Will Craigslist Ever Come Back
Will Craigslist Personals Ever Come Back? | by Diane Baker
Back in the days people have used Craigslist personals quite a lot, many used it to find new dates, potential partners, friends and even one-night-stands. After Craigslist personals was taken down, many have tried to make petitions in order to help Craigslist personals coming back. People thought they could bring back craigslist personal section and there are even various forum posts and websites who worked on making it happen, sadly that is not possible. At the moment, it really does not look like Craigslist personals will ever come back, however, there are various Craigslist alternatives you can try if you want is it very unlikely for Craigslist personal section to ever come back? Maybe people are very upset and want to bring Craigslist personals back, however, that is impossible. If you take time to read through the law related to human trafficking and prostitution, you will notice that the law makes it all very clear enough. Basically, the owner of the website with such content can be held liable criminally in case they are openly allowing people to advertise their sex services for cash and other material rewards. The owners of the websites allowing this type of service promotions may face up to 25 years in prison if they refuse to listen to the law. While this might be bad news for people who actually provide others with sex services, it is also somewhat decent since it does prevent people from illegal actions such as human trafficking of underaged children (teenagers and children). Craigslist personals is not the only section/website that has been shut downYes, you may think only Craigslist personal section was involved in the entire story with FOSTA, however, that is not the case. FOSTA has managed to close many websites out there including Backpage as well. People are wondering whether President Trump even thought this law through before signing the bill. According to people who have used both the Craigslist personals section and Backpage, this law has put many people in rather dangerous places, especially sex workers who work where prostitution is completely legal. Many people used these websites simply to avoid dangerous situations in real life, being able to browse through and chat with people can often be a lot less dangerous than standing outside in the streets. However, the US law has been made clear and it was mainly done to prevent human trafficking of children for sexual acts, which to me, seems like a good reason enough.
10 Best Craigslist Personals Alternatives for Dating Casual …
A lot of people used Craigslist Personals as a tool to find people for casual encounters of any kind, but it has been shut down back in 2018. Before that, it was around for over 20 years, and the reason Craigslist shut it down is to help combat online sex trafficking, which is unfortunately present with practically every platform. Even though that’s the case, Craigslist wanted nothing to do with it, so the service has been shut down.
The masses of people who’ve been using it to find casual encounters needed new online spaces and a lot of them have migrated to the alternative websites and apps on this list. While on the subject of the list, we’ve assembled 10 of the absolute best replacements for Craigslist Personals, which you can check out if you’re looking to meet someone who shares your interest in a casual no-strings-attached hookup. So, whether you’re looking for a whole new experience when it comes to online dating or something that’ll be similar to the Craigslist version, read on; there’s a little something for everybody.
1. Ashley Madison – Alternative for Discreet Hookups
Thousands of people search for discreet hook-ups at Ashley Madison daily – those who are just looking to experiment, people in relationships, single people, and those who are simply curious. Ashley Madison is a casual dating site that gives its best effort to preserve your privacy.
This platform makes sure that you don’t link your dating profile to any other public social network you own. In fact, you can’t link it. Ashley Madison recommends that you make a separate, private email which you will use only for this site.
You can control who sees what, e. g. you can keep your photos private and share them only with members that you choose. When you get a “wink” or a “favorite” you can easily let that person know that you are willing to chat.
2. Craigslist Community – Good Alternative to Personals
Since a lot of people were so used to using Craigslist for finding short-term relationship, there have been a few attempts to utilize the remaining Craigslist postings to achieve a resurgence. However, it hasn’t been very successful, as most of the Craigslist Community postings prohibit any talk of sex. There are still people posting personal ads about “finding love” but nowhere near the capacity that Casual Encounters had.
It’s still possible, but not very likely. It doesn’t hurt to check it every once in a while, just to make sure you’re not missing out on something great.
That’s the best part, and one of the factors that made Casual Encounters so popular – it’s completely free. So, if you’re feeling lucky, or feeling nostalgic for the good old Cragslist hookups, check your local Craigslist Community notice boards for personal ads, and you might be pleasantly surprised.
