Comparison

AroundMe vs SpareRoom US

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

AroundMe

Discover essential services and points of interest in your vicinity. This app quickly identifies your location and lists nearby banks, restaurants, gas stations, and more, providing distances and contact details.

Highlights
  • Identify nearby businesses
  • Listings with distances
  • Map view and routing
  • Add to contacts
  • Email business info
  • Wikipedia information
Features
Read full description

AroundMe allows you to quickly find out information about your surroundings. How many times have you found yourself in need of finding the closest Gas Station? AroundMe quickly identifies your position and allows you to choose the nearest Bank, Bar, Gas Station, Hospital, Hotel, Movie Theatre, Restaurant, Supermarket, Theatre and Taxi. AroundMe shows you a complete list of all the businesses in the category you have tapped on along with the distance from where you are. For every listing you can choose to see its location on a Map, view the route from where you are, add the information to your contact list or even email the information to a friend. The Nearby listing allows you to find information using Wikipedia about what is around you. Fast, easy and accurate. AroundMe is your ideal day to day companion. NB: When AroundMe Weather push feature is active the app may use your location even when it isn’t open, which can decrease device battery life.

About

SpareRoom US

Find your ideal room or roommate across the US. Filter by lifestyle preferences like profession, student status, dietary choices, and pet ownership. Connect with thousands of listings nationwide to discover your perfect living situation.

Highlights
  • Roommate filtering by profession and student status
  • Filter by dietary preferences and pet ownership
  • Thousands of room-sharing opportunities nationwide
  • On-the-go searching and management
  • Award-winning customer support
Features
Read full description

After helping over 13,000,000 people in the UK find their perfect room or roommate, we've come to help in the US. With our apps, you can do it all while on-the-go. Repeatedly featured by Apple in the categories of Your New Home, Apps for the Weekend, What's Hot, and Popular Apps and Games. Covered by The New York Times, Time magazine, The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times. SUITABLE FOR EVERYONE Whether you're starting college, relocating within or to the US, tired of living alone, weighing up what to do with an empty room, or, quite simply, searching for another roommate or roomshare, we’re the service for you. YOUR PERFECT ROOMIE We understand that finding your perfect roommate, housemate or roomshare can be a daunting task, but it really doesn’t have to be. Using the SpareRoom app you can filter potential roommates via a range of attributes ensuring you find a perfect new housemate or roomshare! Pick from whether you want your roommate to be a professional, student or other to make sure you're both on the same page when it comes to living together. We'll even allow you to go even more granular by filtering roommates on things like 'are they vegetarian' and 'do they allow pets'. UNRIVALLED CHOICE With thousands of room-sharing opportunities to choose from right across the US, you'll be able to find your perfect roommate or roomshare. We're all across the US so you can find a roommate or roomshare from NYC all the way to San Francisco. OUR PHILOSOPHY Experience has taught us that finding a great roomshare is as much about the people as it is about the property. To help you find the best of both, we provide unparalleled tools, choice, and support. As a result, on average, every 3 minutes someone finds a roommate through SpareRoom. HELP & SUPPORT Our award-winning customer support team are here to help you with your search. If you require support, come across a problem, or want to provide feedback, you can get in touch by email (support@spareroom.com) or phone (1 877 834 2909).

Screenshots

AroundMe4 screens
SpareRoom US4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: SpareRoom US at none against AroundMe's shown. SpareRoom US also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks). AroundMe's advantage is review sentiment (60% vs 34%) and ratings volume (24K vs 5.9K). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. AroundMe sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 6 months and SpareRoom US sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for AroundMe against 4.6 for SpareRoom US. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 24K and 5.9K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 60% of AroundMe's written reviews are positive against 34% of SpareRoom US's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AroundMe ships an update every 6 weeks, SpareRoom US every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
AroundMe versus SpareRoom US: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAroundMeSpareRoom US
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (24K ratings) — better4.6 (5.9K ratings)
Positive reviews60.2% of reviews — better33.6% of reviews
Number of ratings24K — better5.9K
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB60 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFlying Code LtdFlatshare Ltd

Customer experience

AroundMe

All ratings24,371 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral4.5%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews2,014 reviews
Positive60.2%
Neutral12.9%
Negative26.9%

SpareRoom US

All ratings5,834 ratings
Positive90.2%
Neutral4.2%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews107 reviews
Positive33.6%
Neutral4.7%
Negative61.7%

User reviews

AroundMe

From 24K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💻 Useful for travel
  • 🗺️ Helps find nearby amenities
  • ⭐ Great app overall

Room to improve

  • 🗓️ Outdated business listings
  • 🔍 Incomplete search results
  • 🔋 Battery drain issues
  • 🔒 Forced location permissions

SpareRoom US

From 5.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 🤑 Helped find a roommate quickly
  • 💰 Affordable
  • 👍 Convenient features

Room to improve

  • 💰 Paid features required to fully utilize
  • 🤖 Fake/bot accounts
  • 🤷‍♀️ Lack of user engagement
  • 🔒 Lack of security/verification
  • 🤬 Poor customer service

Bugs and requests

AroundMe

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes and freezes
  • Incorrect or missing business data
  • Unreliable directions and distance information

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add post office/post box search
  • Improve search accuracy and coverage
  • Allow disabling of weather feature
  • Provide more customization options

SpareRoom US

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Frequent app crashes
  • Login/account issues
  • Inability to upload photos
  • Glitchy location search

Requested features

4 requests
  • Background checks for users
  • Better filtering and search options
  • Improved verification process
  • Easier profile customization

In-app purchases

4 purchases

AroundMe

Subscriptions2
  • 6 Months Premium7 Days trial$0.996 Months
  • Yearly Premium7 Days trial$1.491 Year
One-time2
  • Upgrade to Ad-Free AroundMe$2.99
  • Premium Lifetime$9.99
8 purchases

SpareRoom US

One-time8
  • Boost$9.99
  • 7-Day Upgrade2 variants$12.99
  • 1-Week Upgrade2 variants$15.00
Show 5 more
  • Verification$15.00
  • 14-Day Upgrade2 variants$23.99
  • 30-Day Upgrade$25.99
  • 30 days Bold Advertising$25.99
  • 4-Week Upgrade2 variants$30.00

Questions

Is AroundMe free?
AroundMe is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SpareRoom US free?
SpareRoom US is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, AroundMe or SpareRoom US?
AroundMe is rated higher. AroundMe averages 4.6 out of 5 from 24K ratings, while SpareRoom US averages 4.6 from 5.9K ratings.
Do AroundMe or SpareRoom US have ads?
AroundMe shows ads; SpareRoom US does not.
Which is updated more often, AroundMe or SpareRoom US?
AroundMe ships an update every 6 weeks, and SpareRoom US every 3 weeks. Most recently, AroundMe was updated on October 29, 2026 and SpareRoom US on October 29, 2026.

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