Comparison

SpareRoom vs Dwellsy

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

Dwellsy

Discover rental properties from numerous sources in a single application. Access a vast database of over 15 million homes to simplify your search for the perfect place.

Highlights
  • Aggregated rental listings
  • Extensive property database
  • Simplified home search
  • All rentals in one place
Features
Read full description

All rentals, All in one place. You shouldn't have to search a jillion sites to find the right place for you. With over 15 million homes all in one place, you can rest assured you have seen it all. Renting with pets? Save your pets' profiles once and instantly see which homes welcome them. Every listing shows the pet policy upfront — no more digging. Find your fit faster with our redesigned filters: a fit score tailored to you, verified listings, a multi-range price slider, and smarter filters for pets, property type, and more. Dwellsy. Every rental. No noise.

Screenshots

SpareRoom4 screens
Dwellsy3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Dwellsy at none against SpareRoom's 13. SpareRoom's advantage is ratings volume (4.1K vs 8) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. Dwellsy asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SpareRoom holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SpareRoom has 4.1K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 48% of SpareRoom's written reviews are positive against 50% of Dwellsy's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
SpareRoom versus Dwellsy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpareRoomDwellsy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (4.1K ratings) — better4.5 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews48.1% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4.1K — better8
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB86 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFlatshare LtdDwellsy Inc

Customer experience

SpareRoom

All ratings4,146 ratings
Positive92.2%
Neutral3.4%
Negative4.4%
Written reviews385 reviews
Positive48.1%
Neutral13.8%
Negative38.2%

Dwellsy

All ratings8 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

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

Dwellsy

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

Dwellsy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SpareRoom free?
SpareRoom is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dwellsy free?
Dwellsy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SpareRoom or Dwellsy?
SpareRoom is rated higher. SpareRoom averages 4.7 out of 5 from 4.1K ratings, while Dwellsy averages 4.5 from 8 ratings.
Do SpareRoom or Dwellsy have ads?
Neither SpareRoom nor Dwellsy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SpareRoom or Dwellsy?
SpareRoom ships an update fortnightly, and Dwellsy fortnightly. Most recently, SpareRoom was updated on September 25, 2026 and Dwellsy on September 9, 2026.

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