3. Adult Friend Finder – World’s Largest Casual Hookup Site
As the name suggests, this is a dating site for adults to find casual hookups. When it comes to casual dating, there’s no wrong preference or sexual orientation.
Gay or straight, bisexual or pansexual, kinky or not, it doesn’t matter; everyone is accepted. Adult Friend Finder is a dating site for people who love hookups, flings, NSA dates, and so much more.
More importantly, it provides a safe community where everything goes, there’s no stigma or judgment, and all gloves are off. It’s essential to casual encounters as it can be tough and embarrassing to reach out to the world of unknown individuals and say that you’re just looking for a no-strings-attached hookup.
With Adult Friend Finder, you can exchange messages with other members, engage in private chats, talk about the things you love, have casual dates, start a NSA relationship, make friends, and so much more. If you’re into a casual hookup, there’s no better dating site for you than Adult Friend Finder.
4. Doublelist – Popular Alternative to Craigslist Personals
Doublelist, even if it’s not that old of a website, kicks it old school. It’s honestly the closest thing you could find to Craigslist Casual Encounters that are available on the internet. Of course, some other sites and apps deal with the same audience and goals, but none are so reminiscent of the Craigslist section from the past as much as Doublelist does. And to improve that even further, it has a huge number of registered users, millions to be more precise, who are pretty active in posting and communicating.
First things first, you’ll need a valid email address and phone number to register an account. There’s no going around this step; it’s absolutely necessary to provide that information to gain access to the website. If you don’t mind that, the process is otherwise very straightforward, and you can get it done in minutes. Once you do, you’ll gain access to viewing and responding to personal ads, as well as posting your own, albeit in a limited manner. The limitations are tied to the posting part, as you have a certain amount of posts and pictures you can upload daily.
5. Yumi – The Anonymous Hookup App
The first alternative app to Craigslist Personals on our list, Yumi is a step into the next generation of NSA hookups. A friendly user interface and easy account setup are just some of the things that have brought users into Yumi’s fold. The app picks out some random matches for you, which you can contact immediately, and set up a meeting if you hit it off. It’s a fairly simple concept, it’s entirely anonymous, and if you want to censor your pics so your face is not visible, the app has that feature built-in.
You also have the option to record your voice, or listen to the voices of your matches, which is a welcome feature when you’re dealing with an app that doesn’t require any information from its users, save for the location. You can get a bunch of contacts reasonably quickly, and from there on, it’s just a matter of time before you find somebody you click with and who shares your current interest in encountering casually.
6. Bedpage – Best Site Like Craigslist
Bedpage is another alternative website that can’t help but remind you of Craigslist in its early days. It can be a bit tough to navigate, but once you get the hang of it, you get access to viewing and responding to ads of various sorts. From job opportunities to offered services, and of course, “dating”. The dating section is actually meant for casual encounters, where people looking for one can post an ad to the board of the area they target. If you live in a populated area, be prepared to sift through a bunch of adverts to find what you’re looking for.
While on the subject of adverts, because the website is completely free and requires next to no registration, you’ll be finding a lot of ads for massages and similar services in the dating section. Pay them no mind (or money) and have the resolve to look past those, and look for the ones posted by people just like you, who are looking for a casual encounter. That being said, there are fewer posts of this kind in the sections pertaining to the LGBTQ community, so keep that in mind.
7. Reddit Personals – Section Similar to Craigslist Personals
Reddit is enormous in every sense of the word, and it’s only logical that it has a subreddit that deals with helping people meet up. R4R (redditor for redditor) is that subreddit, connecting people who are looking for anything from casual encounters similar to Craigslist, to more every-day stuff, like gaming. There are a couple of strict community guidelines, which you can find pinned in this subreddit, but here is the gist of the most important ones:
You have to be 18+ in order to post, and the posts have to be tagged NSFW if they contain any risky content. Going further, you have to clearly state in the title of the post what your age is and what you’re looking to get. A good example would be “21 [F4F] California – looking for a casual encounter/NSA relationship”. That would indicate that a 21-year-old female is searching for another female to meet and possibly meet up at some point. The guidelines are strict, but if you follow them and get your post out there, the subreddit has over 417, 000 members who can all reply to you, so your chances are pretty good you’ll find somebody near you.
