Top 25 Sites Like Craigslist: Alternatives for Buying or Selling FAST!

If you like buying and selling things online, you need to know about other sites like CraigsList. There are a growing number of websites that are Craigslist alternatives for listing items for sale, classified ads, freebies, and advertising services.

Craigslist offers great opportunities to buy and sell your stuff. Back in 1995 the platform started as a classified advertisements website and has remained one of the best ways to buy and sell things.

Although Craigslist may have been the first site to connect buyers and sellers in a community-centered way, it is no longer the only way that you can buy and sell your stuff online.

There are better AND safer sites and apps now that make selling on CraigsList almost obsolete.

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Top CraigsList Alternatives

We’ve tested most of these sites and visited all of them. There are several that have a similar look and feel to CraigsList, and many that are completely different.

We’ve highlighted any costs associated with using the sites. And we’ll tell you which are easier and safer to use than Craigslist.

We also tell you if they are a website or if there is an app associated with it. As you probably know there is no official Craigslist App, although there are currently three CraigsList third-party apps that help you access CL information.

OfferUp – Website & App

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 16.5M

OfferUp is one of our favorite CraigsList Alternatives to connect us to local buyers and sellers. It also recently added shipping options, so you will have the opportunity to connect with buyers that are farther away.

They are the third most popular shopping app in the Apple AppStore.

You can buy or sell anything through the site. The service is completely free, so you will not have to pay to list your items for sale.

Additionally, OfferUp does not take any commission from your sale. That means all the profits are yours!

The app has a communication portal for making offers and asking questions. Your email, phone, and address are never given out.

New – OfferUp Shipping and Payment Options

In 2020 Offerup merged with LetGo and started offering to accept payment and shipping options. They’re hoping to attract more sellers and some merchants also.

When you accept payment through Offerup and ship items, you’ll see a 12.9% service fee for your item. The minimum fee is $1.99. We see this as a move to make OfferUp more competitive with eBay. Shipping costs average between $5 to $20.

Costs to Use The Site

• Cost to List: Free
• Cost to Sell: Free – if you collect the money. 12.9% if you sell through the app.
• Cost to Promote Your Item: Bumps cost between $1.99 and $19.99

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Facebook Marketplace & Swip Swap – Website & App

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 800M

Facebook has two different ways to buy and sell your stuff.

First, Facebook Marketplace is a virtual marketplace that will allow you to connect with local buyers. There are no fees associated with this method.

A second option is the numerous Swip Swap groups that are on Facebook. You can easily find these groups by searching for “Swip Swap” and your city’s name. You can even search for nearby cities if you are willing to drive that far for meetups. Items are posted in this targeted group for buyers and sellers in the area.

In 2019 Facebook made it easier to post in multiple SwipSwap Groups and Marketplace. When you post in one group, a pop-up window will ask what other groups you want to post it.

The downside is that if you want to update a price or wording, you’ll need to visit each group to change your listing.

Facebook is a convenient way to connect with local buyers, but you will have to meet up in person to sell or buy the items.

Costs to Use The Site

• Cost to Sell: Free
• Cost to List: Free
• Cost to Promote: Free. Just make a comment “bump”

NextDoor – App and Website

NextDoor is a relatively new site that helps to connect you to people and events in your local area. Its original design was not like Craigslist but it has developed a section for selling stuff making it a great alternative to Craigslist.

We’ve found lots of free stuff for our yard from people. on NextDoor.

We were first introduced to it by a cousin in Illinois who used it to keep up with neighbors who were having garage sales and others who were reporting on crime or lost pets in the neighborhood.

We were remodeling the area around our pool, adding some brick and flagstone in the spring of 2019 and needed some more bricks and flagstone to finish the project. We put a query out on NextDoor and had several responses from people who wanted to give us both of these items.

We were amazed and went to two homes that were less than 1 mile from our house to pick up the bricks and flagstone!

