On December 31, 2022, CoStar Group shut down Cozy and redirected its users to Apartments.com. If you loved what Cozy was — simple, free, landlord-friendly — VerticalRent is the closest thing to what Cozy should have become.
No credit card required. Free plan includes 1 unit + 15 AI credits/month.
CoStar Group acquires Cozy. The platform continues to operate mostly unchanged as CoStar evaluates how to integrate it with their portfolio of real estate sites (Apartments.com, LoopNet, Homes.com).
CoStar announces Cozy will shut down on December 31, 2022. All users will be migrated to Apartments.com's landlord platform. Hundreds of thousands of landlords scramble to find alternatives.
Cozy goes offline permanently. User data migrated to Apartments.com. CoStar already had Apartments.com — running two parallel free landlord platforms didn't fit their business model.
CoStar's primary business is selling listing exposure and real estate data to landlords, agents, and investors. Cozy's hundreds of thousands of landlords represented a user base CoStar could migrate to Apartments.com — where those landlords would be encouraged to pay for premium listings and ad placement. Free tools for landlords weren't the business model. Listing revenue was.
Cozy was genuinely good. Here's how the alternatives stack up against what it offered.
| Feature | Cozy (RIP) | Apartments.com | VerticalRent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free rent collection | Yes — landlord free | With fees & limits | $2 flat per payment |
| Truly free for landlords | Yes | $4/mo for dashboard | Free plan available |
| No monthly fees | Yes — genuinely free | $4/mo landlord fee | Free tier: $0/mo |
| AI tenant screening | Not available | Not available | Full AI Risk Score 0–100 |
| AI lease generation | Not available | Not available | Full lease in seconds |
| Background check | Basic (applicant pays) | Available | Full AI screening bundle |
| Lease storage | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile-friendly | Yes | Yes | Full responsive design |
| Built for landlords (not listings) | Yes | Primarily a listing platform | Yes — landlord-first |
Based on publicly available information as of 2026.
Apartments.com took Cozy's user base but not Cozy's mission. Apartments.com's primary business is selling listing exposure to landlords — the free landlord tools are a funnel to get you to pay for premium listings.
Rent collection through Apartments.com now has landlord fees ($2–$4/month for the full dashboard) and tenant card fees (2.99%). Cozy was genuinely free for landlords. Apartments.com is free-ish, with asterisks.
More importantly: Apartments.com has no AI features. In 2022, that wasn't a differentiator. In 2026, it's a significant gap.
Solid free tier for basic management. No AI features. Good for landlords who want simple rent collection without the bells.
AI features
Strong listing distribution on Realtor.com network. No AI features. Post-CoStar acquisition has been focused on listing funnels over landlord tools.
AI features
Truly free platform. No AI features. Simple and clean — a reasonable choice if you want basic rent collection for free.
AI features
AI-powered platform with $2 flat rent collection, free tenant screening (applicant pays), AI lease generation, and a free plan. The most modern option.
AI features
Cozy was beloved because it was simple, landlord-first, and genuinely free. VerticalRent carries that same DNA: free for 1 unit, honest pricing when you grow, built for the self-managing landlord who doesn't want enterprise software.
The difference is what's been added on top: AI tenant risk scoring, AI lease generation, AI maintenance triage, and $2-flat rent collection that's actually more affordable than the fees Apartments.com now charges.
Free for 1 unit
Like Cozy was
$2 flat rent
Not a percentage
AI screening
Cozy never had this
15 min setup
Simple like Cozy
Yes. Cozy shut down on December 31, 2022. CoStar Group, which acquired Cozy in 2018, redirected all users to Apartments.com's landlord platform.
VerticalRent is the closest to what Cozy was: simple, landlord-first, and free to start. It adds AI features Cozy never had — AI tenant screening, AI lease generation, and AI maintenance triage.
CoStar migrated Cozy user data to Apartments.com in January 2023. If you haven't logged in since the migration, contact Apartments.com support to recover your data.
Adequate for listing visibility, but Apartments.com is primarily a listing platform — not a landlord management tool. The free tier has limitations Cozy didn't have.
Yes. VerticalRent's free plan supports 1 unit with full AI features, free tenant screening (applicant pays), and rent collection for $2/payment.
Simple. Landlord-first. Free to start. With AI features Cozy never had.
Start Free — No Credit CardFree plan · 1 unit · 15 AI credits/month · Cancel anytime