What is the best place to search for homes to rent?

The most popular website for finding rentals is Craigslist which is also well-established and simple to use according to Paul Hagey of Inman. New competitors like Zumper, Apartments.com, HotPads and Trulia offer more modern features like mobile applications but can't match the number of rentals listed on Craigslist.

Small real estate firms and individuals typically prefer Craigslist whereas competitors have focused on attracting larger apartment buildings and real estate firms, explains Hagey. Zumper has added criminal background checks and syndication of listings as features to meet the needs of landlords and has indicated it is also focusing on features that meet the needs of renters.