Costs to Use The Site

• Cost to Sell: Free
• Cost to List: Free
• Cost to Promote: the For Sale Section is free. Other things like real estate listings cost.
• Business Promotions: Local Deals may cost as little as $3.00; the average cost of a Local Deal is around $75.00.

eBay – Website & App

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 999M

eBay is one of the best places to buy or sell anything online. The sheer number of items available on the site makes it a great place to find something you need or sell something to a wide audience. While eBay is not exactly like CraigsList, with listings for jobs, personals, events and the like. It is a great place to buy and sell things just like CraigsList is.

You will be able to sell also anything once you set up a seller’s account. Each month, the first 50 items you list are free, after that, you will have to pay a listing fee of .35 cents.

The site will also take a commission of 10% for each item sold on the site. It is a pretty steep fee, but you will have access to so many buyers that it may be worth it.

Costs to Use The Site

• Cost to Sell: 10% Final Value Fee
• Cost to List: free for first 50 items each month
• Cost to Promote: 3.1% to 18% of the final sale price – depending on category.

Gsaler – Website & App

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 177K

Gsaler is a garage sale platform that will help you buy and sell your stuff easily in person. The site has a search tool that will allow you to easily search for garage sales happening in your area.

Once you find out the basic information, you can decide whether or not you want to head over to the garage sale.

As a seller, you can post your garage sale on the site. You can include photos of your sale to get people excited about buying your things. Try to include as much detail as possible. It is a great way to get the word out to potential buyers in your area.

Costs to Use The Site

• Cost to List: Free

DeCluttr – website & app

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 736K

DeClutter is a great way to sell your things with ease. The site is limited to electronics such as CDs, DVDs, cell phones, tablets, game consoles, and other similar clutter. Decluttr will also buy your used books.

The process to sell something is really easy, you just have to sign up for the site and scan the barcodes of your items. The site will give you an offer and you can choose to take it or not.

On the flip side, you can also buy used items from Decluttr. The site offers items from the same electronics and books that they bought from sellers.

You will not have to pay to ship your items in, plus there are no fees associated with selling to Decluttr.

However, because Decluttr acts as the middleman between a buyer and seller, you should expect to make slightly less than if you found the buyer yourself.

I have used Decluttr on multiple occasions to help me clean out my apartment. The app is easy to use and I would highly recommend giving it a try.

Costs to Use The Site

• Cost to Sell: Free – but expect less than if you sold it yourself.

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LetGo – website & app

In 2020 LetGo merged with Offerup. See details above in the Offerup descriptive copy.

EstateSales.Net

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 4.6M

Estate sales can be a great place to find items at a good price. I have always found that estate sales can be difficult to find out about beforehand. But these two websites make it easy to find an estate sale in your area.

Most of these also give you information about the items that will be listed for sale, so it is a great way to prescreen an estate sale before you drive out to the location.

Estatesales.net has a search feature that will allow you to find upcoming estate sales in your area. It is an easy-to-use website that will connect you to the opportunities in your area.

Costs to Use The Site:

• Varies based on the Estate Sale Company you Choose.

EstateSales.org

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 596K

Estatesales.org even has an online auction feature, which means that you might not have to drive anywhere to get a good deal. They also have listings of Estate Liquidation companies if you need help finding one.

Costs to Use The Site:

• Cost to List: $39.95

This is a great option for buyers, but sellers can also benefit from the platforms. You have the ability to list your estate sales, which may help to bring in more potential buyers.

Oodle – website

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 1.76M

Oodle is a great CraigsList Alternative. It has the traditional option to post your items for sale on its platform. Additionally, the website looks through other similar websites and pulls out the listings.

The idea is that buyers will be able to see everything available in their area in one spot. Although the system isn’t perfect, as a buyer you may see more options than if you just looked at one site.

Sellers can post their listing directly to Oodle, but they will be competing with every listing in their area. It is good to keep that in mind because you will want to keep your listings competitive.

 Costs to Use The Site:

• Cost to List: Free
• Cost to Sell: Free

Varage Sale

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 1.5M

The name says it all, Varage Sale is a virtual garage sale app that connects buyers and sellers in a local area.

