The bottom line: The right car selling app depends on how you want to sell. Instant offer apps like Carvana and CarMax buy your car directly. CarMax can collect it from your home in most areas, and Carvana collects in some areas, at times for a fee.
Marketplace apps like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist connect you with private buyers, who usually pay more, but the sale takes longer. Listing platforms like Autotrader and Cars.com also sell to a private buyer, but with fraud protection and secure payments built in.
For an enthusiast car, Cars & Bids is an auction platform for sports cars, rare trucks and collector models only. A daily driver will not qualify.
To see what your car is worth right now, compare offers from multiple services with Sell Car Advisor before deciding.
A newer car, sold without meeting anyone
Instant offer, iOS and Android app
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Offer amount 35% 5/5
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Process ease 20% 5/5
-
Offer validity 15% 4/5
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Pickup / drop-off 15% 4/5
-
Payment speed 15% 4/5
How it works and what it costs
How you sell
- Offer online in a few minutes, good for 7 days
- Drop the car off, or book a pickup
- Paid at the handover, by check or bank transfer
Cost to you
- Free to get an offer and to drop off
- Pickup fee varies by area, $0 to $600 in our tests
Watch out for
- Offer can change if the car doesn't match your answers
- Pickup isn't offered everywhere, so check first
A free listing with wide reach
Listing or dealer offer, iOS and Android app
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Buyer reach 25% 4/5
-
Safety features 25% 4/5
-
Listing cost 20% 5/5
-
Time to sell 15% 3/5
-
Ease of listing 15% 4/5
How it works and what it costs
How you sell
- List it free and deal with buyers yourself
- Or take an instant offer from a local dealer
- Optional checkout handles the payment and title
Cost to you
- Free to list, and free when it sells
- Checkout costs $95 with a loan or a price under $1,000
Watch out for
- Instant offer turns down cars over 17 model years
- Without the checkout, the payment and paperwork are yours
A car pricey enough to cover the fees
Private listing, iOS and Android app
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Buyer reach 25% 4/5
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Safety features 25% 5/5
-
Listing cost 20% 2/5
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Time to sell 15% 3/5
-
Ease of listing 15% 3/5
How it works and what it costs
How you sell
- List the car, and the ad runs 180 days
- Autotrader checks each buyer’s ID before payment
- Buyer pays through its checkout, straight to your bank
Cost to you
- An ad at $9, $29 or $49, set by your asking price
- Plus 0.99% of the sale, $99 at the least
Watch out for
- You pay twice: for the ad and on the sale
- The ad fee is kept if the car doesn't sell
Selling in person and leaving with payment
Online offer, iOS and Android app
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Offer amount 35% 3/5
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Process ease 20% 3/5
-
Offer validity 15% 4/5
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Pickup / drop-off 15% 4/5
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Payment speed 15% 2/5
How it works and what it costs
How you sell
- Firm offer online in minutes, good for 7 days
- Take it to any store, or book a home pickup
- Paid the same day by bank draft, a check you deposit
Cost to you
- Free to get an offer
- A home pickup can carry a fee
Watch out for
- The offer can drop if the car doesn't match your answers
- Usually you report the sale to the DMV yourself
Offers from local dealers
Dealer offers, iOS and Android app
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Offer amount 35% 4/5
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Process ease 20% 3/5
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Offer validity 15% 3/5
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Pickup / drop-off 15% 4/5
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Payment speed 15% 4/5
How it works and what it costs
How you sell
- Local dealers make offers on your car
- Offers are valid 7 days or 250 more miles
- Drive it to the dealer whose offer you take
Cost to you
- Free to get offers
Watch out for
- The offer can change at the dealer's inspection
- Older or damaged cars may get no offer
An enthusiast or collector car
Auction, iOS app, no Android app
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Audience match 30% 5/5
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Sale price potential 25% 4/5
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Listing cost / fees 20% 5/5
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Process transparency 15% 5/5
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Time to sell 10% 4/5
How it works and what it costs
How you sell
- Submit the car, and its team decides if it fits
- Its team writes the listing for a 7-day auction
- SafePay can hold the buyer's money until the handover
Cost to you
- Free to list, and the buyer pays a 5% fee
- Buyer pays SafePay's $198 unless you agree to split
Watch out for
- Ordinary daily drivers are turned down
- Bidders allow for the buyer's fee, so it trims your price
An unusual car, or a buyer out of state
Auction or fixed price, iOS and Android app
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Buyer reach 25% 3/5
