The quick verdict
Both platforms are dedicated to roommate finding. Here's the honest split.
Choose CoHabby if you...
- Want a compatibility score before you message anyone
- Are searching for a roommate in a major US metro
- Don't want to pay a weekly fee just to send messages
- Care about sleep, cleanliness, guests, and noise fit, not just keywords
- Want your contact info kept private with in-app-only chat
Stick with Roomster if you...
- Are searching internationally — Roomster operates in 192 countries
- Need a platform in one of 18 supported languages
- Want the largest raw volume of listings worldwide
- Are comfortable paying $14.99/week or $23.99–$29.99/month to message
How we compared these platforms
We compared CoHabby and Roomster on compatibility matching, pricing for seekers and listers, verification, safety record, messaging model, and user sentiment. CoHabby is our product. We'll be transparent about that bias and honest about where Roomster is genuinely strong: coverage, volume, and language support.
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Feature | CoHabby | Roomster |
|---|---|---|
| Compatibility matching | Synergy Score across 40+ living dimensions | None — keyword and interest filters only |
| Cost for seekers | Free — unlimited messaging, no paywall | ~$14.99/week or $23.99–$29.99/month to view and send messages |
| Cost for listers | $2.99/mo single plan | Same subscription applies to message |
| Verification | Complete profile + photo required before messaging | Free ID/social verification, optional |
| Contact privacy | In-app-only chat; contact info stays private | In-app chat behind paywall |
| Coverage | Major US metros | 192 countries, 18 languages |
| Listing volume | Newer platform, growing | 10M+ downloads worldwide |
| Regulatory history | None | $36.2M FTC judgment in 2022 (fake reviews, fake listings) |
| User sentiment | New platform, growing | Reviews through 2025 report bots/spam and cancellation difficulties |
| Platforms | iOS + Android + Web | iOS + Android + Web |
| Best for | US roommate matching by lifestyle compatibility | International searches, high-volume browsing |
The real story: Roomster's paywall, its record, and what's missing
Credit where it's due. Roomster was founded in 2003 in New York City, well before most roommate apps existed, and it has built the widest footprint in the category: more than 10 million downloads, operations in 192 countries, and support for 18 languages. If you're moving to Lisbon or Buenos Aires and need a room, Roomster may be one of the few dedicated platforms that actually has inventory there. Its free ID and social verification is also a genuine safety feature that some competitors skip.
The friction starts when you try to talk to someone. Roomster is free to download and browse, but viewing and sending messages requires a paid subscription: roughly $14.99 per week, or $23.99 to $29.99 per month depending on the plan. Both sides of a potential match face that wall. For a seeker comparing a handful of rooms, a week of access costs more than most streaming services cost per month, and for listers it means many interested people simply never reach you.
The FTC judgment, on the record
This part is public record, and it's worth stating plainly. According to an FTC press release from 2022, the FTC and six states obtained a $36.2 million judgment against Roomster and its owners for buying tens of thousands of fake reviews and taking fees from users based on fake listings. We're not going to editorialize beyond the record: the case happened, the judgment was entered, and anyone deciding whether to pay a weekly subscription deserves to know about it. App-store reviews through 2025 also report bot and spam accounts as well as difficulties canceling subscriptions. Weigh that history alongside Roomster's real strengths in coverage and volume.
No habit-based compatibility scoring
Roomster's search works on keywords and interests. You can filter, you can read profiles, and you can make your own judgment. What it doesn't do is score how two people will actually live together. There's no assessment of sleep schedules, cleanliness standards, guest policies, noise tolerance, cooking habits, pets, or work-from-home routines. For a decision as consequential as who you share a lease with, keyword filtering leaves the hardest question — will we get along at 7am on a Tuesday? — entirely up to guesswork. Our compatibility quiz exists because that question is answerable with data.
What using CoHabby looks like
You create a profile and answer questions across 40+ living dimensions. Every potential match gets a numerical Synergy Score, so you can see lifestyle fit before either of you sends a message. Messaging is free and unlimited for seekers — there is no paywall, ever. Everyone you talk to has a complete profile with a photo, because that's required before messaging unlocks, and all chat stays in-app so your phone number and email remain private. Listing a room costs $2.99 per month on a single plan. CoHabby is on iOS, Android, and the web.
The numbers that matter
A month of Roomster access runs $23.99 to $29.99 — roughly eight to ten times CoHabby's $2.99 lister plan, and infinitely more than CoHabby's seeker price of zero. If your search stretches past a few weeks, which most roommate searches do, the gap compounds. And none of Roomster's pricing buys you compatibility data; it buys the ability to send a message.
What Roomster users say
"Downloaded it free, found three rooms I liked, then hit the wall: pay to message. Weekly pricing for a roommate search felt steep, so I bailed."Seeker, US-based, app-store review (paraphrased)
"Plenty of listings in my city, I'll give it that. But half the messages I got read like bots, and canceling the subscription took more effort than signing up."Lister, app-store review (paraphrased)
"I used it moving between countries and it was honestly the only roommate app that worked in both places. Just wish messaging didn't cost so much."International seeker, app-store review (paraphrased)
The pattern in reviews through 2025 is consistent: users credit Roomster's coverage and volume, and their complaints cluster around the messaging paywall, bot and spam accounts, and subscription-cancellation difficulties. Those are the exact friction points a compatibility-first, free-for-seekers model is designed to remove.
Who CoHabby is built for
CoHabby is built for people who want to choose a roommate based on how they actually live — sleep, cleanliness, guests, noise, cooking, pets, work-from-home — rather than on keywords and gut feel. It's built for the US market.
CoHabby works well for:
- Roommate seekers who want to message freely without a weekly subscription
- People burned by low-quality leads elsewhere who want every contact to have a complete, photo-verified profile
- Anyone who values privacy — in-app-only chat keeps your phone number and email out of strangers' hands
- Homeowners and small listers who want compatibility-sorted applicants for $2.99 per month
- People relocating within the US who want lifestyle-fit data before committing to a lease (see our guide to a safe roommate search)
Honest caveat: CoHabby might not be for you if...
- You're searching outside the US — Roomster's 192-country coverage is unmatched
- You need a platform in a language other than English
- You're in a city CoHabby doesn't cover yet
About CoHabby
CoHabby is a compatibility-first roommate finder app available on iOS, Android, and the web. Founded by CJ Emerson and Fatine Bouanane, CoHabby matches people across 40+ living dimensions covering sleep schedules, cleanliness standards, noise tolerance, guest preferences, cooking habits, pets, and work-from-home routines. Each match includes a Synergy Score that predicts how well two people will coexist as housemates.
CoHabby is free for anyone looking for a roommate or a room, with unlimited messaging. People listing rooms pay a single plan at $2.99 per month. The platform currently covers major US metro areas including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Austin, Miami, and more.