Before you can sign up for the platform, Varage Sale carefully looks at each potential user. The buyers and sellers will have to pass through a safety screening process before they are allowed to buy or sell anything on the site.

This added security feature may help you to feel better about buying or selling on the platform. Although you should still be careful when you meet up with the buyer or seller, this does offer some peace of mind.

 Costs to Use The Site:

• Cost to List: Free
• Cost to Sell: Free

5 Miles – website & app

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 211K

5 Miles is a great way to buy or sell things locally, but only in big cities. It looks very similar to OfferUp and Pinterest.

The site is focused on hyper-local sales, but you will have the option to look at other listings around you.

Similar to OfferUp you can communicate with buyers and sellers within the app, so it is a good way to avoid posting your phone number or email.

 Costs to Use The Site:

• Cost to List: Free
• Cost to Sell: Free

Trove Market – website & app

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 13K

Trove Market is one of the best places to buy and sell furniture. The site seems to have every style of furniture imaginable, so you should have no problem finding the perfect piece to complete your house.

It is also a great place to sell your used furniture due to its ease of use and because many buyers frequent the site.

Furniture is heavy, so you will likely have to pick up your new furniture. Some sellers will offer to deliver it, or even ship it. Keep that in mind before you make a purchase.

You can limit your search to a certain area that you are willing to travel within. Don’t bother looking at listing that you have no desire to travel for, you may end up loving a piece and then having to deal with the hassle and expense of getting it to your home.

If you refer friends and family to use the Trove app you both will receive credit toward future credit card purchases.

 Costs to Use The Site:

• Cost to List: Free
• Cost to Sell: 10% if debit or credit card is used. Free if cash is paid.

Bookoo – website & app

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 593K

Bookoo has several features that make it a great way to buy and sell your stuff. You can either list items to sell or advertise for your upcoming garage sale. They currently have more than 25 million registered users.

The site has positioned itself as a family-friendly alternative to Craigslist. Specifically, it is intended to help military families buy and sell their things as they move around the county.

Because of this goal, most of the Bookoo locations are near military bases.

As a buyer or seller, you will create a profile that has some personal information that other platforms don’t have.

You will have the ability to include a picture of yourself, a short bio about your life, and about the items you frequently buy or sell.

The site has live chat support and a family-friendly feel that makes it easy to work with.

 Costs to Use The Site:

• List: Free
• Sell: Free – however Retailers may be charged a fee to post in specific categories.

YesBackpage – website

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 33K

YesBackpage is a very simple site that has local pages for cities around the country. Typically, it supports larger cities, but the platform is growing.

This site looks very much like CraigsList. It not only has areas to sell and buy items, but there are also sections for real estate, jobs, gigs, personal ads and more.

The site has everything imaginable for sale. It is free to list your items and you can browse for items easily. Just choose your city to get started.

 Costs to Use The Site:

• Cost to List: Free
• Cost to Sell: Free

PennySaver USA – website

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 1M

In years past, you may remember picking up free PennySaver newspapers.

Although the printed version is no longer available, PennySaver does have an online version. The site is very similar to a classified section in your newspaper, but you don’t have to buy a newspaper to see the ads.

It’s free to post to their classified ads section.

As a buyer, you just have to type in your zip code to find listings in your area. The site seems very user-friendly. It could be a great way to get the word out about your items for sale.

 Costs to Use The Site:

• Cost to List: Free
• Cost to Sell: Free

Government Surplus Auctions – websites

As you might imagine, many governments have surplus items that they have to sell. Instead of having a variety of goods just floating around their facilities, they can sell those to the public in order to recoup some of the value.

We know several people who work at this company and it is a solid option for buying and selling.

One of the best ways to find out about current government surplus auctions is through the GoIndustry DoveBid company.

This site is associated with these other auction sites:

• AuctionDeals.com
• GovLiquidation
• GovDeals
• Liquidation.com
• IronDirect
• Secondipity
• AuctionDeals
• Machinio

The GoIndustry Dove Bid site has listings for government surplus auctions around the world. As you look through the listings, check to see if the items will be shipped to you.