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Safety features 25% 4/5
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Listing cost 20% 3/5
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Time to sell 15% 4/5
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Ease of listing 15% 3/5
How it works and what it costs
How you sell
- Auction or fixed price, open to buyers nationwide
- App fills in details from a photo of the plate
- Eligible sales use eBay's checkout, which holds the buyer's money
Cost to you
- Lists for $34, or $79 over $15,000
- A 2.8% fee on a deposit paid through eBay
Watch out for
- Winning bids aren't binding, so a buyer can walk away
- The listing fee is kept if the car doesn't sell
A cheap local car, sold fast
Private listing, inside the Facebook app
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Buyer reach 25% 5/5
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Safety features 25% 3/5
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Listing cost 20% 5/5
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Time to sell 15% 4/5
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Ease of listing 15% 5/5
How it works and what it costs
How you sell
- List it in the Facebook app and meet local buyers
- Messages, test drives and paperwork are yours
Cost to you
- Free to list, with no cut of a local sale
Watch out for
- No payment protection, so take the money at your bank
- Meet in a public place
A local sale with no account needed
Private listing, iOS and Android app
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Buyer reach 25% 5/5
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Safety features 25% 1/5
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Listing cost 20% 5/5
-
Time to sell 15% 3/5
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Ease of listing 15% 3/5
How it works and what it costs
How you sell
- You post the ad and answer buyers yourself
- Ad stays up for 30 days
- Meet local buyers in person to get paid
Cost to you
- Costs $5 to list a car you own
- Each repost costs another $5
Watch out for
- Scams like fake cashier's checks and overpayment
- Expect spam replies to sort through
A local sale from your phone
Private listing, iOS and Android app
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Buyer reach 25% 4/5
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Safety features 25% 2/5
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Listing cost 20% 4/5
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Time to sell 15% 2/5
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Ease of listing 15% 5/5
How it works and what it costs
How you sell
- List it in the app and meet local buyers
- Local, in-person sales only, with no shipping
- You collect the payment, and OfferUp takes no part
Cost to you
- One free car listing a month
- No fee or commission on the sale
Watch out for
- A second car that month needs a paid listing
- No checkout or payment protection on the sale
App Store and Google Play ratings on this page were read on September 23, 2026 and move week to week. The fees are each company’s own published prices.
Automated assistant: general info, not legal advice
Answers come from our state paperwork data and published guides. Confirm anything binding with your state DMV.
Compare Instant Offers
Best Dedicated Car Selling Apps
Carvana
Carvana buys newer running cars, with pickup in some areas
- Accepts cars with active loans
- Trade-in can save on sales tax
- License plate starts the quote
- Direct deposit option available
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Offer amount 35% 5/5
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Process ease 20% 5/5
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Offer validity 15% 4/5
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Pickup / drop-off 15% 4/5
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Payment speed 15% 4/5
You enter your car’s details, get an instant offer from Carvana, and if you accept, you book a pickup from your home where it’s offered, which may carry a fee depending on your location, or drop the car off free. The whole process takes just a few minutes to get started, and you avoid meeting strangers or negotiating.
Carvana works best for newer cars in good condition. They’ll buy older vehicles, but offers on cars with high miles or accident history can be very low.
- iOS Available: Yes (4.8 stars, 239k+ ratings)
- Android Available: Yes (4.8 stars, 65k+ ratings)
- Selling Cost: Free to get offers
- Note: Pickup fees ran from $0 to $600 in our test offers, depending on your location, and offers can change after inspection
Cars.com
List your car free on Cars.com or get an instant offer from a dealer
- Free listings you can renew
- Instant dealer offer for 3 business days
- Caramel handles DMV paperwork
- Zero obligation to buy a car
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Buyer reach 25% 4/5
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Safety features 25% 4/5
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Listing cost 20% 5/5
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Time to sell 15% 3/5
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Ease of listing 15% 4/5
Cars.com gives you two ways to sell. You can get an instant cash offer to sell directly to a local dealership, or create a listing to sell to private buyers. This flexibility lets you choose between a quick sale and potentially more money from a private buyer.
