Self-serve SaaS
How do I compare rent-by-room markets before I buy?
PillowMarkets covers 120 US rent-by-room cities and 6,780 ZIP codes, with occupancy, rental spread, crime grades, and cash flow potential rather than gross numbers.
Buying a house from a spreadsheet of asking rents hides occupancy, crime, and what the rooms actually keep. Weeks of manual research still miss the ZIP-level picture.
PillowMarkets is the focused tool for that research. Use it before you buy, then come back for a custom build if the portfolio needs the rest of the stack connected.
- 120 US rent-by-room cities and 6,780 ZIP codes
- Occupancy, rental spread, and crime grades A to F
- Cash flow potential rather than gross asking rent
Who is PillowMarkets for?
Rent-by-room and coliving investors deciding where to buy next, before they commit to a city or a ZIP code.
- Investors choosing their first or next rent-by-room market
- Buyers comparing several cities before a trip or an offer
- Investors who want ZIP-level occupancy and crime grades, not city averages
- Anyone replacing weeks of manual market research
How does PillowMarkets work?
- Buy a one-time access pass: $49 for 1 month or $97 for 3 months. There is no subscription.
- Rank markets in the Market Explorer. Sort all 120 cities by active units, occupancy, 8-bed gross revenue, room rates, or 1-bedroom rent, and compare any month with the one before.
- Open a Market Deep Dive to see every ZIP code in a city side by side: occupancy, room rates, crime grade A to F, and the price of conversion-ready homes. Export it as a PDF for a partner or lender.
- Check a specific block with ZIP Lookup when you are already looking at a listing.
- Not sure where to start? Answer 5 questions in the AI Matchmaker and get markets ranked against your budget, risk tolerance, and cash flow target.
- Save markets and ZIP codes to your Watchlist and revisit them each month.
What does a market look like in PillowMarkets?
Take Jacksonville, Florida in August 2026, from the analysis at the top of this page:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Active rent-by-room units | 2,450 |
| Average occupancy, by area | 68% to 92% |
| Gross income, 8-bed house | $3,883 to $5,753 a month |
| What a renter pays for a room | $746 a month |
| What a renter pays for a 1-bedroom | $1,040 a month |
A renter pays about 72% of a 1-bedroom rent for a room, but a house with 8 rooms can gross $3,883 to $5,753 a month. That spread is why rent-by-room works in a market, and the occupancy range shows how much it depends on picking the right part of the city.
These are gross figures, not net. You still model your own mortgage, fees, and costs, or use Profit Per Pillow once the house is running.
How much does PillowMarkets cost?
PillowMarkets sells one-time access passes: $49 for 1 month or $97 for 3 months. There is no subscription.
| Plan | What it covers | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1-month access pass | One-time payment, no subscription | $49 |
| 3-month access pass | One-time payment, no subscription | $97 |
Common questions about PillowMarkets
What data does PillowMarkets show?
Occupancy, rental spread, crime grades A to F by ZIP code, and cash flow potential rather than gross asking rent, across 120 US cities and 6,780 ZIP codes.
How detailed is each market?
Each city breaks down by ZIP code and neighborhood. The Jacksonville example above shows active units, average occupancy, what renters pay for a room versus a 1-bedroom, and how supply and occupancy moved month by month.
Where does the data come from?
Active inventory tracked across leading rent-by-room platforms, cross-referenced with Zillow rent and home-price data. Every market and ZIP code is refreshed monthly, so month-over-month comparisons line up.
What happens after I pick a market?
PillowMarkets is for the research before you buy. Once deals are coming in, a Deal Acquisition tool can score each listing against your buy box. That part is a custom build.
Related guides
- How a Deal Acquisition tool scores incoming deals against a buy box
- How to calculate true net profit per PadSplit room after fees
PillowMarkets is a ColivingOps AI product. The live app is at pillowmarkets.com.