Rentable

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High-Level Overview

Rentable is a real estate technology company providing a platform for apartment rentals, including verified listings, rent affordability tools for renters, and competitive intelligence solutions like ApartmentIQ for property managers.[2][3][4] Formerly known as ABODO, it was founded in 2012 by three childhood friends in Madison, Wisconsin, and has raised over $32.5M in funding, including a $22.5M round to scale its marketplace covering millions of U.S. apartments.[4][5] The platform solves fragmented rental search by offering an e-commerce-like experience with verified data, market insights, and tools that streamline leasing, boosting NOI for operators through features like security deposit management.[1][6]

Serving renters seeking verified apartments and multifamily property managers needing advertising, SEO, and daily unit-level competitive intelligence on over 31M units, Rentable demonstrates strong growth with 130+ employees, $27.3M revenue, and expansion from a local Madison launch to nationwide coverage without heavy ad spend.[3][5]

Origin Story

Rentable was founded in 2012 in Madison, Wisconsin, by three childhood friends, including CEO Alec Slocum, with the initial goal of fixing inefficient apartment hunting in their hometown.[4] Originally launched as ABODO, the idea emerged from personal frustrations with outdated classifieds-style rental searches, leading to a digital marketplace with verified listings and tools like rent calculators.[2][4] Early traction came from organic growth, expanding from Madison to over five million apartments nationwide, helping millions of renters and thousands of property managers.[4] Pivotal moments include rebranding to Rentable, raising $22.5M in funding, and evolving into a full platform with ApartmentIQ for competitive data and recent security deposit management features.[1][3][5][6]

Core Differentiators

• Verified Marketplace and E-Commerce Experience: Offers a seamless app-based search for apartments with accurate, expert-verified listings, pet-friendly filters, virtual tours, and applications—all transforming rentals from classifieds to e-commerce.[2][4][5]
• Competitive Intelligence via ApartmentIQ: Provides daily, unit-level data on 31M+ units, including rent rates and leasing trends, giving property managers the industry's most accurate insights.[1][3]
• Marketing and Advertising Suite: Includes Rentable.co listings, ChatGPT rental search plugin, AI-driven local SEO for Google Business Profiles, and social ad tech tailored for multifamily operators.[3]
• Security Deposit Management: A free app handling deposits, compliance, financial amenities, and resident support to boost NOI, reduce turnover, and improve leasing velocity with 24/7 onboarding.[6]
• Scalable Tech Platform: Features enterprise-grade architecture, integrations, analytics, and security, ensuring reliability for large portfolios.[1]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Rentable rides the proptech wave digitizing the $100B+ U.S. rental market, where fragmented listings and manual processes frustrate renters and operators amid rising demand from urbanization and remote work.[2][4] Timing aligns with post-pandemic leasing booms and AI adoption in real estate, enabling data-driven decisions as operators manage tighter margins and competition.[1][3] Market forces like labor shortages and regulatory pressures on deposits favor its tools, while its nationwide scale influences the ecosystem by standardizing verified data and e-commerce rentals, challenging incumbents like Zillow and empowering smaller managers with enterprise insights.[4][5]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Rentable is poised to deepen proptech dominance by expanding AI features, deposit tools, and marketplace integrations amid a rental market projected to grow with housing shortages.[1][3][6] Trends like AI personalization and regulatory compliance will shape its path, potentially driving further funding and acquisitions to consolidate competitive intel leadership.[5] Its influence may evolve from marketplace to full operating system for multifamily, solidifying its role as an innovator fixing rental inefficiencies—just as its founders envisioned in Madison.