Some of the listings include shipping, others expect you to come and get the item. Although there are auctions happening around the world, you may want to limit your search to a semi-local area.

If you aren’t sure that you will find anything worth buying through government surplus, then you might be wrong. After a quick search through their website, I found calculators and useable furniture in addition to a variety of specialized equipment. It is worth taking a look at!

Cost to List: Varies
Cost to Buy: Varies

University Surplus Locations and Auction Sites – Websites

If you have a university in your area, then you may want to check out their surplus auction for a great deal. Universities have many types of items available through these surplus auctions including furniture, beds, lab equipment, office supplies, books, and more.

Universities are very unique organizations, so you never know what you might find at a surplus auction.

Steve & Annette from MoneySmartFamily.com have purchased desks, whiteboards, metal shelving units, clothes, computers, and lots of other things from the Arizona State University surplus yard. These are items that were available for sale in person – not through an auction.

To find a place like this in your area, just Google “university surplus near me.” It will be easy to find your local university’s surplus location.

Keep in mind that auctions of university surplus probably happen on an infrequent basis. They may have an email list that you can subscribe to so you can be notified when the sales occur.

ClassifiedAds.com – Website

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 3.36M

ClassifiedAds.com is a site that is free to use. It’s another site that looks like CraigsList – just a little more colorful. They have job ads, classifieds, housing, and personals.

You can buy or sell almost anything here. It has a very simple layout that is similar to the look of old classified ads that used to come in your newspaper.

The website is available everywhere, but you will likely have more luck if you live in a big city. Bigger markets just generate more interest in your listings.

 Costs to Use The Site:

• Cost to List: Free
• Cost to Sell: Free

USA Today Classifieds

Although in-print newspapers are generally going out of business, USA Today remains one of the most popular surviving newspapers. The company has a classified section that is available for both the print magazine and the online version.

Their Categories include:

• Auctions
• Automotive
• Business
• Careers
• Education
• Marketplace
• Notices
• Real Estate
• Services
• Sports & Recreation
• Travel

You can read the classifieds for free.

If you choose to list your item here, then make sure it is worth the effort and cost. It is relatively expensive to list your item here, but it could be worth it for an expensive item that needs to find a specific buyer. A listing includes exposure in 35 local editions.

If you’re selling a business or a property this could be a good option.

 Costs to Use The Site:

• Cost to List: Contact Sales Rep
• Cost to Sell: Free

Locanto

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 2.81M

Locanto is an online classified website that has listings in more than 60 countries. Although Locanto is everywhere, you can limit your search to a local area.

It is set up very similar to CraigsList, but more colorful. It’s also much easier to navigate than CraigsList.

You can post an ad in your city for free. However, you will have to pay to have the listing advertised in other cities.

The listings will have other ads on them unless you pay to have them removed. You can also pay to have your listing bumped to the top of the buyer’s page, otherwise, your listing may get buried.

The site also accepts ads from retailers, so not every ad on the site will be for a local seller.

Once posted, your ad will run for 42 days. If your item doesn’t sell it’s easy to renew an ad.

 Costs to Use The Site:

• Cost to List: Free
• Cost to Sell: Free
• Premium Selling Account: $2.95 per month
• Top Ad: $7.95 per week
• Gallery Ad: $9.95
• Premium Ad: $3.95 per week

Ads Globe

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 163K

Ads Globe is another online classified ad company.

You can list ads for as many items as you want through this site. Like CraigsList, you can advertise local events, personal ads, jobs wanted or positions available, and for your local business through Ads Globe.

Even though this site boasts to be “Serving over Millions of Cities in over 150 Countries.” Many of the categories we checked had no listing or just one.

The site seems to be used mostly by people promoting their services. We didn’t see many individual sellers posting items for sale.

 Costs to Use The Site:

• Cost to List: Free
• Cost to Sell: Free

US Free Ads

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 16K

US Free Ads has a basic design that connects buyers and sellers. After signing up for a free membership, you will be able to list two items at a time for free. However, they offer upgraded memberships that will allow you to list more items at once.

