Comparison

SpareRoom vs Freecycle

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

Head to head
About

SpareRoom

Find your ideal room or flatmate with the UK's leading platform. Browse thousands of listings across the UK, connect with potential housemates, and secure your perfect living situation on the go.

Highlights
  • Room and roommate search
  • Thousands of UK listings
  • On-the-go access
  • User support
  • Connect with housemates
Features
Read full description

As the UK’s number 1 flatshare site, we’ve helped over 13,000,000 people to find their perfect room or roommate. With our apps, you can do it all while on-the-go. Repeatedly featured by Apple as App Of The Day and in the categories of Your New Home, Apps for the Weekend, What’s Hot, and Popular Apps and Games. Rated by The Sunday Times as one of the top apps on the App Store. SUITABLE FOR EVERYONE Whether you’re starting university, relocating to the UK, tired of living alone, weighing up what to do with an empty room, or, quite simply, searching for another flatmate or flatshare, we’re the service for you. UNRIVALLED CHOICE With thousands of flatsharing opportunities to choose from in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and right across the UK, you’ll be able to find your perfect flatmate or flatshare. OUR PHILOSOPHY Experience has taught us that flatsharing 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 flatmate 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.co.uk) or phone (1 877 834 2909).

About

Freecycle

Connect with your local community to give away and receive unwanted items for free. This app provides access to posts from Freecycle.org, promoting reuse and reducing landfill waste.

Highlights
  • Access Freecycle.org posts
  • Give away items for free
  • Receive free items locally
  • Largest gifting and reuse community
  • Moderated local communities
  • Keep items out of landfills
Features
Read full description

–This is the only app that gives you access to Freecycle.org® posts!-- Give and get free stuff in your own local community with Freecycle. We are the largest gifting and re-use community on the planet with more than 10 million members in some 5,000 communities in over 100 countries. The Freecycle Network™ is a grassroots & entirely nonprofit movement of people. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Membership is free and each Town is moderated by local volunteers to keep things spam/scam free and family friendly.

Screenshots

SpareRoom4 screens
Freecycle4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: SpareRoom at 49% against Freecycle's 0%. SpareRoom also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (4.2K vs 2). Freecycle's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 13) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. SpareRoom sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Freecycle asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Freecycle holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SpareRoom has 4.2K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 49% of SpareRoom's written reviews are positive against 0% of Freecycle's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SpareRoom ships an update fortnightly, Freecycle every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
SpareRoom versus Freecycle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpareRoomFreecycle
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (4.2K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews48.7% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings4.2K — better2
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB111 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperFlatshare LtdFreecycle Network

Customer experience

SpareRoom

All ratings4,153 ratings
Positive92.2%
Neutral3.4%
Negative4.4%
Written reviews396 reviews
Positive48.7%
Neutral13.4%
Negative37.9%

Freecycle

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

SpareRoom

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes and sign-outs
  • Inconsistent behavior between app and website
  • Issues with updating and editing listings

Requested features

4 requests
  • Better messaging/communication tools
  • More advanced search and filtering options
  • Improved verification of listings and users
  • Feedback/review system for landlords/tenants

Freecycle

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

SpareRoom

One-time9
  • Boost$9.99
  • 7-Day Upgrade2 variants$12.99
  • 1-Week Upgrade2 variants$15.00
Show 6 more
  • Verification$15.00
  • 30-Day Upgrade$15.49
  • 14-Day Upgrade$23.99
  • 2-Week Upgrade$25.00
  • 30-Day Upgrade2 variants$25.99
  • 4-Week Upgrade2 variants$30.00
None

Freecycle

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SpareRoom free?
SpareRoom is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Freecycle free?
Freecycle is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SpareRoom or Freecycle?
Freecycle is rated higher. SpareRoom averages 4.7 out of 5 from 4.2K ratings, while Freecycle averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do SpareRoom or Freecycle have ads?
Freecycle shows ads; SpareRoom does not.
Which is updated more often, SpareRoom or Freecycle?
SpareRoom ships an update fortnightly, and Freecycle every 5 weeks. Most recently, SpareRoom was updated on October 24, 2026 and Freecycle on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons