11 Best Apartment Rental Websites in San Francisco (2024)
- Zillow
- Apartment List
- Zumper
- Avalon Communities
- HotPads
- Trulia
- Padmapper
- Craigslist
- Roomster
- Facebook Marketplace
1. Zillow
The best apartment search site in San Francisco is Zilloe. That should be no surprise since Zillow is the largest real estate listing service in the US by both search traffic and number of properties. Zillow has thousands of active listings in the San Francisco Bay Area and search features that make it easy to sort and preview listings. Most of the top real estate firms use Zillow as a go-to resource, so you will find many of the best listings in the city by doing a quick search on the platform.
2. Apartment List
Apartment List is an online marketplace that is exclusively for rental listings. The site currently has over 4 million listings, including over 1,000 in San Francisco. The site's user-friendly interface allows you to easily search by price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, or even commute time. You'll find everything from affordable units to luxury properties, and you can quickly narrow down your search to individual areas and neighborhoods.
3. Zumper
Zumper is also one of the best apartment websites in San Francisco. Zumper is a popular real estate marketplace advertising apartments, houses, condos, and rooms for rent. It's the largest privately owned rental platform in North America, and they have hundreds of listings in the Bay Area. They also offer a variety of attractive features that make searching for an apartment faster and more convenient. They do not screen landlords, and some users have complained about rental scams being operated on the site. So, you should use caution when providing any sensitive information. But it can be a useful resource for finding apartments in San Francisco if you are careful.
4. Avalon Communities
Avalon Communities is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns apartment buildings. They are the 3rd largest owner of apartments in the country and have communities all over the East and West Coasts, including San Francisco. They have 12 communities in San Francisco offering hundreds of apartments for rent. They have a listing service on their website that allows you to search through their available units, and many of their residences feature luxury amenities such as balconies, stainless steel appliances, and a dishwasher.
5. HotPads
HotPads is a map-based real estate marketplace that offers one of the largest selections of rental properties in San Francisco. You'll find over 7,000 active listings in the San Francisco Bay Area and a wide range of property types available, including everything from studio apartments to single-family homes and townhouses. HodPads also has several technologically advanced features, such as 3D tours and an interactive map, making the search process much easier.
6. Trulia
Trulia is the sister website of Zillow and also offers a wide range of listings in the San Francisco Bay area. Similar to Zillow, Trulia has an intuitive search function that allows you to sort apartments by pricing, property type, proximity to transportation, and whether or not they allow pets. All listings that are submitted to Zillow also end up on Trulia, so you may not see much difference between the two sites in terms of housing stock. However, Zillow tends to be better for home shoppers, whereas many renters prefer using Trulia.
7. Padmapper
Padmapper is another real estate listing service that is owned by Zumper and features over 1 million listings, including many in the Bay Area. It has a relatively simple interface and uses a map search tool to navigate listings. A unique feature of PadMapper is that it also aggregates listings from Airbnb and Craiglist, which can be useful if you're looking for non-corporate landlords. However, like Zumper, you should be aware of potential scams and outdated listings when searching on the site.
8. Craigslist
Craigslist is still a great resource for finding apartment listings in San Francisco. It has a real estate section where you can easily search for new apartments for rent and find the contact information of the owner or real estate agent. Craigslist often has the cheapest options because you can often go directly to the landlord and find listings before they make it to the larger sites. However, Craigslist is notoriously under-moderated, so beware of apartment rental scams and use caution if a deal sounds too good to be true.
9. Reddit
The Reddit group r/SFBayHousing is another good resource for finding affordable housing in the Bay area. It's especially good if you're looking for a room for rent or you've found a listing you like but need like-minded roommates to help pay the rent. It's also a good place to ask questions and get advice about the San Francisco rental market from other people who live there. However, once again, be cautious about who you contact and what information you give out.
10. Roomster
Roomster is a matchmaking service and rental listing site that helps people find roommates. They have a major presence in the San Francisco Bay area and allow you to see details about the property and your prospective roommates. You can even search for an entire place and find people who are subletting their apartments or renting out their entire space.
11. Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace and local Facebook housing groups are another great resource for finding apartments in the San Francisco Bay area. You can often find great deals and connect directly with landlords and other tenants, making the process much faster and less expensive. Facebook Marketplace is a great alternative to Craigslist and often provides more information and better search features. However, like any public classifieds website, you should be careful about who you connect with and what information you divulge.