Comparison

SpareRoom vs Trash Nothing + 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

Trash Nothing + Freecycle

Easily give away unwanted items or find freebies in your local community. Connect with others to share reusable goods like books, clothes, and furniture. Everything is free with no strings attached.

Highlights
  • Give away unwanted items
  • Find free items locally
  • Connect with community members
  • Post items for giveaway
  • Request items you need
  • Browse various item categories
Features
Read full description

Give & get free stuff in your local Freecycle, Freegle and Full Circles groups. With Trash Nothing, it's easy to give away your unwanted but reusable items to people in your local community and find freebies that other people are giving away. Everything is always free with no strings attached. Freecycling works through local, volunteer run communities and not every city or town has an active community yet. The most active communities have members like you who help grow their community by telling their friends and family. Here a just a few of the things you can find (& give away) for free: books clothes furniture games electronics appliances tools building materials & much more! It's easy to use, simply post what you have to give away and request things that you want and other members of the community will contact you if they can help.

Screenshots

SpareRoom4 screens
Trash Nothing + Freecycle4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SpareRoom at 4.7 against Trash Nothing + Freecycle's 3.3. SpareRoom also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). Trash Nothing + Freecycle's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 13) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, review sentiment, monetization model and device support 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. Trash Nothing + Freecycle asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SpareRoom holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SpareRoom has 4.2K ratings behind it against 105, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 49% of SpareRoom's written reviews are positive against 41% of Trash Nothing + Freecycle's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SpareRoom ships an update fortnightly, Trash Nothing + Freecycle every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
SpareRoom versus Trash Nothing + Freecycle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpareRoomTrash Nothing + Freecycle
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (4.2K ratings) — better3.3 (105 ratings)
Positive reviews48.7% of reviews — better40.7% of reviews
Number of ratings4.2K — better105
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB42 MB
Age rating+412+
DeveloperFlatshare LtdAndrew Trusty

Customer experience

SpareRoom

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

Trash Nothing + Freecycle

All ratings105 ratings
Positive53.3%
Neutral13.3%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews135 reviews
Positive40.7%
Neutral8.1%
Negative51.1%

User reviews

SpareRoom

From 4.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Great for finding rooms/flatmates
  • 💡 Useful features like filters
  • 🌟 Positive overall experience

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches
  • 💰 Expensive paid features
  • 🤖 Fake/unresponsive listings
  • 🚫 Discrimination in listings

Trash Nothing + Freecycle

From 105 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Convenient and easy to use
  • ♻️ Great way to extend life of unwanted items
  • 👍 Friendly community
  • 💡 Useful app concept

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy app with crashes and glitches
  • 🤖 Not affiliated with Freecycle.org
  • 🤔 Lack of user accountability and courtesy
  • 🤷‍♀️ Limited activity in some areas
  • 📤 Difficulty managing messages and promises

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

Trash Nothing + Freecycle

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login and account creation issues
  • Disappearing text input fields
  • Inconsistent syncing of posts across platforms
  • Unreliable push notifications

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to block/filter users
  • Better messaging and notification system
  • Improved integration with local Freecycle groups
  • Rating system for users

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

Trash Nothing + Freecycle

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SpareRoom free?
SpareRoom is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Trash Nothing + Freecycle free?
Trash Nothing + Freecycle is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SpareRoom or Trash Nothing + Freecycle?
SpareRoom is rated higher. SpareRoom averages 4.7 out of 5 from 4.2K ratings, while Trash Nothing + Freecycle averages 3.3 from 105 ratings.
Do SpareRoom or Trash Nothing + Freecycle have ads?
Trash Nothing + Freecycle shows ads; SpareRoom does not.
Which is updated more often, SpareRoom or Trash Nothing + Freecycle?
SpareRoom ships an update fortnightly, and Trash Nothing + Freecycle every 3 months. Most recently, SpareRoom was updated on November 1, 2026 and Trash Nothing + Freecycle on October 29, 2026.

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