- iOS Available: Yes (4.8 stars, 582k+ ratings)
- Android Available: Yes (4.7 stars, 190k+ ratings)
- Selling Cost: Free listings available
- Note: Includes secure payment processing through a Caramel partnership for private sales
Autotrader
Autotrader's exchange takes the buyer's payment and does the title paperwork
- Buyer pays through PSX, not cash
- Free AutoCheck report on every ad
- Ad shows on Autotrader and KBB.com
- Title paperwork and payoff handled
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Buyer reach 25% 4/5
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Safety features 25% 5/5
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Listing cost 20% 2/5
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Time to sell 15% 3/5
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Ease of listing 15% 3/5
Autotrader focuses on selling to private buyers. Your listing gets extra exposure since ads placed on Autotrader also appear on Kelley Blue Book automatically. The platform provides verified buyer identities and secure payment processing to reduce fraud risks.
- iOS Available: Yes (4.7 stars, 316k+ ratings)
- Android Available: Yes (4.3 stars, 37k+ ratings)
- Selling Cost: $9, $29 or $49 by asking price, plus a 0.99% transaction fee (minimum $99) when it sells
- Note: Example: selling a $12,000 car costs a $9 to $49 listing + $118.80 transaction fee = $127.80 to $167.80 total
CarMax
CarMax inspects and buys your car at 250+ stores
- Buys your car even if you don't buy one there
- Offer holds seven days and is not negotiable
- At-home pickup, though not everywhere and a fee may apply
- Quote in about 2 minutes online
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Offer amount 35% 3/5
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Process ease 20% 3/5
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Offer validity 15% 4/5
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Pickup / drop-off 15% 4/5
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Payment speed 15% 2/5
CarMax gives you a no-haggle offer online in about two minutes. Most CarMax locations can collect the car from your home, though distance limits and a fee may apply. The offer is valid for seven days, and CarMax hands over a bank draft on the day you sell.
- iOS Available: Yes (4.8 stars, 395k+ ratings)
- Android Available: Yes (4.5 stars, 35k+ ratings)
- Selling Cost: Free to get offers
- Note: CarMax pays by bank draft, which you deposit rather than cash, so how quickly the money clears is between you and your bank
CarGurus
CarGurus compares instant offers from local dealers side by side
- Offers compared side by side
- Star ratings for each dealer
- Handles your outstanding loans
- Dealer pays by check or transfer
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Offer amount 35% 4/5
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Process ease 20% 3/5
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Offer validity 15% 3/5
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Pickup / drop-off 15% 4/5
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Payment speed 15% 4/5
CarGurus connects you with dealers who want to buy your car. The app shows offers from several local dealers at once. You drop the car off at the dealer you pick, and each dealer’s payment timeline varies.
- iOS Available: Yes (4.9 stars, 561k+ ratings)
- Android Available: Yes (4.8 stars, 194k+ ratings)
- Selling Cost: Free
- Note: Not all cars receive offers. Older or damaged vehicles may not qualify
Cars & Bids
Cars & Bids auctions cool modern and late-model enthusiast cars
- Sellers keep 100% of sale price
- Over 80% sell-through rate
- SafePay handles money and title
- Listing help from the team
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Audience match 30% 5/5
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Sale price potential 25% 4/5
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Listing cost / fees 20% 5/5
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Process transparency 15% 5/5
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Time to sell 10% 4/5
Cars & Bids is an auction platform for modern enthusiast cars, with an audience that comes looking for sports cars, rare trucks and collector vehicles specifically.
Most submissions are turned down, and a regular daily driver will not be accepted.
Listing is free and the seller keeps the full sale price, but the buyer pays Cars & Bids 5% on top of the winning bid, with a $250 minimum. Bidders take that into account, so it comes out of your price indirectly. The auction platforms’ seller fees are set out in full here.
