11 best websites for finding your ideal roommate in NYC
- Some sites are free, others charge a subscription or other type of fee
- You can filter your search for roomies based on lifestyle preference
Good roommates can make your life better, but bad roommates can tear it to shreds.
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Seeking a roommate you can rely on to share the rent? When it comes to living in New York City, nothing is cheap—and these days, rents continue to break records. Splitting the rent makes a lot of financial sense, though this well-traveled path is still rife with potential pitfalls. I should know.
Fresh out of law school in California and new to NYC, I was determined to find a reasonable apartment without compromising safety and living standards (in other words, no bathtub in the middle of the kitchen). So when I landed a lease for a one-bedroom flex on the Upper West Side with Central Park views—from the bathroom, and only when standing on tiptoe—I set out to do what countless other recent grads and thrifty 30-somethings have long done: Search for a stranger to share my habitat, a tricky proposition in the pre-Airbnb era.
Back then, there weren’t as many roommate-finding options as there are today. My first “matchmaker roomie” quickly became a dear friend (and still is to this day); not so my second or third. Turns out I had the same success rates when bunking with friends of friends or alumni connections. This just goes to show that modern-day algorithms can indeed outperform old-fashioned analog methods (i.e., word of mouth), although each method has its pros and cons.
Regardless of which route you take—be it canvassing your social networks (my previous go-to) or leveraging a roommate-finder service to do the screening for you (one out of three fails on my own scorecard)—the takeaways are the same:
- Always do your due diligence. Ask your friends and colleagues for their favorite roommate-finding sites and check reviews on Yelp and other sites.
- Ask these 21 questions to prospective roommate candidates.
- Go with your gut and have an open mind.
[Editor's note: An earlier version of this post was published in June 2023. We are presenting it again here with updated information for September 2025.]
Remember: For every scam story you hear about, there are hundreds of tales with happy endings.
And FYI: if you are curious about co-living options—a furnished room in a shared apartment with built-in roommates—check out Roomrs, Cohabs, and Outpost Club. This type of arrangement is especially helpful if you don't need a 12-month lease.
Otherwise, start your search with Brick Underground’s top 11 sources (arranged in alphabetical order), all of which will help you make your own auspicious roommate match.
1. Diggz
Founded in 2014, NYC-based Diggz has expanded into 38 other cities across the U.S. and Canada. Creating your profile takes under three minutes. Once you are signed up, Diggz’s proprietary algorithm ranks your potential roommates so the most promising ones are at the top of the list, which you can further refine with search filters (no poring over dead-end profiles). Then it’s up to you to “like” any of those people and, if they like you back (à la Tinder or Bumble), to chat with your matches through the app before sharing any personal contact information.
There's no cost to post your profile or listing or to like an unlimited number of candidates, plus you get five instant messages to connect with top prospects, with the option to purchase more. Diggz also offers a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly subscription to Diggz Premium, allowing you to communicate with potential roommates quicker and get extra filters if you’re extra picky. Prefer to pair up with someone in searching for a new place to live? Diggz lets you do that, too.
According to its website, Diggz offers AI and human-vetted profiles: "We keep the scammers out, and allow real people to connect safely on our platform with secure in-app messaging." They also remove outdated or inactive accounts, so you'll only be searching through relevant profiles.
2. iROOMit
iROOMit is a one-stop shop for finding a roommate or sublet in NYC (and 10,000 other cities). You can jump right in and browse all active profiles (1,140 at last count) and then opt to "connect now" by creating a free account. All profiles are vetted by both AI and real people, adding an extra layer of security. You can also complete a background check directly on the platform—and take a lifestyle quiz to help you find a roommate.
When searching the listings, lifestyle filters allow you to indicate your preferences for messiness, partying, personal hygiene, and other qualities on a sliding scale. You can also filter your search by age, gender, budget, and move-in date. When you think you’ve found your match, you can schedule a chat or video call on the platform to meet right away, all through the app.
3. Facebook
Even if you haven't updated your own FB account in years, you may want to join over 34,000 members of the New York City Roommates group. It's managed by Boom, a tenant screening and rent-reporting company.
