SpareRoom vs Here! Students
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Room and roommate search
- Thousands of UK listings
- On-the-go access
- User support
- Connect with housemates
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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).
Here! Students
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The Here! Students app has everything you need to manage your stay in one convenient app. From the app, you can easily access everything from your contract, rent payment schedule, Energy Performance Certificates, How-to guides and other useful documents provided by Here! Students, all completely digital and paperless. You can also see the payment status of all your rent instalments, with useful reminders sent to you before each instalment is due. For questions, help and advice, live-chat lets you directly message the residence team. You can even report maintenance issues with photos and check on the status of those tickets. A News Feed and Events Calendar means you can find out about events in your residence and meet new friends, so you don’t miss out on anything. Features: - Real-time maintenance ticket notifications - Direct messaging with your residence team - Tenancy document hub - Meet other students in your residence - Discover popular events in your residence - View all your upcoming and past payments in one place
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Here! Students at none against SpareRoom's 13. SpareRoom's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months). On price, ads, 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
Both are free to download. SpareRoom sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Here! Students asks for nothing beyond the download.
SpareRoom ships an update fortnightly, Here! Students every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SpareRoom | Here! Students |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (4.2K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 48.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4.2K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 60 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | Flatshare Ltd | NOW STUDENT LIVING LIMITED |
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
Here! Students
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
SpareRoom
- Boost$9.99
- 7-Day Upgrade2 variants$12.99
- 1-Week Upgrade2 variants$15.00
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- 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
Here! Students
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is SpareRoom free?
Is Here! Students free?
Do SpareRoom or Here! Students have ads?
Which is updated more often, SpareRoom or Here! Students?
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