- iOS Available: Yes (4.9 stars, 5.6k+ ratings)
- Android Available: No official app on Google Play
- Selling Cost: Free to list, and sellers receive 100% of the sale price
- Note: Specializes in enthusiast vehicles. Everyday commuters and high-mileage cars are typically turned away
eBay Motors
eBay Motors lists your car to buyers nationwide
- Listing fee is $34 or $79
- 40 photos with either fee
- No percent fee on sale price
- 2.8% fee on deposits via eBay
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Buyer reach 25% 3/5
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Safety features 25% 4/5
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Listing cost 20% 3/5
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Time to sell 15% 4/5
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Ease of listing 15% 3/5
eBay Motors offers both auction and fixed-price selling options. When listing, the app can automatically fill in key details like make, model, year, and VIN after you take a photo of the license plate, making the listing process much faster.
The global marketplace means you can reach both local and out-of-state buyers, which helps for unusual or hard-to-find vehicles.
- iOS Available: Yes (4.8 stars, 43k+ ratings)
- Android Available: Yes (4.1 stars, 6k+ ratings)
- Selling Cost: a flat $34 to list a vehicle at $15,000 or less, $79 above that, with no percentage taken from the sale price
- Note: Global marketplace reach brings both local and distant buyers to your listing
General Marketplace Apps (Great for Cars)
Facebook Marketplace
With Facebook Marketplace you sell your car directly to local buyers
- Sell directly to local buyers
- Buyers message you on Marketplace first
- Post in local buy/sell groups
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Buyer reach 25% 5/5
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Safety features 25% 3/5
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Listing cost 20% 5/5
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Time to sell 15% 4/5
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Ease of listing 15% 5/5
Facebook Marketplace connects you with local buyers for free. Because it’s built into Facebook, buyers see your profile and seller ratings before they message you.
Since you’re handling a private sale, use a secure payment method like KeySavvy to avoid bounced checks or payment scams when closing the deal.
- iOS Available: inside the Facebook app (4.5 stars, 22.5M+ ratings for Facebook itself), and in Seller, Meta’s separate iPhone app for US Marketplace sellers
- Android Available: inside the Facebook app (4.5 stars, 173M+ ratings for Facebook itself)
- Selling Cost: Free
- Note: No built-in fraud protection. Meet in public places and verify payments carefully before handing over keys
Craigslist
Craigslist puts your car in front of local buyers for $5
- $5 to list a car by owner
- Fee paid by card when posting
- Direct cash deals with buyers
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Buyer reach 25% 5/5
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Safety features 25% 1/5
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Listing cost 20% 5/5
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Time to sell 15% 3/5
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Ease of listing 15% 3/5
Craigslist is one of the most popular platforms for selling cars locally. For just $5, you get access to a large audience, though you should expect to filter through some spam responses to find serious buyers.
- iOS Available: Yes (4.8 stars, 505k+ ratings)
- Android Available: Yes (4.7 stars, 247k+ ratings)
- Selling Cost: $5 listing fee
- Note: Many inquiries may be from spam or low-quality buyers. Plan to filter responses before reaching out
OfferUp
OfferUp lets you list your car from your phone and sell to local buyers
- One free car listing a month
- Buyers message you in the app
- No fees for local cash sales
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Buyer reach 25% 4/5
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Safety features 25% 2/5
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Listing cost 20% 4/5
-
Time to sell 15% 2/5
-
Ease of listing 15% 5/5
OfferUp is a mobile-first selling platform with user verification features. After merging with Letgo in 2020, it became one of the larger mobile marketplaces. It no longer offers shipping, so every sale on it now happens locally and in person.
- iOS Available: Yes (4.8 stars, 4.4M+ ratings)
- Android Available: Yes (4.4 stars, 1.24M+ ratings)
- Selling Cost: Free for local sales, with one free car listing a month
Which Car Selling App Should You Use?
There is no single best car selling app, because the three types do different jobs. Pick by what you are willing to trade.
If you want the car gone this week and will accept less for it, an instant-offer app is the one: Carvana and CarMax both quote online and hold the offer for seven days, and Carvana collects from home in some areas, which can carry a fee depending on location. If you want the most money and have a few weeks, a listing on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist puts the car in front of private buyers near you. Marketplace is free, and Craigslist charges $5 for a car.
