Apartments.com
Multiple listing service (MLS) software
Real estate software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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What is Apartments.com
Apartments.com is an online apartment rental marketplace used to advertise and search for rental listings. Property managers and landlords use it to publish listings, manage leads, and promote availability across a large renter audience, while renters use it to discover properties and contact advertisers. The product operates as a consumer-facing listing network rather than a broker-to-broker MLS, with paid advertising and listing packages as core monetization.
Large renter-facing marketplace
Apartments.com is designed primarily for renter discovery, with search, filtering, and inquiry workflows optimized for consumer traffic. This can help property advertisers generate inbound leads without building their own demand channels. Compared with tools that focus on back-office operations, its core strength is distribution and visibility for rental listings.
Listing and lead workflows
The platform supports creating and publishing rental listings and receiving renter inquiries in a centralized workflow. Advertisers can track and respond to leads generated from listing views and contact actions. This is useful for small-to-mid sized property management teams that need a lightweight way to manage rental marketing activity.
Part of CoStar network
Apartments.com is owned by CoStar Group, which operates multiple real estate information and marketplace properties. This ownership can provide operational stability and integration opportunities across the broader CoStar ecosystem. For organizations already using CoStar products, this can simplify vendor management and data/advertising coordination.
Performance depends on market
Lead volume and quality can vary by geography, property type, and local renter demand. Advertisers may need to test paid packages and optimize listing content to achieve consistent results. This variability can make budgeting and ROI forecasting less predictable than systems used primarily for internal workflow automation.
Not an MLS system
Apartments.com is not a traditional MLS platform for broker cooperation, rules enforcement, and standardized listing data exchange. Organizations needing MLS governance features, IDX-style syndication controls, or broker-centric workflows typically require separate MLS software. As a result, it may not replace MLS infrastructure for associations or broker networks.
Limited property operations depth
The product focuses on marketing and lead capture rather than full property management operations such as accounting, maintenance, inspections, and resident lifecycle management. Teams looking for end-to-end operational control often need additional property management software. This can increase tool sprawl when Apartments.com is used as the primary marketing channel.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic (Free listing) | Free | 21 days of standard visibility; appear on 6 websites across the Apartments.com Network; standard-sized ad; free to list for landlords (for properties with 1–4 units). |
| Premium | Not publicly listed / varies (price displayed during upgrade; 30-day duration) | Up to 9x more search impressions and up to 3x more high-quality leads; larger/more prominent ad; upload up to 6 videos (1GB); visibility across 6-network sites; Premium duration is 30 days. Pricing varies by property type and is shown in the account when upgrading. |
| MLS Feed (MLS/IDX/API/RETS/XML) | Free | Apartments.com accepts data feeds from MLSs at no cost and does not charge for leads; supports API, RETS, IDX, and XML. |
| Rental Manager tools (listings, tenant screening, online rent collection, leases, maintenance, rent comps) | Free to use for owners/managers | Online rent collection (ACH) available free; Express Pay (faster payouts) advertised as free; Rental Tools bundle enables screening, leases, rent collection, and rental comps. Note: Applicants pay $29.00 + tax for application/screening reports; renters paying by credit/debit card incur a 2.75% fee. |
Seller details
CoStar Group, Inc.
Arlington, VA, USA
1987
Public
https://www.costargroup.com/
https://x.com/CoStarGroup
https://www.linkedin.com/company/costar-group/
