Looking for a place is free. You only pay when you list a spot or close a sublease — and you see the number before you commit. Pick your role to see exactly what you'd pay and when.
Looking for a place to live.
Browse, message & apply
$0
Free for renters
Search the map, save listings, message listers, and apply with your renter profile — all free for active students. Renters don’t pay Student Spots to find or sign for a place.
Free
Optional background / credit screening
$25–$45
typical
Only if you choose to run it
If a lister asks for a third-party background or credit check, those provider fees are passed through at cost and shown before you authorize. Student Spots doesn't run these checks itself.
When you're charged
Nothing until there's a deal.
Every fee lands at a clear moment. Looking, talking, and paying rent cost you nothing on the platform — money only changes hands when a listing publishes or an agreement signs.
Browse & search
Free
Message & apply
Free
Publish a listing
$49.95–$99
Sign the agreement
$300 / 5%
Move in & pay rent
No platform cut
Every fee, in one place
The whole picture.
No hidden line items. Here's every charge on the platform, who it applies to, and exactly when it happens.
Fee
Who pays
Amount
When
Browse, message & apply
Renter
$0
Free for renters
First listing
Sublessor
$49.95
At publish (first listing only)
Listing fee
Sublessor
$99
At publish, per listing
Sublease completion fee
Sublessor
$300
When the agreement signs
Optional 3rd-party screening
Renter (optional)
$25–$45
Only if you run it
Monthly rent
Everyone
No platform cut
Flows directly between parties
No security deposits, no rent skim. Student Spots never holds your security deposit — that stays between you and the other party, per your lease. Monthly rent flows directly between renter and host; we don't take a cut of it.
Pricing questions
The money questions, answered.
No. Browsing the map, saving listings, messaging listers, and applying with your renter profile are all free for active students. You'd only pay if you go on to list a spot yourself or close a sublease as the sublessor.
The listing fee is charged at the moment you publish a listing — $49.95 for your first listing, then $99 per listing after that. Drafting a listing is free; nothing is charged until you hit publish.
The $300 sublease completion fee only triggers when all parties have e-signed the agreement. If you don't find a subtenant, or the deal falls through before signing, the fee doesn't apply. The only thing you'd have paid is the listing fee at publish.
No. After an agreement is in place, monthly rent flows directly between the parties named on the lease — usually renter to host, or subtenant to sublessor. Student Spots takes no cut of ongoing rent.
No. Student Spots doesn't collect, hold, or transfer security deposits. Massachusetts has strict deposit-handling rules, so any deposit arrangement stays directly between you and the other party, exactly as your lease describes.
If a third-party background or credit check is requested, those provider fees (typically $25–$45) are passed through at cost and shown to you before you authorize anything. Student Spots doesn't run background, credit, or criminal checks itself.
Free to look. Fair when it works.
Browsing and applying are free for renters. List a spot or close a sublease and you'll know the cost up front — no monthly rent skim, no surprises.
