The 10 Best Craigslist Alternatives [April 2020]

If you buy and sell stuff through classified ads, Craigslist is likely to be your go-to place. There is a lot going for the site but a lot of strikes against it too. It isn’t exactly nice to look at or user friendly but it is the widest used classified website around. However, it isn’t the only game in town which is why I put this list of ten great alternatives to Craigslist together.

Craigslist has been around since 1995 and looks like it. The site doesn’t follow many of the current usability guidelines and can be a pain to search or find something. Don’t even get me started on the spam posts and scams! While not Craigslist’s fault, they are a plague that infest that site like no other.

Here are ten alternatives to Craigslist that are a little easier to work with.

Though eBay shut down their old classifieds brand, Close 5, in 2017, they still own a number of classifieds brands that are worth paying attention to. The eBay Classifieds Group does a good job grabbing their global classifieds brands and putting them into a single group to review, where you can search nationally through each site’s app.

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Recycler is another old-timer, having been launched in 2005. It’s another simple and no nonsense classified site that works on a local level. Like Craigslist, you can search nationally too, but most of the intent is regional. The range of goods and services is wide and covers everything from puppies to apartments.

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Oodle doesn’t look much better than Craigslist but it has a trick up its sleeve. It carries its own classified ads but also aggregates ads from other sites, including ForRent.com and others. This gives a much wider and sometimes deeper look at what is available in your city. Like the others in the list, the range of goods and services is huge so you’re sure to find what you’re looking for on here as much as anywhere.

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Locanto is very pleasing to the eye and has a credible international market too. Not only can you buy stuff from your own city or one near you but also from other places in the world too. The site looks good, is easy to navigate and has clear category menus right at the top of the screen. There is also a decent search function for everything else. Locanto is one of the easiest alternatives to Craigslist to use and I use it regularly.

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Gumtree has long been an alternative to Craigslist and is now owned by eBay, as part of the eBay Classifieds Group we listed above. Just as with their other classifieds brands, eBay runs them all as independents with their own character. Gumtree covers everything from apartments to kittens, Star Wars memorabilia to delivery jobs and everything in-between. Gumtree is much easier to use than Craigslist with a better filter and search function.

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Penny Saver is the digital version of the local classified ad paper that has enabled people to buy and sell for decades. You have to register to post an ad but the rest is super simple. Categories cover a wide range of things from homes for sale to cars, cellphones, jobs and services. A little bit of everything just the way we like it.

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Hoobly doesn’t look any better than Craigslist but it works better, is easier to navigate and much faster to find what you want. While there probably are scammers on here too, they are less obvious than on the alternative. Hoobly has a massive selection of categories that covers literally everything. Its strength is in its utility rather than usability but it definitely gets the job done.

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Silly name aside, Geebo is actually pretty good. It’s another minimalist classified website and Craigslist alternative that covers a wide range of categories. From jobs to boats, pets to land, there is a little of everything here. Geebo is better curated than Craigslist, which it makes great pains to point out. While there are likely still scammers hiding in there, reporting them and having them removed is simple.

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Trovit is more minimalism but with an easy to use UI. It covers the entire world but the U.S. section is most populated. Trovit doesn’t host its own classified ads, it is a classified search engine. It specialized in property, cars and jobs but can also find other goods and services if you want to. It’s simple, fast and usually finds what you’re looking for.

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If you’re looking for the obvious replacement for Craigslist, the best comparison point—and our top pick—is Facebook Marketplace. This should come as no surprise, since the app has been massively popular since it relaunched in 2016, but if you aren’t already on Marketplace, you’re in for a surprise. Marketplace is built right into the app you already have on your phone, showing thousands of listings all based right in your area. It might sound a lot like Craigslist, but the general appearance is much, much better, and the benefits don’t stop there.

Perhaps the biggest difference between Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace comes down to safety. While no selling site online today will be able to promise 100 percent security, Facebook Marketplace puts real names and photos behind anything being sold online, which keeps you a lot safer than what you’re probably used to on Craigslist. At the same time, you aren’t required to give out your number or email address, since everything can be communicated right through Facebook Messenger.

Obviously, the biggest benefits to Facebook Messenger also happen to be their biggest downfalls: you’ll need to be a Facebook member to use it, and that’s not something everyone wants to be these days. Still, if you can put up wit being on Facebook, Facebook Marketplace is no longer behind Craigslist when it comes to selling. In fact, it might have already taken the lead.

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