The 9 best websites to find & post apartments for rent in Calgary

Calgary has become one of Canada’s most attractive rental destinations, emerging as a cheaper alternative to major markets like Vancouver and Toronto with plenty of appeal of its own. Thankfully, there are a number of digital rental platforms available to help both renters and landlords navigate the increasingly competitive rental market with ease. Here, liv.rent will cover some of the best websites to find apartments for rent in Calgary, as well as where landlords can post apartments to find qualified, trustworthy tenants quickly & easily.

What renters should look for in a rental platform

When choosing where to look for a place to rent, renters should take into account the following factors:

• Verified landlords & listings – Rental scams are a common sight in the current market, and it’s important for renters to be able to distinguish real listings from fake ones meant to swindle them out of their hard-earned money. The safest way to go about this is to choose a rental platform with multi-layered, manual verification protocols that can reliably spot and block suspicious listings and user profiles.
• Customizable search filters – Looking for listings can be a lot of work without the right tools. To save you time in your search, opt for a rental website with lots of options for searching, such as number of bedrooms & bathrooms, pet policy, contract duration, and included amenities to streamline your quest for the perfect place.
• Security features – Renters are required to submit a variety of personal and financial information throughout the rental process, and it’s important that you’re sure where this information is going and how it’s being used. Ideally, choose a rental platform with a clear privacy policy that won’t sell your data.

What landlords should look for in a rental platform

• Tenant screening features – Protecting your property investment should be a priority for every landlord. The wrong tenants can cost you thousands of dollars in damages and missed rent payments, so it’s important to utilize a tenant screening tool like the Trust Score that goes beyond a credit check, giving you a complete picture of tenants’ reliability.
• All-in-one tools – Today’s landlords live busy lives, and deserve a rental platform that can keep up, helping them save time at every stage of the rental process. While listing sites are great for sharing your listing to in order to expand its reach, landlords can make their leaves easier with a platform that supports listing, leasing, and signing contracts & receiving rent payments in one place.
• Flexible pricing plans – Some Canadian rental platforms charge a listing fee or a percentage charge for ongoing use of their services. Especially if you’re just getting started as a landlord, you’ll want to keep as much of your profits as possible with free listings and optional pay-per-use features to give you greater flexibility.

How to find apartments for rent in Calgary

The process for finding apartments for rent in Calgary is very similar to renting elsewhere in Canada, for the most part. While it’s not uncommon for renters to walk around neighbourhoods they’re interested in looking for vacancy signs, most people have switched to online methods to save themselves the legwork. The majority of landlords have also switched to posting their listings online, making it easier than ever to rent your perfect home almost entirely digitally.

For renters, this means that your first priority should be deciding which rental website you’ll use to find apartments for rent in Calgary. Not all rental platforms are built equally, and where you look for listings will determine not just how much time and effort you put into the rental process, but also how safe & secure you are throughout your search.

To help renters find the best website for their needs, we’ve broken down some of Canada’s best and most popular rental platforms to give you a better sense of where you should begin your search for the perfect place.

The best rental platforms in Calgary

Here, we’ve compiled & ranked some of the most popular rental platforms available in Calgary, looking at the availability of key features for renters and landlords.

1. liv.rent

liv.rent is an all-in-one rental platform available in Alberta, B.C., Ontario, and Montreal that allows landlords and tenants to rent safely and securely thanks to an extensive verification process and features like verified landlords & listings and the Trust Score tenant screening tool, available on a pay-per-use basis for Essentials users and included in the platform’s Growth and Business plans. As you can see, liv.rent unsurprisingly ticks all of our boxes, and has a variety of features for every stage of the rental process, for both landlords & renters.

Renters

On liv.rent, tenants can easily search for rentals using a variety of filters and even a map view, then quickly message landlords for more information using built-in instant chat. From there, they can submit applications, book viewings and when it comes time, sign lease agreements and pay rent and security deposits through a variety of methods including credit card, UnionPay and even Bitcoin.

Landlords

For landlords, liv.rent provides pre-filled listing templates to help you create attractive, effective listing pages, including a newly added Smart Description feature which uses AI To write an engaging listing description for you, plus tools to allow for sharing to other platforms like Craigslist and Kijiji. Simply put, liv.rent is the best website to post a rental property for landlords.

For quick and effective tenant screening, liv.rent has refined and added to their innovative Trust Score feature, which gives landlords a comprehensive picture of a tenant’s suitability including a credit summary, a detailed risk assessment, income & employment verification, and more. All in all, this complete platform is the best way to advertise and manage your apartments for rent in Canada.

For landlords looking to further streamline their rental process and gain access to the same tools used by professional property managers, liv.rent’s new Growth plan is here to make renting even easier. The Growth plan is effectively an all-in-one property management software package, with all the tools you’ll need to digitize and streamline your rental process from start to finish. For just $48/month, this comprehensive plan includes:

• Unlimited lease protection addendums
• 2 Trust Score reports with credit check per month
• Automated rental advertising (2 per month)
• Shared management tools for up to 3 users

…plus everything in our Essentials plan.