Current discussions include someone who lost their sublease and is in urgent need of a new home, several people who are looking for another roommate before staring their apartment search, and multiple renters hoping to find someone to move into their existing place.
One advantage of hunting on Facebook is that you will see the poster's own account, which can be telling. And Boom claims to manage the site on a daily basis to screen out any spam, self-promotion, or irrelevant links—and to kick any violators off the site, for good.
4. Listings Project
If you count yourself among the many creative professionals in NYC and want an ultra-personal service and no bait-and-switch postings, Listings Project is a local legend.
Initially launched as the personal project of Stephanie Diamond to help artists like herself find living spaces (and work studios) in NYC, the site has grown into a full-fledged operation that offers rooms (and entire apartments) to rent or sublet. It has since gone global, too, spanning 200 countries, 43 U.S. states, and over a million listings.
Those looking to list an apartment in NYC pay a $47 fee. Someone from Diamond’s team then goes through each listing to weed out brokers and agents, personally notifying owners if they’ve been approved. The team also bans any listings that violate Listings Project's community agreements and terms of use, and makes sure the spaces are welcoming.
People who are looking for a room to rent can sign up (for free) to receive a weekly email that’s sent out each Wednesday morning. Supporting members ($6.99 per month) get early access to listings and other benefits, and you can cancel at any time.
Word of mouth has it that you need to act fast or lose out on the choicest options or try your luck again the next week. (Hint: Set a recurring reminder on your phone.)
Looking for a job? Click on "gigs and jobs" to apply for select (37 at last count) full-time, part-time, and freelance postings.
If you are taking care of setting up a roommate agreement on your own, Lawrina has you covered. Lawrina is a strong resource to find free legal information and empower yourself with legal technology. You can use them to set up a roommate agreement template, and much more.
5. Padmapper
Padmapper isn’t specifically a roommate-search site, nor does it operate as such. That said, you can easily trawl around the interactive map (hence the site’s name) for places that fit your customizable criteria. Browsing is free; once you land on a listing you like, you can click on "I'm interested" to send a message to the landlord. You can also save a listing to receive email alerts when similar units are posted.
A few pointers are in order for room hunters: You’ll need to select the “room” option under “more filters” on the basic search page to find a share, and you won’t receive much in the way of information about who you will be sharing living space with. Currently there are about 300 rooms available on the site, but keep in mind some of these listings are short-term rentals and student housing (with filters for these).
6. Perfect Strangers of NYC
After moving to the big city as a post-grad in 2011, founder Sarah Hill (per the website) "realized that there was a real need for reliable information and support tailored to young professionals and students moving to New York City for the first time." So while working in real estate, she started matching roommates as a side gig until it grew into a full-fledged business operating in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.
The service works like this: You start by completing a custom onboarding questionnaire, then browse their hand-picked vacant apartments and request in-person or virtual tours with their team for those you're interested in. Perfect Strangers prequalifies you to ensure you meet the landlord's income requirements and matches you with potential roommates based on lifestyle and financial criteria.
Technically speaking, Perfect Strangers charges the equivalent of one month's rent as its fee, though according to its FAQs, the landlord usually covers this cost. Most rooms range from $800 to $1,800 per month, as dictated by the landlord. The company claims that it takes an average of two weeks to land a new home and roommate—and that you should start your search a month before your target move-in date.
7. Rainbow Roommates
As its name proudly proclaims, Rainbow Roommates caters to the LGBTQ+ and gay-friendly communities in and around NYC, offering a truly localized and specialized experience. Apartment listings are free, while apartment hunters must sign up for a subscription that’s designed to protect the privacy of the participants. You can sign up online or make an appointment for an in-office visit. Updates are emailed periodically throughout the week as new listings matching your criteria are received.
There are three types of memberships, ranging in price from $30 for a 15-day account to $50 for a 30-day account, and $93 for a 90-day account. If those fees seem steep, it might be worth it if you need to find a new home quickly, something the site claims to do in two weeks or less. And if you discover within the first two months that a roommate found through the site is not working out, Rainbow Roommates will provide you with a one-month free membership, allowing you to find a more suitable situation.
