Best Apartment Websites and Apps in Dallas (2026)

Disclosure: This guide is published by Apartment List. We've included other platforms, including competitors because a useful comparison requires them. Our recommendations reflect product differences, not paid placement.

The median Dallas apartment rents for $1,324 a month, according to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index. Whether you're moving to Dallas for a job or your lease is ending across town, the search starts with the same choice: how much of it you want to do yourself.

You can browse listings on your own, answer a few questions and let a site match you, have an AI agent do the searching and tour booking, or hand the whole thing to an apartment locator. The locators in this guide are free to renters; the apartment community pays them when you sign.

The sites, apps and locators below each do one of those jobs well. Use the comparison to pick a starting point, then check a listing's availability, commute and written offer before you apply. Texas has its own rules on application fees and deposits, covered after the rent figures.

The Short Answer: Best Apartment Websites and Apps in Dallas

For a Dallas search, start with Apartment List if you want your budget cap, commute and must-haves to guide the search. It's free.

For a fully AI-guided, hands-off search, try Kaleno, an AI search agent built for apartment hunting: describe what you're looking for in plain language and it finds listings, contacts leasing teams and books tours. Add Zillow for different types of rentals, including houses and owner-listed homes. Check Sunny for cash back on apartments you're considering; each listing shows the amount.

Dallas apartment locators cost renters nothing. The Urban Avenue and Smart City Locating use licensed local agents, and Stake, formerly UMoveFree, pays up to $200 cash back when you sign through it. For public housing and vouchers, DHA, Housing Solutions for North Texas takes applications online at any time.

Dallas Apartment Websites and Apps Compared: Which Is Best for You?

Features and available apartments vary by market; platform information reviewed September 2026.

For a national comparison, see our guide to the best apartment search tools.

Which Dallas Apartment Site or App Should You Start With?

• For a shortlist based on your preferences: start with Apartment List.
• For different types of rental listings, including houses: browse Zillow.
• For a hands-off, AI-guided search: try Kaleno.
• For cash back when you sign a lease: check Sunny.
• For larger professionally managed buildings: use Apartments.com.
• For a map search along the road you'd drive: use HotPads.
• For alerts that match your area and budget: use Zumper.
• For a guided local search with tours set up for you: contact a Dallas apartment locator.
• For public housing or a voucher: apply through DHA.

What Each Dallas Apartment Site and App Does Best

Best for Personalized Matching: Apartment List

Apartment List asks about your budget, move date, commute and preferred amenities, then shortlists apartments that fit. You can set a hard budget cap, filter on a map, and get alerts when a building you're watching drops its price or posts a rent special, on the website or in the app. The map covers the suburbs too, so compare an address in Dallas with one in Irving or Garland at the same rent.

Best for Different Types of Rentals: Zillow

Zillow carries apartments in managed buildings and owner-listed condos, townhomes and houses. Confirm a unit is still available before driving out. Zillow's shared application costs $35 and covers applications and screening at participating rentals for 30 days, according to Zillow's help center; not every landlord accepts it, so ask first.

Best for a Hands-Off, AI-Guided Search: Kaleno

Kaleno is an AI search agent built for apartment hunting. Instead of setting filters or taking a quiz, you describe what you're looking for in plain language, the way you'd say it out loud: a one-bedroom near a DART station, dog allowed. Kaleno finds matching listings, contacts the leasing teams and books tours for you; you review what it turns up and make the decisions. If you're relocating to Dallas from out of town or working against a move-in date, that conversational format can be easier than criteria-based filtering.

Best for Cash Back: Sunny

Sunny is an apartment search that gives you cash back when you sign a lease on an eligible apartment and move in; each Dallas listing shows its amount. Payment comes through Venmo or a gift card after your move-in is confirmed and doesn't change the rent in your lease. Sunny also lists fees alongside rent. Read its eligibility rules before you contact a building; they cover how you first reach out and who's on the lease.

