Facebook Marketplace vs OfferUp vs Openmarket: where should you buy and sell locally?
· 7 min read
Short answer: Marketplace has the most inventory in almost every city, OfferUp is the strongest standalone alternative — especially if you want shipping or verified profiles — and Openmarket isn't a marketplace at all: it's a free iOS app that fixes how you browse Marketplace. Most serious local buyers and sellers end up using two of the three.
At a glance
| Marketplace | OfferUp | Openmarket | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | The biggest local marketplace, inside Facebook | A standalone marketplace app (absorbed Letgo in 2020) | A free iOS companion app for browsing Marketplace listings |
| Inventory | Largest in most areas | Strong in big metros, thinner elsewhere | The same listings as Marketplace |
| Local deals | Free | Free | Free — it's a browser, not a middleman |
| Shipping | On eligible items, with a seller fee | Nationwide; seller fee of 12.9% ($1.99 minimum) | No shipping — local focus |
| Location filtering | Radius is loosely enforced in practice | Standard radius search | Place + radius enforced on your device; distance and travel time on every card |
| Repeat listings | No way to hide what you've seen | No way to hide what you've seen | “Only new listings” filter hides anything you've opened |
| Messaging | Messenger | In-app chat, TruYou profile verification | Hands you to the Facebook app — your account, their messenger |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | iOS |
Marketplace: unbeatable inventory, frustrating browsing
For sheer selection, nothing local touches Marketplace — a large share of casual sellers list there first and only there, because the audience is already in the app. Local deals cost nothing, and a seller's profile gives you years of history to judge.
The weaknesses are all in the browsing. The distance filter is loosely enforced — a 5-mile search can surface listings from other cities — the feed re-shows you the same listings every session, and sponsored posts are mixed into results.
OfferUp: the strongest standalone alternative
OfferUp is its own ecosystem with its own listings, so what you gain depends on your city — in big metros it's a genuine second market; elsewhere it can feel thin. Its real differentiators:
- Shipping. Nationwide shipping on eligible items, with a 12.9% seller fee ($1.99 minimum) on shipped sales. Local pickup deals are free.
- Verification. TruYou identity verification and community meetup spots give it a safety story Marketplace mostly lacks.
- A cleaner buy flow for shipped items — closer to eBay than to a classifieds board.
The trade-off is inventory: it's a separate pool of listings. Sellers who want full reach end up cross-posting to both.
Openmarket: not a third marketplace — a better window into the biggest one
Openmarket doesn't add another pool of listings to check. It's a free iOS app that shows you Marketplace's own inventory the way you wish the original did:
- Filters that work. Set a place and radius and results respect them, with the city, real distance, and walking/driving/transit time on every card.
- “Only new listings.” One toggle hides everything you've already opened — checking the feed twice a day stops meaning reading it twice.
- No sponsored posts in any feed.
- Price Check for sellers. Snap a photo and get an asking price backed by similar listings and recent sales nearby — useful whichever marketplace you post on.
Deals still happen where they always did: tap through to the real listing and message the seller in the Facebook app with your own account.
So which should you use?
- Buying locally and want the most options: Marketplace's inventory — browsed through Openmarket if you're on iOS.
- Want items shipped, or verified profiles: OfferUp.
- Selling: list on both marketplaces — it costs nothing for local deals and doubles your audience. Run Price Check first so the number is grounded in what actually sells near you.
- Checking the feed every day for deals: Openmarket's only-new filter is the difference between reading the feed and re-reading it.
Fees and features above were checked in August 2026 and can change.