2. Zumper

Like liv.rent, Zumper is an all-in-one rental platform that’s popular among renters and landlords across Canada. On top of a user-friendly layout, Zumper has features to help landlords and tenants streamline every stage of the rental process, including tenant screening and rent payment & collection.

Renters

For renters, Zumper is a convenient way to browse and apply for listings thanks to its visually appealing layout. With that being said, the site does lack the comprehensive security and verification features of other platforms like liv.rent, though it does allow for the entire rental process to be completed within the site and there are some measures in place to prevent against fake landlords and listings.

Landlords

Zumper also has a full 12/12 features, including digital contracts and rent payment and a variety of tools to help you create and share listings. The only area where the site falters is in its security protocols, which aren’t as in-depth as other platforms. As well, though it’s free to start, Zumper charges a fee for landlords or property managers who have more than 10 listings, which makes it a costly option for businesses. Still, this platform’s wide range of features put it in contention for the best rental websites in Vancouver.

3. Zillow

Zillow is primarily a platform for buying and selling real estate, but the site is also a popular place for renters & landlords, especially in metropolitan areas like Vancouver and Toronto. The platform has a variety of tools to simplify the lives of both landlords and renters, although it’s two shy of a perfect 12/12. Zillow is free to start for landlords but has ongoing weekly fees for additional listings, which means it can get expensive quickly if you have multiple properties to rent.

Renters

Zillow is fairly easy to browse thanks to a handy map view and a simple, easy-to-navigate layout. Renters can also request to book showings/submit applications directly from the listing page using pre-set forms. It’s also handy to be able to see exactly when listings were posted front and centre to save time applying to outdated posts.

Landlords

Zillow has a good range of descriptors and options for creating great-looking listings which include room for tons of photos as well as 3D tours. The site also provides a convenient neighbourhood map for all listings, in addition to an FAQ section that gives more information about the property and its location. Zillow has a number of convenient features for managing rentals as well, including rent payments and digital contracts, though it lacks some marketing and organizational tools.

4. Rentfaster

Rentfaster is one of the most widely used rental platforms in Alberta due to its variety of features and popularity among both renters and landlords. Primarily a listing platform, there are a few other features that take this popular option to the next level – such as the ability to send & receive messages directly on the platform, and built-in applications.

Renters

Renters will find plenty of listings to choose from on Rentfaster as it’s one of the city’s most popular listing sites. However, there are no clear verification processes in place, and the platform is also missing some helpful features like digital rent payments and secure, online contracts. With that said, renters will benefit from the handy map view and convenient applications that you can fill out once and use to apply for multiple listings.

Landlords

For landlords, Rentfaster is a great way to expand your audience of prospective tenants due to the sheer number of users on the popular site. Managing inquiries is also easy with a centralized inbox and applications within the platform, and Rentfaster also provides downloadable applications for you to use. The platform is more expensive than other options covered here, however, at a cost of $47.50 plus taxes for new listings.

5. Kijiji

Kijiji is a marketplace site that doubles as a popular place for landlords and renters to post and find rental listings. The platform offers a basic suite of listing features including plenty of fields and filters for filling out specific details and room for lots of photos.

Renters

Kijiji is a good basic option for browsing and applying for listings, though it lacks many features that renters may look for. The site does allow for messaging within the platform which makes for much easier communication. Unfortunately, Kijiji doesn’t have much in the way of security features and provides little protection against scams.

Landlords

For landlords, Kijiji is a perfectly suitable place to post your listings due to the site’s broad audience and high traffic, though that’s about all it offers. Unlike Craigslist, Kijiji does have a chat feature for easy communication, as well as a centralized inbox for easy lead management.

6. Rentals.ca

Rentals.ca is another popular place to find and rent apartments, houses and condos, and offers a user-friendly layout as well as excellent search capabilities and an interactive map.

Renters

Rentals.ca is a great option for renters primarily because of the number of listings available. Since it’s such a popular platform, there are plenty of rentals to choose from and the site makes it easy to navigate them thanks to a split-screen map/photo view and lots of different search filters.

Landlords

Rentals.ca allows landlords to post for free, and the site offers lots of ways to customize your listing and make it stand out, including a photo gallery and neighbourhood score. Because it’s a listing site, Rentals.ca doesn’t provide features for navigating the rental process beyond inquiries.

7. PadMapper

PadMapper is another popular option in Canada due to its easy-to-use map view for easy browsing, as well as a variety of built-in search features. The site is fairly bare-bones in terms of appearance and features, but works quite well and is simple to use for what it does.

Renters

PadMapper lets renters browse with ease thanks to an interactive map and various filters. As far as communications, PadMapper allows tenants to send messages with their phone number and email address to get in touch with landlords. The platform doesn’t mention any specific security or verification processes, though it does require a precise address in order to post a listing.

Landlords

PadMapper is a simple, effective way for landlords to get their listings posted quickly, though the site doesn’t offer support for much beyond inquiries. The site’s map view is extremely easy to navigate though, a feature which tenants still gravitate towards.

8. Facebook Marketplace/Groups

Facebook Groups and Marketplace are great ways to find apartments and houses for rent in Canada. Though renters and landlords should exercise caution when using the platform due to the potential for fraudulent posts and users, there are plenty of local, moderated groups that allow for easy browsing and the ability to get in touch over Facebook Messenger.