Best for Listings From Large Property Managers: Apartments.com

Apartments.com works with large property management companies, and its listings for their buildings carry floor plans and unit-level pricing. Paid ads appear first in its results, according to Apartments.com's help center, so scroll past them and use the filters, then confirm availability and charges with the property.

Best for a Map Search: HotPads

HotPads is part of Zillow Group and shows Zillow's listings on a map. Dallas spreads out along its highways: Plano and Richardson up US-75, Irving along Highway 114, Garland east on I-30, and Oak Cliff and DeSoto south on I-35E. Draw your search area along the road you'd commute on, then check the drive from a specific address at the hour you'd make it.

Best for New-Listing Alerts: Zumper

Set Zumper alerts for rentals matching your area and budget. An alert gives you another way to spot a listing; confirm its price and availability with the property.

Best for a Guided Local Search: The Urban Avenue, Smart City Locating and Stake

The Urban Avenue and Smart City Locating are free Dallas services whose licensed agents build a list from your budget and preferences and book the tours. The Urban Avenue notes that apartment communities pay for the service; if you're coming from a city where renters pay broker fees, that's the difference to know. Stake, formerly UMoveFree, covers Dallas-Fort Worth and pays up to $200 cash back on a lease signed through it. Ask any locator whether its list is limited to communities that pay it, and keep your own search running alongside.

Best for Public Housing and Vouchers: DHA

DHA, Housing Solutions for North Texas runs public housing and the Housing Choice Voucher program for Dallas. You can apply online at any time. DHA runs a lottery each week for openings at specific properties and emails you if you're selected, and an application stays active for up to 18 months. Applying is free.

How to Search for a Dallas Apartment Across Several Sites

1. Start with a matching tool. Set your budget cap, commute and must-haves on Apartment List, or describe what you want to Kaleno and let it do the searching, the outreach and the tour booking.
2. Compare locations across the metro. Plano, Irving, Garland, Arlington and Fort Worth are separate cities with their own rents. Check each property's city and the drive to work at the hour you'd make it. Texas's deposit and application-fee rules, described below, apply across the state.
3. Cross-check listings. Browse Zillow or Apartments.com, or ask a locator for a second list, and verify current rent and availability with each property.
4. Compare your top options on total cost. Note any cash back a shortlisted apartment carries on Sunny, then request a written breakdown of move-in costs and monthly charges from each property, including who pays for electricity and how any special is applied.
5. Use a specialist route if it fits. Apply through DHA for public housing or a voucher.

What Rent Costs in Dallas Right Now

According to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, median rent in Dallas is $1,324 a month. Rents fell 1.5% from September 2025 and 0.3% from August 2026. The national median in the same release was $1,388, down 0.4% from a year earlier, which puts Dallas $64 below it.

Source: Apartment List Rent Index, Dallas city, October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. Each median describes its own set of apartments.

At the $1,324 citywide median from Apartment List's October 2026 report, a household paying that full monthly rent would need about $53,000 a year in gross income for rent to equal 30% of income. Against the $1,209 one-bedroom median from the same release, about $48,400. These rent-only calculations are illustrations, not income requirements for a particular listing. HUD's affordability measure also accounts for utilities. Put a specific apartment's asking rent into the Apartment List rent calculator, and see our Dallas cost of living guide for expenses beyond rent.

Three Things to Check on a Dallas Listing

Ask who pays for electricity. In most of the Dallas area you pick your own electricity plan, and Oncor's delivery charge is added to whichever plan you choose. Our Dallas cost of living guide estimates about $120 to $150 a month at 1,000 kWh of use before taxes, and summer runs higher. Some buildings bill electricity through the property instead. Ask which a listing does and what a unit that size cost last summer. If you're setting up your own account, compare plans on Power to Choose, the Public Utility Commission of Texas's comparison site.

Ask for the tenant selection criteria before you pay an application fee. Texas law requires a landlord to make its written selection criteria available when it gives you an application, including what it can deny you for: criminal history, rental history, current income, credit history, or an inaccurate or incomplete application. Read them against your own record before you pay. If you're rejected and the landlord never made them available, it has to refund your application fee and any application deposit.