8. Locanto – Replacement Has A Casual Encounters Section
Locanto is a one of many Craigslist Personals alternatives that lets you post all kinds of different ads, but what we want to focus on here is their Personals section. Within it, you’ll find the standard Long Term Relationship/Dating subsections, but more importantly, you’ll find one promptly named Casual Encounters. There you’ll find exactly what you’ve been looking for. Hosts of adults of all ages, sexual preferences and some very specific kinks – it’s all on there.
All that’s up to you is to browse until you find something that speaks to you, and you can step into contact with whoever posted the personal ad right away. A substantial amount of ads is in the Men looking for men subsection, so if you’re a gay or bi man, you should have no problem finding an ad that’ll lead to your next adventure.
9. Classified Ads – Alternative Without Any Limitations
Another run-of-the-mill website, with multiple categories, and once again, we focus on the one relevant to this list, in this case, named – Casual Dating. It’s exactly what you can expect, a bunch of people looking for casual hookups and FWB relationships of all sorts. You’ll find tops looking for bottoms and vice versa, men and women alike seeking companionship or just occasional fun. You’ll also run into a bunch of ads looking for a third or thirds looking for couples, so if that’s something you’d like to act upon, you can’t go wrong with Classified Ads.
Alongside that, there aren’t really any limitations to what you can post, save of course, illegal stuff. Curse words will be censored, but other than that, you can write exactly what it is you’re looking for, and there’s a good chance that at least someone will respond.
10. Oodle – Simple Alternative Has A Personals Section
If you like simplicity, you’ll love Oodle. You see a picture, a name, an age, and a location. That’s it; that’s all you can find in the Personals section of this alternative website, alongside a sentence or two specifying what the person posting the ad is after. It’s easy to make a post, it’s easy to respond to one, and if you’re patient enough, it’s easy to get yourself a casual encounter.
The vast majority of posts are in the Man looking for Woman and Woman looking for Man categories. The categories for gay and bi people are much less populated, but the ads there are serious, and there are far fewer chances of a profile being a scam, which is a huge advantage.
Conclusion
So, if Craigslist hookups were something you enjoyed and have been looking for an alternative since it’s been gone, there’s no better place to start than this list. If you want to keep it similar to Craigslist, there are plenty of personal ad websites that are fairly similar to it, but online dating have evolved a lot in recent years.
Now you have access to sophisticated websites with algorithms that match you up with people or mobile apps that you can use to find people in your area wherever you go. Whatever your preference is, just remember to stay safe and double-check everything before setting up a real-life meetup.
Top 10 Best Alternatives to Craigslist – Investopedia
Nowadays, and while Craigslist, the e-commerce giant, is still going strong, it is easy to find a Craigslist alternative for anything you might want to buy or sell. And in terms of finding a job, date, or a new roommate, there are safer and easier-to-navigate online alternatives to Craigslist.
Whether you want to sell your car, buy new patio furniture, find a designer gown, or a new babysitter for your kid, there are mobile apps and e-commerce marketplaces devoted to entire categories of products and services. Whittling down your options might seem overwhelming at first, so we’ve rounded up 10 alternatives to Craiglist to help you buy, sell, and hunt for all the things you need or want, from a new home to new help.
Key Takeaways
While Craigslist remains one of the biggest online classifieds sites, there are many Craiglist rphing from an auction to a selling model, eBay functions as a classified site; it also has a classifieds specializes in providing employees with home-based help, from babysitters to to scammers hitting Craiglist, specialized housing sites like, Zillow, and Trulia are often safer alternatives for finding a rental or home to buy. Facebook has become a significant classifieds community, with its Facebook Marketplace.