For $10/year, you will be a Gold member. With the Gold membership, you will be able to list 25 ads at once. For $9.99/month, you become a Premium Member and have the ability to post unlimited ads. If you are a frequent seller, then you will likely want to upgrade to a higher membership.

As a buyer, you do not need to upgrade.

This site is very basic – no personal ad, no gigs, no real estate. Most of the ads were for products being sold. We didn’t see any ads that were from individuals selling excess items.

 Costs to Use The Site:

• Cost to List: Free/ $10 per year / $9.99 per month
• Cost to Sell: Free

Hoobly

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 400K

Hoobly’s site is similar to Craigslist in how it’s laid out. You might think you are actually on a different site, but the Hoobly logo reminds you that you are not on Craigslist anymore.

As a seller, it is free to post your listings. As a buyer, it is free to browse the offerings.

You can buy or sell anything, but it looks like the pet category has the most listings available. This site didn’t have the option to search in a specific city.

 Costs to Use The Site:

• Cost to List: Free
• Cost to Sell: Free

Geebo

Estimated Number of Monthly Visitors: 443K

Geebo is a platform that will allow you to buy and sell almost anything easily through their site. You will have the best luck if you live in a big city.

The site offers “SafeTrade” transactions in which the buyer and seller agree to meet at the local police department to make the trade. It is a great way to make buying and selling things online safer.

This site didn’t have the option to search in a specific city.

 Costs to Use The Site:

• Cost to List: Free
• Cost to Sell: Free

Trovit

Trovit has a search engine that connects to several online classified sites. The site is easy to use, and it will easily connect buyers to the right listings.

Trovit might be the easiest way for buyers to find listings because it connects you to several different listings platforms. Before you search, narrow down the country and subject. The search engine will find results that match your criteria in your local area. Although Trovit is a worldwide website, not every area has listings, keep that in mind as you search for your next purchase.

Final Advice for Using Sites Like CraigsList

Buying and selling things on the internet has its pros and cons.

Although you will likely be able to find something that you need, it can be difficult to know if what you are purchasing is everything that the buyer claims it is.

The best way to avoid getting a bad deal is to ask questions! Just ask as many as you can, especially when buying used things.

Seller Ratings

Some sites provide seller ratings (eBay, OfferUp). These ratings can help you to determine if the seller is someone you want to work with.

We recommend sending a question to the seller as a test of their responsiveness. If they don’t reply quickly, it’s possible that they won’t be a good person to deal with.

If you are buying something electronic, then make sure to test it before you buy it. Of see if the seller offers a guarantee that it will work or a return policy.

Ship or Meet

You may have the option to have the items shipped or meet in person.

If you choose to ship it, then make sure to include the shipping costs when you are determining a sale price. We usually quote USPS and UPS.

If the item is small enough, we love using USPS Flat Rate Boxes. They are insured up to $50 automatically, offer 2 to 3-day shipping and can weigh up to 70 pounds.

If you choose to meet in person, then please be careful!

Never go to a meetup by yourself. We recommend meeting in a public place – like a grocery store parking lot or a Starbucks. If your item is larger and you need to meet the person at your home, make sure that you aren’t alone.

We don’t give our address out in advance – only major cross streets. When the person is driving toward our house we give them the final exact address.

List on Multiple Platforms

As you sell your things, you may want to use a combination of platforms to get the best results.

The more people that see your items, the better chance they have of selling for the right price. Once you get the word out, hopefully, the right buyer will make you an offer.

Keep a close eye on the fees as you list your things, they will add up over time if you do not keep them in check.

And when an item sells – be sure to take it down off of the other platforms you listed it on.

If you are looking for more resources on how to buy and sell your stuff check out our articles:

• 29 Garage Sale Tips and Tricks: Guide to Hosting a Great Garage Sale
• Roadmap to Garage Sale Treasures
• Need a Hobby: 50 Interesting and Fun Hobbies and Side Hustles
• We Love Buying Used Stuff
• 33 Places to Buy and Sell Used Cell Phones