The best rental apps in London, honestly.
We make one of these, so read this with that in mind. We've tried to write the page we wanted when we were searching: what each one is actually for, and when ours is the wrong answer.
Updated 28 July 2026
Most people need two things, not one.
A directory to browse what exists, which is Rightmove or Zoopla, and they're free. And something that watches while you get on with your life, because the good flats don't wait for you to check again. Those are different jobs, and almost every honest answer to "which app" is really "which two".
If you want a room rather than a flat, stop reading and go to SpareRoom. If you want to skip agents entirely, start at OpenRent. Neither of those is a job Roost does.
They’re not really competing.
Everyone calls these alternatives to each other. They mostly aren't. They're different tools that happen to contain flats.
Roost
A monitor, not a directory. It watches London's agents and tells you when something fits.
Best at
Being early, and deciding with someone else. It scores every new listing against your taste, alerts you when one matches, and keeps one shared shortlist with votes and comments so you're not re-litigating a flat you ruled out three weeks ago.
Where it stops
It's iOS-only, London-only, and £2.99 a week. It doesn't do rooms or flatshares. And if you're browsing casually rather than actually searching, a free portal is the better answer, and we'd rather you didn't pay us.
Rightmove
The biggest portal in the country, and the default first stop.
Best at
Seeing more or less everything an agent is marketing, in one place.
Where it stops
It is a directory. You do the searching, the checking and the remembering, and everyone else is looking at the same page at the same time.
Zoopla
The other big portal, with better area data and price history.
Best at
Research: what an area costs, what a place sold for, what changed.
Where it stops
Same shape of problem as any portal: it lists, you chase.
OpenRent
Lettings direct from landlords, without an agent in the middle.
Best at
Going direct to landlords. That is what it is best at, and it often means lower fees and a faster reply.
Where it stops
Smaller pool, and it only shows you OpenRent’s own stock, so it can’t be your only tab.
SpareRoom
Rooms and flatshares, not whole properties.
Best at
Finding a room, or finding people to live with. Nothing else comes close.
Where it stops
If you want a whole flat to yourself or with a partner, it is the wrong tool.
OnTheMarket
A third portal, agent-owned, that often gets listings early.
Best at
Early access. Agents frequently post here before the bigger portals, so it is a good extra net if you are watching a patch closely.
Where it stops
Smaller than the big two, so it is an addition rather than a replacement.
Gumtree
Old-school classifieds, where a handful of London lettings still turn up, often from smaller landlords.
Best at
The occasional place that never reaches a portal, usually direct from a landlord and free of agent fees.
Where it stops
It is unmoderated and thin, and scam listings are common. Treat a price that looks too good as a warning, and never send money before you have viewed in person.
Facebook Marketplace
Rooms and flats posted on Marketplace and in local London housing groups.
Best at
Flatshares and word-of-mouth finds, and sometimes hearing about a place in a group before it turns up anywhere formal.
Where it stops
There is no verification, and deposit scams are widespread. Assume nothing until you have viewed the place and met whoever actually holds the keys.
The same two-bed is £2,200 in one borough and £3,350 in another.
Across 27,135 London listings first seen 8 March to 5 September 2026, the median rent was £2,500 a month, with the middle half of the market spread from £1,950 to £3,300.
That spread is the entire argument for a monitor over a directory. Not that portals are bad, since they're free and comprehensive, but a search that returns everything inside your budget returns hundreds of homes, and the work is not finding them. It is working out which of them is worth your evening.
Since 1 May 2026 you can't be outbid on a rental: the Renters' Rights Act banned offers above the asking rent. Which makes being first to enquire matter more than it used to, not less.
See the full London numbersWe make Roost, so we're not a neutral party and we won't pretend to be. What we've tried to avoid is the usual trick of this genre, inventing weaknesses for everyone else so ours looks inevitable.
So: we haven't quoted competitors' listing counts, prices or features, because those change and we'd rather not publish a number about someone else's product that we can't stand behind. Check them yourself. The market data is our own, from our own pipeline, and the method is written up in full on the London page.
Roost isn't a portal replacement and doesn't try to be. Most people we know use both.
Asked every time someone starts searching.
What is the best app for finding a flat to rent in London?
It depends what you need. Rightmove and Zoopla are the biggest directories and are the right place to browse what exists. OpenRent is best for renting directly from a landlord without agent fees. SpareRoom is the right answer for a room or a flatshare, and the wrong one for a whole flat. Roost is a monitor rather than a directory: it watches London listings continuously and alerts you when one matches what you want, so you are not the one refreshing a search page. Most people searching seriously end up using a portal to browse and something like Roost to do the watching.
Is Roost a replacement for Rightmove or Zoopla?
No. Rightmove and Zoopla are directories you search. Roost is a radar that watches for you and tells you when something matching appears, and it gives couples and flatmates one shared shortlist to decide on. If you enjoy browsing and are not in a hurry, a portal alone is fine and free. Roost is £2.99 a week and earns that only if being organised matters to your search.
How fast do London rentals get taken?
We time listings from the day we first see them to the day they leave the market, and publish a figure only once the sample supports one.
Can you still get outbid on a London rental?
No. Since 1 May 2026 the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 has made it unlawful for a landlord or agent in England to invite, encourage or accept an offer above the published asking rent. Bidding wars on rentals are banned. Being early still matters, because being first to enquire and first to view is now what decides it.
Is there a good property app for renting a house in London?
Houses work the same way as flats. Rightmove and Zoopla, the two big property apps, list houses and flats side by side, and OpenRent is the one to check for a house let directly by its landlord. Houses come up less often than flats in London, so a monitor like Roost, which watches for a match and tells you the moment a house appears, is worth having next to a portal rather than instead of one.
Know where you’re looking?
Whichever apps you settle on, it helps to know what your borough actually costs before you start enquiring. We publish a data page for every borough we track.