Craigslist Drawbacks
For all its capabilities, Craigslist comes with a few notable drawbacks. For one, the site’s sheer size works against users at times. Sellers in popular categories, such as real estate and automotive, complain that within 15 minutes of their posts going live, they are already relegated to the second page, having been supplanted by dozens of more recent ads from competitors. Craigslist has also long been a magnet for scam artists. Unscrupulous sellers often post fraudulent ads that look like great deals, but they intend to extract and exploit financial information from naive and unsuspecting buyers.
While Craigslist’s simplicity remains popular (you can search by town, city, state, and country) among users, the site has some features that could stand to be updated. Most notable among these are users’ ability to sort within categories based on price, distance, and other specifications. In addition, the interface template design hasn’t changed much since its inception. In 2019, the company added a basic app, but its no-frills design is extremely similar to the website.
1. eBay Classifieds
The largest buy/sell site in the world launched the classifieds site under the name Kijiji in 2005 in Canada. The site launched in the U. S. in 2007 and was rebranded as eBay Classifieds in 2010. The site closed in the U. in 2016, but eBay Classified Group continued to operate sales sites internationally. In 2020, eBay began soliciting bids to purchase the eBay Classified Group. Still, users can also create Classified Ads, which are searchable listings from eBay’s homepage. Categories range from travel to funerals.
This alternative offers buyers several advantages over Craigslist. First, its sort function is far more advanced and much easier to use. A buyer can sort items within a category by price, distance, or how recently the post was made with a few clicks. Thumbnail photos of the product accompany ad listings, saving buyers time since they can scroll right past ads with worthless stock photos or, worse, no photos at all.
Notably, eBay Classifieds also provide sellers with a few benefits Craigslist lacks. A Craigslist ad in most categories disappears from the site after seven days, although it typically becomes buried deep enough in the search results to become irrelevant long before that. On eBay Classifieds, ads stay live for 30 days. While an ad’s general visibility steadily decreases over that period, it still shows up in more targeted queries long after it is posted, thanks to the site’s advanced sort and search functions. eBay is easy to use, and the site provides helpful seller and buyer information like ratings and positive feedback to help you navigate away from potential scams.
2. Facebook Marketplace
While not a strictly classified site, Facebook has enabled many of its users to buy and sell products more quickly and with more convenience and security than Craigslist. It has two options: Facebook Marketplace and Facebook Buy and Sell Groups. To sell something on Facebook, a user can post a status update with a picture of the item, a brief description, and the price. The user can request his friends to share the post with their friend lists. Even if only a handful does so, the post’s exposure can multiply quickly.
Many people are more comfortable selling on Facebook than on Craigslist or other classified sites because they are dealing with friends or, at worst, friends of friends, as opposed to strangers. News reports have featured documented cases of robberies and violence stemming from botched Craigslist transactions. Using a social media site to sell an item provides a security layer and peace of mind not available on most online classified sites.
3. Poshmark
Selling used clothing and accessories or buying them because it is an environmentally conscious and affordable way to update your wardrobe, Poshmark, is a one-stop e-commerce shop. You can sell or purchase items for pets, kids, men, women, and your home. Think of it as an online consignment shop with hundreds of brand-name items, like Nike, Calvin Klein, Coach, and Chanel.
Poshmark has over 70 million community members across the U. S., Canada, and Australia, with over 200 million sale items. It’s easy to list your items for sale by uploading an image onto the app with its sale price. The company provides its sellers with a pre-addressed, free label to use when you send the product to the buyer, and you can have the box picked up for free or drop it off at a USPS mailbox. Unlike simply listing an item on Craiglist, you pay Poshmark a fee in the form of a flat commission ($2. 95 for anything under $15) or 20% of your total sale price of an item above that amount. Its end-to-end platform makes it an easy way to buy or sell a wide variety of fashion and home-related products.
If you are looking for a date or a companion, you won’t find it on Craiglist. The company discontinued its personal ads in 2018.
4.
