435
Trustpilot
customer reviews
Report
Should I Use craigslist?
craigslist provides local classifieds and forums for jobs, housing, for sale, services, local community, and events
Depends
DependsUse Craigslist for free local deals if you can screen out scams yourself.
Still free and useful for local deals, but scam-heavy with zero buyer protection — stay sharp.
Confidence: Medium
6.3K
PissedConsumer
complaint-style reviews
$5
Cheapest paid listing
cars by owner; most posts free
1995
Founded
San Francisco
Value for money
5
Mostly free; $5 paid posts
Ease of use
3
Dated design, still widely used
Feature depth
2
Deliberately bare-bones classifieds
Security posture
2
Scam hotspot; 2021 flaw actively abused
Pros
Cons
Gotchas
Best for
- Local in-person cash deals
- Budget apartment and job hunters
- Gig workers and side hustlers
- Free stuff and community boards
Not for
- Anyone buying high-value items sight unseen
- Users wanting buyer protection, escrow, or refunds
- Businesses needing support SLAs or reliable moderation
- Renters asked for deposits before viewing
Pricing
Free postings
$0
- Most for-sale, services, and community categories
- Per-city local reach
Vehicles
$5 per listing
- Cars by owner
Jobs
Varies by region
- Paid job posts
- Fees recently changed
Security
No CVEs against craigslist.org itself found, but its brand is heavily abused and one 2021 flaw was actively exploited.
- Actively exploited flaw (2021)Hackers abused a Craigslist security flaw to infect visitors' devices.⁶
- Brand abused for malware spamCraigslist-themed spam delivered the Blackhole exploit and Cridex banking trojan.
- Phishing luresPhishing campaigns imitate Craigslist notifications to harvest credentials.
What users say
Feedback is polarized: cheap local finds win praise while complaint sites are flooded with scam and support gripes.
“Craigslist is great!”
“Dont post on Craigslist.”
“How I was almost scammed by a "Free Yamaha G2 Baby...”
Alternatives
Compare craigslist with each alternative.
OfferUp
Mobile-first local selling, ranked top Craigslist alternative
Facebook Marketplace
Free local selling with real profiles attached
craigslist vs Facebook MarketplaceeBay
Adds buyer protection and escrow Craigslist lacks
craigslist vs eBayNextdoor
Neighborhood-only listings among verified neighbors
Full analysis
Based on 30+ public sources: Trustpilot, BBB, PissedConsumer, Reddit, consumer-protection and security vendors.
Sources
- Trustpilot reviews of craigslist.orgtrustpilot.comreview
review
- 6.3K Craigslist Reviews — PissedConsumercraigslist.pissedconsumer.comreview
- Craigslist posting feescraigslist.orgofficial
- Craigslist Will Start Charging $5 to List Your Carroadandtrack.comnews
- Hackers abusing a Craigslist security flawtechradar.comsecurity
- 14 common Craigslist scams and how to avoid themlifelock.norton.comnews
- 5 Warning Signs of a Craigslist Rental Scamconsumerreports.orgnews
review
- craigslist sites worldwidecraigslist.orgofficial
Rate this review
Anonymous. You can change your vote.
Loading votes…
Ask a follow-up
Ask if a use case fits. Answers stay inside this report and its sources.