8. Reddit
We were tempted to exclude Reddit from the list given the mixed reviews, but plenty of people remain devoted to this social media platform and swear by its anonymous-user approach. It does require a healthy degree of skepticism and stellar judgment skills to navigate successfully. But if you’re willing to do some wading, reddit.com/r/NYCapartments is generally packed with listings.
You can also find a lot of New Yorkers looking for roommates and asking other real-estate-related questions on reddit.com/r/AskNYC. Another pro (or con, depending on your perspective) of this freewheeling forum is that you may find yourself poring over lengthy threads about only-in-NYC queries and complaints to find actual listings. However, if you are new to the rental market, you might pick up a few helpful hints along with a new apartment mate.
9. Roomi
Global and expansive, Roomi is the big (friendly) kid on the block. Like other sites, you can either look for a room to rent or for someone to move into your own apartment. Roommate seekers can have one active listing at one time and connect with up to 10 people for free. However, if you want to get verified, create more listings, or message more people, you'll need to upgrade your account by purchasing the Premium, Solo Agent, or Unlimited plan (pricing available upon request). According to the FAQs, verified profiles receive four times more responses compared to non-verified ones.
When you click on an individual’s page, you can immediately see if they are verified along with their name (and photo), verified social media accounts, age, work history, personal summary, and self-ascribed tags such as “foodie, night owl, healthy, bookworm, early riser.” So you can glean a great deal from an initial glance before deciding whether to chat with that person through the site. You can also filter for qualities like "athletic," "artist/creative," "current student," "LGBTQ," and "works from home."
10. RoomieMatch
RoomieMatch injects a bit of cheeky fun into what can be an onerous process. For example, in explaining its vetting process, the site explains: "In addition to weeding out internet roommate scammers, our actual human reviewers using their actual eyeballs and organic brains screen all roommate submissions for other sorts of scumbags as well. Anyone trying to sneak in something shady is way too sleazy for us, and we delete them."
Its multiple-choice personality quiz delves deep into such quirks as your cleaning habits, comfort level with one-night stands at your place, and what happens to takeout (“I’d rather just use the fridge to chill beer” being one possible response).
RoomieMatch is also a good choice if you tend to shy away from having all your personal information published on the web for anyone to see, since matches are emailed directly to users. If you want to be more proactive and contact anyone yourself, you’ll need to upgrade to the $20 “cheap roommate search” yearly subscription, which may be worth it if you are a frequent subletter or tend to move frequently.
What's more, RoomieMatch lets you find a new apartment and new roommates in one fell swoop. It also provides a handy snapshot of each borough with helpful stats such as the average rent, percentage of people who live within a 10-minute walk of a park, and neighborhood traits (for Brooklyn: hipsters, incomprehensible trends, unrealistic expectations).
And should you ever decide to venture beyond the city, RoomieMatch covres all corners of the globe.
11. SpareRoom
SpareRoom lets you search by zip code or area right from the homepage, or you can go to its advanced search function with the usual (no smoking, pets considered) and not-so-usual (vegetarians preferred, utilities included) filters. You can also search for no-fee listings, LGBTQ households, and places where you live with the landlord on the premises. The staff also vets all postings to make sure they are legit.
SpareRoom is free to use (about 85 percent of people never pay a penny, per the website). However, you may want to upgrade by posting a "bold ad" ($12.99 for seven days) that will be highlighted in blue on the search results pages. This also entitles you to early bird access, allowing you to contact all other users—either those looking for rooms or advertising rooms.
Need help finding a rental that allows temporary walls—or a landlord who will accept multiple guarantors? The rental experts at The Agency, a Brick Underground partner, know exactly where to look. If you sign up here, you can also take advantage of The Agency's corporate relocation rate—where you'll pay a broker's fee of 10 percent of a year's rent instead of the usual 12 to 15 percent on open listings. Bonus: The agents at The Agency are a delight to deal with.
