HotPads Rent Apartments
HotPads (Owned by ZillowGroup)
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4.6
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About This App

  • Category

    House & Home

  • Installs

    1M+

  • Content Rating

    Everyone

  • Developer Email

    hotpads_android_support@zillowgroup.com

  • Privacy Policy

    https://www.zillowgroup.com/zg-privacy-policy/

Screenshots
Editor Reviews

HotPads Rent Apartments is a rental listing app made by HotPads, which is owned by Zillow Group. It came out around 2007 and you can get it on both the App Store and Google Play. The app has millions of installs, and it's free to download. You do need to make an account to save searches and contact landlords, but browsing is open to anyone. There are no in app purchases, and ads are pretty light, mostly just featured listings.

Using HotPads is simple. You open the app, type in a city or neighborhood, and set your price range, number of bedrooms, and move in date. Then you just swipe through listings on a map or in a list. Tap any place to see photos, rent, pet rules, and a contact button. My tip: turn on notifications for new listings in your saved searches, because good rentals go fast. Also, always message through the app first and check the listing date, since old posts sometimes stay up. If you're touring, use the map view to group places by area so you don't waste a day driving around.

I've tried Zillow, Apartments.com, and Trulia too. Zillow is fine, but it's packed with agent spam and some listings are already gone. Apartments.com feels heavy and slow on older phones. Trulia has good neighborhood info, but the rental side isn't as deep. I stick with HotPads because the map search is clean, the filters actually work, and I see fewer fake or duplicate posts. It's not fancy, but for finding a rental fast, it does the job without annoying me. If you just want to search, save, and call, HotPads is the one I keep installed.

Features

  • 🔍 Map first search: HotPads puts the map right up front, so you can draw an area and only see rentals inside it. Zillow makes you dig through filters to get the same result.
  • 🏷️ Real price filters: You can set a max rent and hide places with hidden fees. Apartments.com often shows "call for price" listings that waste your time.
  • 🔔 Saved search alerts: New listings hit your phone fast. I found my last place within a day of it going up, before it showed on Trulia.
  • 🐾 Pet friendly tags: You can filter for cats, dogs, and even breed limits. That alone saved me hours compared to other rental apps.

Pros

  • ✅ Cleaner listings than Zillow: Fewer duplicates and stale posts, so I trust what I see.
  • ✅ Faster than Apartments.com: The app loads quick even on bad wifi, which matters when you're touring.
  • ✅ Better rental focus than Trulia: Trulia pushes home sales, but HotPads stays on rentals.
  • ✅ No paywall: Everything I need to search and contact is free, unlike some apps that lock features.

Cons

  • ❌ Fewer listings in small towns: In rural areas, Zillow and Apartments.com often have more places posted.
  • ❌ No virtual tours built in: Trulia and Zillow sometimes show 3D tours, but HotPads mostly has photos only.
  • ❌ Basic chat: The in app messaging is plain, and some landlords reply slow compared to Zillow's system.
  • ❌ Account needed to save: You can browse free, but saving searches requires signing up, which is a small hassle.

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