If you are looking for an apartment online, this site has a lot to offer, from a positive reputation in the rental market and a tool that allows you to search specific neighborhoods, and you can also search by keyword. There are literally millions of listings. The website has a wealth of online tools, like 3D interactive tours of apartments to information on market trends, neighborhood schools, and other useful information for potential renters. The site boasts of 1. 1 million apartments for rent at any given time and allows you to drill down on what you need, from a pet-friendly walk-up apartment to a luxury condominium.
If you want to rent your apartment out, the site can help you lease it online, whether you are an individual property owner or the owner of multiple apartment buildings. Craiglist still does a big business in rentals, and landlords or people searching for roommates can post their available apartment or room on the site. Still, Craigslist doesn’t always vet posters carefully, and the tools (and likely peace of mind) offered by alternatives like may not be able to compete.
5.
From freelance work to full-time opportunities, nearly every kind of job is listed on, and this alternative to Craiglist’s job postings is a full-scale job-hunting website. You can post your resume and ask to be matched to potential employers, and there is a corresponding app so that you can job hunt from your mobile phone or laptop, too. Indeed offers many tools to help you with your job hunt, including reviews of companies, an online career guide, plus a search tool that lets you track down salaries.
6.
Craiglist discontinued its personal ads in 2018, and even then, the lack of vetting and oversight made it a potentially risky way to meet your date or future mate. The number of dating apps has soared in the last decade from Bumble to Tinder (also owned by the Match Group) as online dating became the norm, especially among millennials. However, earned PC magazine’s vote as one of the best dating apps for 2021, with a monthly fee of $44. It costs more than some of the newer apps. Still, its positive user ratings (founded in 1993) may be worth it if you are looking for a relationship rather than a quick rendezvous.
7. Zillow
You can buy, rent, or sell a home on Zillow, plus find valuable tools and tips for house hunting, finding a mortgage lender, real estate agent, or even an interior decorator. The browsing feature on Zillow allows you to search multiple listings in your desired town, city, or state ranked by price, lot size, number of rooms, and other settings.
Zillow can help you find a real estate agent to show you the home, and some listings offer a virtual 3D tour. This alternative to house hunting on Craigslist, which sometimes offers limited information, offers a level of professionalism and tools and expert advice needed for such a serious business transaction. Besides, the sheer volume of homes, townhouses, and condominiums available on Zillow make it house hunters’ virtual paradise.
is a great alternative to Craiglist for browsing and buying vintage and antique items without having to leave your home to attend an advertised garage or yard sale in-person.
8. Caravana
Buying a used car online may be a bit of a gamble, but Caravana provides a 360-degree view of cars online (all accident-free vehicles) and will deliver your ride right to your home. You can purchase one of Caravana’s cars by financing it, trade-in your car as a down payment, or pay outright in cash. The company also offers a seven-day test to own and a 100-day warranty. According to its website, 80% of customers choose to finance their purchase with Caravana, but you can also use a third-party lender. Caravana allows you to search their inventory with filters for make and model, features, price, fuel efficiency (yes, they offer electric cars), and more to help you narrow down on the best car for you.
You can also sell or trade your car on Carvana by sharing details about the vehicle. Potential sellers will receive a firm offer after their application is reviewed, and a representative from the company will come to your house, review the car, and hand you a check or a trade-in car.
9.
An alternative to Craiglist for finding a babysitter or child care provider is Founded in 2007, provides a platform for caregivers and families seeking help. offers connections for those in need of child care, senior care, special needs care, pet care, housekeeping, and tutors, complete with background checks. Those working in caregiving fields can use care to access jobs and benefits, plus tools to help them job hunt and find colleagues within an online community. Families can search for local caregivers by signing up for a basic (free) or premium account (an annual fee of $156) with
10. Etsy
When e-commerce marketplace Etsy opened its virtual doors in 2005, it was embraced as an online community for crafters, hobbyists, and artists. Fans of vintage items and heirlooms found bargains as well on Etsy. The site has expanded in the last 16 years into a sprawling market. Etsy is where you can buy and sell original, handmade home goods, toys, clothing, vintage items (items must be 20 years or older), and antiques, plus original artwork and materials for crafting your projects.