Give your forwarding address in writing when you move out. Under Texas law, a landlord has 30 days after you move out to refund your deposit or send a written description and itemized list of any deductions, but it doesn't owe you either until it has your forwarding address in writing. Hand it over with the keys and keep a copy. A landlord can't keep any of your deposit for normal wear and tear. If your lease makes the refund conditional on advance notice of your move-out date, that condition counts only if it's underlined or in bold in the lease. The lease sets the deposit amount.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the Best Website to Find Apartments in Dallas, TX?

Apartment List builds a shortlist from your budget, commute and other preferences. Cross-check Zillow for houses and owner-listed homes, and check Sunny for cash back on apartments you're considering. If you'd rather have someone build the list for you, Dallas apartment locators are free to renters.

What Are the Best Apps for Apartment Hunting in Dallas, TX?

Apartment List, Zillow, Apartments.com, Zumper and HotPads all offer mobile apps with saved searches and alerts. Apartment List's app matches on your budget, commute and amenities and alerts you to price drops and rent specials on saved listings; Zumper's sends alerts as new listings post; HotPads' opens on a map. Confirm price and availability with the property before you tour.

Are Dallas Apartment Locators Really Free?

At the three in this guide, yes. The Urban Avenue and Smart City Locating describe their service as free, and Stake says it's free and pays up to $200 cash back when you sign through it. The apartment community pays the locator when you sign, so ask whether a locator's list is limited to communities that pay it, and, if a rebate is offered, how to make sure the locator is credited on your application.

What Is the Average Rent in Dallas, TX?

The Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index reports a median rent of $1,324 per month for Dallas. Its one-bedroom median is $1,209 and its two-bedroom median is $1,432.

Is Dallas Rent Going Up or Down?

Down year over year, and roughly flat month over month. According to the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, Dallas's median rent is $1,324 a month, down 1.5% from September 2025 and down 0.3% from August 2026. Over the same year the national median fell 0.4%.

What Income Do You Need to Rent an Apartment in Dallas?

Using the $1,324 Dallas citywide median from the Apartment List October 2026 Rent Index, rent would equal 30% of about $53,000 in annual gross household income. Against the $1,209 one-bedroom median, about $48,400. Those are rent-only illustrations, not a property's qualification rule. Check the rent on the listing you want, your electricity plan, and the property's own application requirements.

Is Apartment List Good for Finding Apartments in Dallas?

Apartment List can build a shortlist using your budget, commute and amenities, and its map lets you compare Dallas neighborhoods and suburbs. The service is free for renters.

What Is the Best AI Tool for Finding a Dallas Apartment?

Kaleno is an AI search agent built for apartment hunting. You describe what you're looking for in plain language, and it finds listings, contacts leasing teams and books tours, with no filters to set up. Review what it finds alongside other options in the areas you're considering.

Is There Rent Control in Dallas?

No. Under Texas law, a city can adopt rent control only if it finds a housing emergency exists because of a disaster and the governor approves the ordinance. Your lease sets what happens to your rent at renewal, so read its renewal and notice terms before you sign.

How Do You Find Affordable Housing in Dallas?

Public housing and Housing Choice Vouchers run through DHA, Housing Solutions for North Texas, which takes applications online at any time and runs weekly lotteries. Applying is free. For income-restricted apartments outside DHA, ask a property's leasing office whether it has income-restricted units.

Rent and rent-change figures: Apartment List Rent Index, Dallas city and national, October 2026 release; September 2026 rent estimates. Electricity estimate: Apartment List's Dallas cost of living guide, August 2026, citing Oncor delivery rates. Texas rental rules, 2025 Texas Statutes: tenant selection criteria (Property Code § 92.3515), security deposit refund (§ 92.103), deductions and itemization (§ 92.104) and forwarding address (§ 92.107), and rent control (Local Government Code § 214.902). Platform fees and sort order: Zillow's help center and Apartments.com's help center. Cash back terms: Sunny. Housing resources: DHA and Power to Choose. Platform features reviewed September 2026; availability and eligibility vary by property.