Best Free Utility Apps on Mobile, Ranked
Google Translate is the best free utility app: it translates text, speech and camera images, works offline once you download a language, and has no ad
Editorial Team · 2026-10-11
Best Apps to Rent or Buy a Home in the US, Ranked
By Editorial Team · published 2026-10-11 · updated 2026-10-11
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Zillow is the best app to rent or buy a home in the US: it covers sales and rentals in one free search, publishes how accurate its Zestimate is, and lets one $35 application cover a month of rentals. We ranked the real estate and rental apps in our catalogue on who receives your enquiry, how good the price estimate is, and what applying costs. Homes.com is the pick for reaching the listing agent directly. Prices and fees are as of October 2026.
How we picked
Home search apps in the US mostly show the same listings, so the differences that matter are elsewhere: who receives your enquiry, how good the price estimate is, and what applying for a rental costs. We ranked the real estate and rental apps in our catalogue on those three things, plus how reliably each app runs. Prices and fees are as of October 2026 and come from each company's own pages and store listings.
A warning that applies to most of them: tapping Contact or Request a tour usually sends your name and number to an agent or landlord who paid for it. Only one app here promises otherwise.
1. Zillow — the biggest search, with an estimate you can check
Zillow wins because it covers both buying and renting in one free app and publishes how accurate its Zestimate is. As of September 2026, the estimate missed the sale price of listed homes by a median 1.79%; for homes not on the market the miss is 7.20%, so treat it as a starting point for your own house: only 61.81% of off-market estimates land within 10% of the eventual price.
For renters, one $35 application works across participating rentals for 30 days, which saves money when you apply to several places. It bundles an eviction and criminal search with a credit report, though only about a third of rental listings accepted it in 2024. Tour requests usually go to Premier Agent partners, who pay Zillow an average of $223 per connection in major metros, so expect a call; you can choose to contact the listing agent instead where the listing offers it.
Since June 2026 a Plan tab turns your answer to one question, buying, selling or browsing, into milestones from budget to closing, and an AI mode in beta compares homes in chat. Our score: 7.3.
2. Homes.com — your message reaches the listing agent
Homes.com is the app that keeps its contact promise. Under its Your Listing, Your Lead policy, an enquiry goes to the listing agent rather than to an agent who bought the lead. It is free, shows no ads, and listings are unusually deep, with four valuation models, bylined neighbourhood guides and Matterport tours.
Android is the weak spot: summer 2026 reviews describe photos and 3D tours failing to load. CoStar Group, its owner, also sells data. Our score: 7.1.
3. Redfin — MLS data and a 1.5% listing fee
Redfin is run by a licensed brokerage, so its listings come straight from MLS feeds, with more than 40 filters, hand-drawn boundaries and commute search, and its Estimate publishes a 1.88% median error on listed homes and 7.37% off the market. On a $400,000 house, that is about $7,500 for a listed home and nearly $30,000 for one not for sale. If you sell through its agents, the listing fee is 1.5%.
The app makes money when you buy or sell through Redfin or borrow from Rocket Mortgage, a sister company, so tour requests bring agent calls and loan offers. Recent reviews describe ignored filters and freezes. Our score: 7.0.
4. Apartments.com — the full rent before you apply
Apartments.com is the rental search that shows the real monthly cost early: prices per unit, a Total Monthly Price badge that six states require, and a move-in cost calculator. Since August 2026 it also covers Canada.
Searching and tours are free. Applying costs $32 plus tax for ten applications over 30 days, per adult, and paying rent by card adds a 2.75% fee. Reviewers say many tasks still open in a browser. Our score: 6.9.
5. Realtor.com — a second MLS window
Realtor.com draws on direct feeds from more than 800 MLSs, refreshed every 15 minutes by the company's account, and since September 2026 it also shows Zillow's pre-market Preview listings. FlyAround and natural-language search make it a good second window beside Zillow.
After a summer 2026 redesign, 83 of the 199 newest Google Play reviews give one or two stars over sorting and map bugs, and the Contact agent button feeds paid lead products. Our score: 6.7.
6. Rent. — a tidy search over Zillow's feed
Rent. is free and well organised, with Walk Score cards, floor-plan tabs and resident ratings. Since June 2025, Zillow supplies every listing for buildings with 25 or more units, so it is best used to cross-check Zillow rather than to find different homes.
Calls run through recorded tracking numbers, and applications on small-landlord listings cost $45 to $55. Our score: 6.8.
7. Apartment List — a quiz that over-shoots your budget
Apartment List turns a five-minute quiz about budget, size, commute and amenities into a sorted shortlist, which helps when moving to an unfamiliar city. It is free, because properties pay when a renter it found signs a lease.
Matches deliberately run above the budget you enter, and liking a listing, requesting a tour or watching a virtual tour sends your contact details to that property. Our score: 6.1.
After you move: hiring help
Thumbtack finds local pros across more than 500 categories at no cost to you, since pros pay per lead; every account owner passes a criminal background check, and its Guarantee covers up to $100,000 for property damage. Taskrabbit is the quicker route for furniture assembly and TV mounting, with fixed IKEA assembly prices, though two percentage fees are added to each hour and 139 of its 150 newest Play reviews give one or two stars.
Bottom line
Search on Zillow first: it has the widest coverage, and one $35 application covers a month of rental hunting. When you find a home, contact the listing agent through Homes.com so your message is not sold as a lead. Sellers should compare Redfin's 1.5% fee with a traditional agent, and renters should check the full monthly cost on Apartments.com before applying.