Sellers can list their wares for 20 cents per listing and are hit with 5% of the price and shipping costs as a transaction fee for using the platform. Shoppers can use the e-commerce site’s easy-to-navigate search options and check-out tools like Etsy’s Editors’ Picks. And there are specialized categories like Black-owned Etsy shops, Gifts Under $30, and Etsy Weddings, and the marketplace is used by millions of entrepreneurs and shoppers worldwide.
Scammers exist everywhere but primarily online. When shopping on sites like Facebook Marketplace, never pay for something in advance, and do not meet a seller anywhere you do not feel comfortable, such as their home or let them into your home, if you can help it.
Craigslist Alternative FAQs
Is There an Alternative to Craigslist Personals?
Craigslist hasn’t run personal ads since 2018, but the online dating market is saturated with alternatives., Bumble, and are three popular dating sites where subscribers can post a personal profile, letting others know what they are seeking, whether it is a potential spouse or a casual encounter.
What Replaced Craiglist for Dating?
Craigslist didn’t replace its personal ads, but there are plenty of online dating apps and websites available online, as mentioned above. Some are free, and others you pay a fee for posting your profile.
Is Letgo Better Than Craigslist?
Letgo is a mobile app purchased by OfferUp in 2020. It no longer exists as a stand-alone site or app but was absorbed by OfferUp. This site claims it is the “largest mobile marketplace in the U. S, with over 90 million app downloads and millions of buyers. “
The marketplace OfferUp is a mobile app versus an actual website like and allows sellers to create profiles of themselves to utilize selling and buying. Is it better than Craigslist? OfferUp is a robust online marketplace with a more straightforward and more modern interface and experience than its competitor, Craigslist.
Do People Still Use Craigslist?
Absolutely. You can search your local area on Craigslist and find used furniture, cars, rentals, and even jobs. However, because so many Craiglist alternatives exist, it is no longer a one-stop shopping powerhouse when it debuted in 1995.
Why Does Craigslist Charge $5?
Posting on Craiglist is free in some categories. For example, if you want to sell your grandmother’s china, the post is free to put up on Craigslist. If you want to rent your Boston-based apartment, it will cost you $5 to put up an ad. And if you are posting about jobs, it could cost you anywhere from $3 to $75. In most cases, Craiglist only charges for ads posted by auto dealers or realtors in commercial real estate and those posting about short-term gigs and job opportunities.
The Bottom Line
Craigslist is an online marketplace contender, but there are many alternatives to it in 2021 to buy and sell goods and services. And If you want to go beyond e-commerce, consignment stores and used bookstores continue to be popular places to sell your stuff.
The job boards on Craiglist may not be able to complete with LinkedIn and Indeed for job hunters, and even gig opportunities can be found online on sites like Fiverr and TaskRabbit without having to wade through Craiglist posts. In the mid-90s, Craiglist may have the go-to for finding a rental or a home to buy, but with Trulia,, Zillow, and other sites like them, it is much easier (and some might say safer) to find a place to live via a specialized site than Craiglist.
This old-school e-commerce experience may be more useful for finding local, used home goods (think, used outdoor furniture or firewood) than a new roommate, babysitter, or job.
Frequently Asked Questions about will craigslist ever come back
What are the alternatives to Craigslist personals?
10 Best Craigslist Personals Alternatives for Dating Casual Encounters in 2021Ashley Madison – Alternative for Discreet Hookups. … Craigslist Community – Good Alternative to Personals. … Adult Friend Finder – World’s Largest Casual Hookup Site. … Doublelist – Popular Alternative to Craigslist Personals.More items…•Jul 8, 2021
What is the best alternative to Craigslist?
The 10 Best Alternatives to CraigslisteBay Classifieds.Facebook Marketplace.Poshmark.Apartments.com.Indeed.com.Match.com.Zillow.Caravana.More items…
Do Craigslist personals still exist?
However, Craigslist Personals has been shut down. This was done in response to a new law passed by Congress that gave internet sites liability for some things posted on the site. … Since Craigslist didn’t want to have any legal liabilities, they decided to shut down the personals section for good.Apr 15, 2021
