters & Preferences Do These Room Finders Have to Help you Find your Perfect Room?

Moving to a new city can be an overwhelming experience, but finding a room for rent shouldn’t be. Roomi’s algorithm is designed for you to find the room of your dreams, with basic filters such as location and price, and other advanced filters that suit your lifestyle. The powerful Zillow alternative has a comprehensive checklist that you can tick off to suit your preferences!

Let’s find out how these room finders fare side by side.

Pet-Friendly Apartments

If you have a pet, you probably can’t imagine leaving your furry friend behind when you move to a new city. Luckily, both Zillow and Roomi offer pet-friendly apartment listings. However, Zillow only offers to accommodate cats and dogs. Roomi, on the other hand, has three different categories for pet-friendly listings – “Dogs OK”, “Cats OK”, and “Other Pets OK”. ****

So, whether you have a pet hamster or a pet tortoise, this great Zillow alternative lets you bring them along for the ride.

Filtering Rooms Based on Amenities

Do you want free Wifi included in your new rental? Would you love an on-site gym? Are you looking for a rental with its own security guard? With the best room finder, Roomi, your wishes will be granted! So, from elevators to private bathrooms, the powerful Zillow alternative makes your transition into your new rental easier.

Meanwhile, Zillow also has advanced filter options, but they’re not as impressive or thorough as those on Roomi.

Filtering Rooms Based on Listing Type (Entire Place/Shared Rooms)

If you’re moving with your partner, you might want an entire place for privacy. If you’re looking to save money on rent, maybe you’d prefer a shared room. Whatever your preference might be, Roomi offers the following filter options based on listing type:

• Entire Place
• Private Room
• Shared Room

However, navigating Zillow’s rooms for rents based on listing types on Zillow is a little bit more complicated, giving Roomi the upper hand in this comparison.

Filtering Rooms Based on House Rules

It’s important to remember that even if you’ve chosen to rent an entire place, you don’t own the rental. You’re living on someone else’s property and they might have rules that restrict your lifestyle. The best room finder portal, Roomi, has a simple and comprehensive checklist of filters you can tick off. For example, would you prefer living in a no-smoking apartment? Check! Do you want to live in a rental where you’re allowed to drink? Check!

However, Zillow doesn’t have the checklist feature of filtering rooms based on house rules. This is a clear disadvantage as compared to the best room finder, Roomi, because you have to manually input each keyword to narrow your search – which can be a tedious process.

No-Fee Apartments

On Roomi, all listings are no-fee. What does this mean? You can start viewing and uploading listings for free! Zillow also offers the feature to browse listings for free. However, as we’ve seen above, Roomi is a wonderful Zillow alternative to find rooms for rent, providing all these extra features at no extra price!

Subletting

Subletting is often tricky, because you’re renting a space to another person within the space you’ve rented for yourself. This means that the subtenant signs an agreement with you, rather than the landlord. Sounds complicated? Don’t worry, both Roomi and Zillow have simplified the process of subletting for their users.

Pricing: Which App Offers the Best Free and Paid Features?

The big move to a new city is expensive enough, especially if you factor in moving-in fees and setting up utilities. You don’t want to blow your budget by shelling out more money on a room finder portal. With Roomi, you can find rooms for rent for free, and also unlock premium features at affordable subscription plans!

• Free Members on Roomi: Free to sign up and activate listings for rent.
• Roomi’s Gold Subscription: The Gold Subscription is available at $29.99 per month or $14.99 per week. You have the flexibility to choose whether to pay monthly or weekly depending on your budget.

Let’s dive in to take a closer look at what Roomi offers on their free plan compared to the Gold Subscription.

Allowing Free Listings

On Roomi, you can post an advertisement for a place to rent completely free of charge! Similarly, it’s free to browse rooms for rent. On top of that, you can contact up to two listings for free in any of the locations that Roomi covers. If you want more features to narrow your search and find the perfect room, here’s what you get with Roomi’s Gold plan:

• A ranking boost for 7x more views on your profile and listings.
• 5 active listings to post all the empty rooms in your apartment.

On the other hand, Zillow now asks its members to sign up for their Zillow Rental Manager. Even though your first listing is free, this is only applicable to one account per household. After that, every other listing comes at a price of $9.99 per week. Unlike Zillow, the powerful Zillow alternative, Roomi provides a flat rate for a variety of extra features.

List a room with the best room finder, Roomi, with the help of this wonderfully easy guide!

In-App Messaging

You can message listings and set up times to view apartments for free on Roomi. The free plan also allows you to ask questions and get a better feel for the place you’re interested in. Additionally, if you’re looking for more features, here’s what Roomi Gold offers:

• Access to unlimited messages with potential roomies. (On mobile, you also get unlimited swipes!)
• A Fully Verified status upgrade which gets you 5x more messages.

However, Zillow does not have direct control over the communication between a listing provider and potential tenant, so there can be delays in communication. This leaves users at a greater risk of cybersecurity scams because of a lack of secure in-app messaging. In this comparison, Roomi shines as the best room finder!

Security: How Do These Apps Ensure That Listings Are Credible?

Roomi’s reputation as the best room finder is in part thanks to its commitment to privacy and security. Roomi protects you and your information by keeping everything anonymous, not sharing info with other users or companies, encrypting your data, and deleting your account if you ask them to.

Let’s take a closer look below at how the best Zillow alternative protects you:

• The verification of accounts is a user-friendly way to make sure the person living in the apartment you’re about to rent from is who they say they are. This verification process involves providing a copy of your lease, utility bill, or government-issued ID.
• Your listing address isn’t visible on the Roomi app. Instead, only an approximate location is shown.
• Roomi’s in-house content moderation team will review any listing or profile that violates community guidelines. Additionally, if you want to report users, you can contact Roomi’s trust and safety team.

Zillow’s content moderation isn’t as rigorous as Roomi’s. However, the platform allows you to report possible fraudulent listings by clicking “Report Listing” on the page. In sum, this great Zillow alternative is committed to your physical and cyber security with strict guidelines and the instant reporting of scams.

So, Which Is the Best Room Finder For You?

Each renter is unique and has different preferences when it comes to finding a new home. Roomi offers a comprehensive checklist, allowing users to filter rentals based on amenities, pet-friendly listings, and house rules. When choosing between room finders, you want to know that your information is safe and protected. This powerful Zillow alternative does this effortlessly, while making sure that you have fun searching for your new home!