Renters

Facebook Marketplace is an extremely popular place for renters to browse apartments thanks to the volume of posts, though this is also its greatest downfall. Because Facebook has never claimed to be a rental platform, the site has few checks in place for screening out scams, although there are many moderated groups that provide a safer alternative.

Landlords

Landlords looking to reach a broad audience would do well to post their listing to Facebook due to the large number of renters browsing the platform. Though it doesn’t provide much in the way of additional features, it’s easy to get your listing posted and communicate through the built-in Messenger app.

9. Craigslist

If you’ve ever rented in Canada, you’re likely already familiar with Craigslist. The marketplace site has long been the go-to place to post and find rental listings, as well as a variety of other goods & services, due to its pared-down appeal and ease of use. Though it may come out on top in terms of the number of listings available, the site lacks many of the security features renters and landlords should look for in a rental platform.

Renters

Renters can easily browse the site using a good selection of filters. For applications, Craigslist lists landlords’ email addresses and/or phone numbers for renters to get in touch. Do use caution when applying to rentals on Craigslist though – since there’s little in the way of verification, it’s not uncommon to come across rental scams on the site.

Landlords

Craigslist does provide a basic listing template including room for plenty of photos. The site also allows for a map view of each property and provides ample room for a description, as well as pre-set options for details about the unit. Renters can easily browse for rentals using a good selection of filters. For applications, Craigslist lists landlords’ email addresses and/or phone numbers for renters to get in touch.

Renters: what is the best website to find apartments for rent in Calgary?

Rental scams have become an increasingly common sight in recent years, and Calgary’s competitive rental market is no exception. Especially for first-time renters, students, or those renting from abroad, using a rental website that safeguards you from the stress and financial burden of scams is crucial. Viewing listings in person is always a good way to make sure you’re not dealing with a scam, but a trusted rental platform can do this work for you and save you the guesswork.

Not only is liv.rent Canada’s safest rental platform because of our extensive verification measures, it’s also incredibly easy for renters to use thanks to time-saving features like listing alerts, tons of customizable search filters, and video tours to allow you to browse listings with ease. To make your applications even easier, you’ll only need to fill out your profile once and can then apply to multiple listings with just a few quick clicks.

Watch the video below for a step-by-step tutorial on getting started searching for listings on liv.rent.

Landlords: where should you post apartments for rent in Calgary?

As a landlord, your main focus should be creating a profitable rental business while also ensuring your property is protected from troublesome tenants who can lead to damage, complaints, missed payments, and other costly issues. While most landlords will already be familiar with popular websites like Craigslist and Kijiji, the rental scene has evolved with new, all-in-one options creating a far easier and safer way to rent in Canada..

For these reasons, landlords unsure of where to post their listing for rent should be sure to check out liv.rent. The Vancouver-based platform’s broad range of tenant screening, marketing and management features make it the best-in-class, while flexible pricing plans let both landlords and property managers find an option that works for them. As well, liv.rent has a detailed verification process for tenants including the revamped Trust Score, where you can view employment/income verification, credit checks, a detailed risk assessment, and more in an easy-to-understand format. Best of all? It’s completely free to post unlimited listings, as well as access many liv.rent features like rent collection and standard digital contracts.

If you’re searching for an easier way to list and manage your rentals, be sure to sign up for liv.rent today.

FAQ: The best websites to post & find apartments for rent in Calgary

Is it easy to rent an apartment in Calgary?

Whether or not it will be easy to find an apartment for rent in Calgary depends on an assortment of factors like your budget, how strict your preferences are, and the time of year you’re looking. Generally speaking, Calgary’s rental market has become more competitive in recent years, which has also led to the city’s rent prices increasing substantially.

Calgary is still a cheaper alternative to other major rental markets like Vancouver and Toronto, however, and with the right rental platform, renters shouldn’t have too much trouble finding a place to call home.

Why is Calgary's rent so high?

Apartments for rent in Calgary have become notably more expensive over the years due to factors such as increased interest and mortgage rates and their corresponding effect on rent prices in Vancouver and Toronto, in particular, which have caused many renters to move to cities like Calgary.

Is it expensive to rent in Calgary?

Compared to other major rental markets, apartments for rent in Calgary still have cheaper average rent prices than in some of Canada’s largest cities. Ultimately, the amount you’ll pay for rent depends on how much space you need, what kind of unit you’re looking to rent, the specific area, and the age of the unit.

For an up-to-date look at rent prices in Calgary, you can find our latest Calgary & Edmonton Rent Report here.

How much should you spend on rent in Calgary?

Again, this depends on many of the factors listed above.

To give renters an idea of how much they’ll be spending, the average monthly rent price for an unfurnished, one-bedroom unit in Calgary was $1,728 as of our September 2023 Rent Report.

What is the best place to rent in Calgary?

Both renters and landlords can benefit from liv.rent’s extensive safety measures and all-in-one features for posting & finding apartments for rent in Calgary. This post should provide an overview of the best places to look for rentals online for renters looking to compare their options.

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