Cars.com sits between the two, with a free listing and more protection than a social marketplace, which is why it is the one we recommend to most sellers who are not in a hurry. Autotrader is worth its fee only on a car expensive enough that the fee disappears against the price.
Whichever you pick, most buyers shop across several places at once, so listing in more than one costs you half an hour and widens the pool.
Where used-car buyers look 770 used-car buyers surveyedShow the numbers
Channel Share of used buyers Third-party sites 77% Dealership sites 60% Search engines 41% Online used retailers 34% Social media 26% Automaker sites 22% AI tools 11% 
One thing worth doing first, whichever route you take: get an instant offer before you list. It takes a couple of minutes, it costs nothing, and it tells you the number below which a private sale is not worth the effort.
Compare instant offers before you accept one
Compare instant offers before you accept one
FAQ
Is there one best car selling app?
No, and anyone ranking them one to ten is ignoring what you are selling.
For speed on a car in reasonable condition, Carvana and CarMax quote in minutes, with Carvana’s home pickup limited to some areas and sometimes charged. For the highest price on an ordinary used car, list it on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. You sell to a private buyer with no dealer profit taken out, and you do the work. For an enthusiast car, Cars & Bids finds the audience that knows what it is.
Cars.com is the one that suits the most sellers, because the listing is free and it carries more protection than a social marketplace.
Can I buy a car on these apps as well as sell one?
Most of them, yes. Carvana, CarMax, Cars.com, Autotrader, CarGurus and eBay Motors all run a full buying side, and on the marketplace apps buying and selling are the same listing seen from opposite ends.
Cars & Bids is the exception in practice rather than in policy: you can bid, but the inventory is enthusiast cars, so it is not where you look for an ordinary runabout.
Do these apps let you message the buyer inside the app?
The marketplace and listing apps do. Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp and Autotrader all keep the conversation inside the app, which means you can answer questions without handing over your phone number. Cars.com hides your number too, but a buyer’s message reaches your email, and you reply from there. Craigslist works the same way: replies come to a relay email address, and you answer them from your own email program.
The instant-offer apps do not need it, because there is no other person to talk to. With Carvana and CarMax you are dealing with the company, and the exchange is a form rather than a conversation.
Keep the messaging inside the app until you have agreed a sale. A buyer who wants to move to text straight away is the oldest warning sign there is.
Does Facebook Marketplace have its own app?
Yes, for sellers in the US. Meta’s Seller app, on the iPhone App Store for people 18 and older, is built for people who sell on Marketplace often, and anything you list in it appears on Marketplace. To sell one car, you can still list from the main Facebook app, which is where buyers shop and the only route on Android for now. The store ratings you see quoted for Marketplace are Facebook’s own.
Marketplace reaches more local car buyers than any dedicated app on this page, and listing is free.
Can I list my car on multiple apps at the same time?
Yes, and you should. Nothing stops you running a Facebook Marketplace listing and a Cars.com listing while an instant offer sits in your inbox, and buyers shop across several places at once anyway.
The one thing to keep straight is your own record of who has seen the car and what was said. Take every listing down the moment the money has cleared, not when you shake hands.
What information do I need to list my car on these apps?
The VIN, the mileage, the year, make, model and trim, an honest account of the condition, and photos.
Photos are where most listings are lost. Every app caps how many you can upload and the cap is different on each one, so it is worth knowing the limits before you shoot.
For the sale itself you will need the title, your registration and a valid ID. A bill of sale is worth having whether or not your state requires one.
Is it safe to accept payment through marketplace apps?
Treat the app as a way to meet buyers, not as a way to get paid. Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist carry no payment protection for a car sale, and a transfer that appears in your balance is not the same as a payment that has cleared.
For a private sale, a service like KeySavvy handles the money and the title together so neither side has to go first. Failing that, meet at the buyer’s bank and watch the cashier’s check being drawn.
Article Update History
App ratings now carry the date they were read, selling costs come from each company's published prices, and buyer-channel figures from Cox Automotive.
App availability, store ratings and fees checked, with CarMax's at-home pickup and Cars & Bids' revised buyer fees added.
Originally posted and shared with our readers.
Sources
"Where used-car buyers look" Accessed Sep. 11, 2026
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